Tenix Alliance awarded Major Substation in the Clare Valley

ElectraNet has awarded Tenix Alliance the design and construction contract of a 132/33kV substation at Clare North with a value of approximately $15m. This project includes significant upgrades to the line exits at Brinkworth and Mintaro substations supplying Clare North and augmentation of the ElectraNet telecommunications network. This was awarded under ElectraNets Dual Contractor Agreement with Tenix Alliance to provide transmission network design and construction services. The Greenfields substation will address load growth issues in the flourishing wine region and requires completion prior to the 2010-11 summer peak load period.

This project will include a state of the art installation incorporating the latest technological advances both in primary plant and secondary systems. Siemens 132kV SF6 gas insulated Highly Integrated Switchgear (HIS) has been selected over a conventional Air Insulated Switchgear (AIS) solution to provide a compact footprint, limit the visual impact and reduce civil costs for the project. This is a significant development for the industry in South Australia providing an alternative to the standard AIS solution for future substation projects where substation size or visual impact is a major consideration.

Protection and control systems will incorporate the IEC 61850 standard. This will involve establishing an optical fibre Local Area Network (LAN) for relay communications which will reduce the amount of copper cabling required. This will be one of the first HV substations in Australia implemented utilising this standard, potentially enabling substantial savings in design, construction, commissioning and maintenance costs. This technology will be fundamental in integrating all protection, control, measurement and monitoring functions within the substation, while providing the means for high speed substation protection applications, interlocking and inter-tripping. The substation architecture will be designed to take full advantage of the convenience of Ethernet communications with a level of performance and security essential in substations today.

This project will be managed by the Southern Operations Group of Tenix Alliance based at Regency Park in Adelaide. It is scheduled for practical completion in November 2010.