New Zealand, a new project by Omexom
Omexom teams have now completed work on the Clutha Upper Waitaki Lines Project (CUWLP) begun in January 2021 in the South Island. By increasing the resilience of the electricity grid in this area, the CUWLP will help develop renewable energy and reduce New Zealand's greenhouse gas emissions.
Renewable energy accounts for more than 80% of the country’s energy production, making New Zealand highly dependent on the weather. In fact, the many hydro storage lakes have a relatively small operating band and can only store around 4,000 GWh when full.
Omexom, the VINCI Energies brand specialising in electricity and gas, has been involved in the upgrade of the transmission line to increase this storage capacity. A more resilient network will improve electricity supply to the Southland region during dry periods. Also, this project will create the technical conditions for New Zealand’s largest hydroelectric plant, Manapouri, to eventually be integrated into the national power grid.
“The transmission line upgrade was completed with an excellent safety record and ahead of schedule”
Electrix cabling teams replaced the single electrical conductor per phase with two conductors per phase – a process known as duplexing – to increase the capacity of this transmission line from the current approximately 600 MW to approximately 1000 MW.
The project was completed at the end of March 2022.