Substation Oberzier

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Substation Oberzier
View from the south of the Oberzier substation including the incoming line routes

View from the south of the Oberzier substation including the incoming line routes

Data
place Niederzier - Oberzier
Client Rheinisch-Westfälisches Elektrizitätswerk
Construction year 1964
Coordinates 50 ° 52 '18.5 "  N , 6 ° 27' 25.3"  E Coordinates: 50 ° 52 '18.5 "  N , 6 ° 27' 25.3"  E
Oberzier substation (North Rhine-Westphalia)
Substation Oberzier
particularities
HVDC converter station (under construction)

The Oberzier substation (also Oberzier substation , name of the operator: Station Oberzier ) is a substation and switchgear of the transmission network operator Amprion west of the Niederzier district of Oberzier in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia . It has the voltage levels 380 kV (maximum voltage) and 110 kV (high voltage) and, as one of the largest substations in Germany, represents an important hub in the German maximum voltage network.

The plant was built by RWE in the 1960s in order to have a second central feed point for electrical energy from the power plants in the Rhenish lignite district , such as the Weisweiler power plant , into the 380 kV network in addition to the Rommerskirchen substation . Another line has been connected to the Dutch transmission network via the Maasbracht substation since 1967 .

Since 2018, a converter hall and other structures for the ALEGrO project, a high-voltage direct current transmission , which will connect to the Belgian transmission network as an underground cable with 320 kV voltage , have been under construction on an area west of the outdoor switchgear .

Location and description

The substation is located about 30 km northeast of Aachen and 35 km west of Cologne in the municipality of Niederzier in the Düren district , in the area of ​​the Oberzier district . The district of Huchem-Stammeln is located south of the facility , and the district of Berg is immediately to the northwest . The two lignite opencast mines in Hambach and Inden and the Weisweiler power station are also in the vicinity .

At the maximum voltage level of 380 kV, the energy is fed in from the Weisweiler lignite power plants in the Rhineland , from the Niederaussem and Neurath power plants via Rommerskirchen and from the Goldenberg power plant via Sechtem . Other lines run as an international connection to the northwest via Siersdorf into Maasbracht in the Netherlands and south through the Eifel via the Niederstedem substation to the Uchtelfangen substation in Saarland . The Hambach opencast mine is also supplied by the system via three 380 kV circuits. 110 kV connections lead both over the line to Maasbracht in the direction of Siersdorf and over the line to Weisweiler in the direction of Düren .

history

Pre-development

With increasing electricity consumption as a result of the economic miracle in the 1950s, the construction of new units resulted in an increase in the output of RWE's lignite power stations in the Rhenish district. Due to the now strong increase in power generation, the capacity of the 220 kV lines installed before the Second World War , partly in the 1920s, was no longer sufficient. From around 1954, the construction of an extra high voltage network with 380 kV voltage between the Rhineland and southern Germany began, whose central hub in the Rhineland was the Rommerskirchen substation .

A two-circuit line designed for 380 kV led from Rommerskirchen to the Weisweiler power plant in order to connect the A – D units, which were newly built in 1955 and 1959, to the extra-high voltage network with an initial 220 kV. A further 380 kV line was connected to this line, which branched off from the Rommerskirchen – Weisweiler line at Selhausen and ran south to the Niederstedem substation with a connection to the Vianden pumped storage plant . This line, built in 1960, was looped into the Weisweiler – Rommerskirchen line via a triangle near Selhausen .

While the connection of the Weisweiler power plant to Rommerskirchen was initially operated with 220 kV, the Rommerskirchen – Hoheneck line went into operation as early as 1957 as the first line in Germany on a 380 kV circuit. A conversion of further lines leading to Rommerskirchen to 380 kV was foreseeable with the constant expansion of capacities in the surrounding lignite power stations.

Construction of the facility

Overhead line to Maasbracht and the Düren – Jülich railway line used to deliver transformers in 1976

The current substation was finally built in 1964 in order to feed the electrical energy that was generated in the western district around the Hambach, Inden and Zukunft opencast mines into the high-voltage network with a voltage of 380 kV. The Rommerskirchen – Weisweiler line was split and looped into the switchgear separately from both ends. In the same year, the Uchtelfangen substation went into operation at the 380 kV level in Saarland , so that a ring of 380 kV lines was created over the newly created connection Oberzier – Niederstedem – Uchtelfangen– Bürstadt , which powers the power stations of the Rhenish district, the Saarland coal-fired power stations and the Vianden power station at the new high voltage level. In the course of the commissioning of this high-voltage ring network, RWE also included the hydropower plants in Switzerland in this network by converting the second circuit of the Rommerskirchen – Hoheneck line and one circuit of the Hoheneck– Herbertingen - Tiengen line from 220 kV to 380 kV .

With the construction of a nationwide 380 kV network in the Netherlands , which also began in the 1960s, a network coupling between the German and Dutch extra-high voltage networks was planned. In 1967 the construction of a cross-border connection between the RWE and the NV Samenwerkende Elektriciteits-Productiebedrijven (SNP) in Maasbracht was agreed. The connection to the RWE network should be guaranteed via Oberzier. In contrast to all other lines that lead into the plant from the south, the line coming from the Netherlands reaches it from the north-west.

In the 1970s, the substation was expanded several times and new overhead lines were connected:

  • A combined 380/220/110 kV line, which was completed in 1973, was to serve as a second feed from the Weisweiler power plant - probably via the transformer station of the former future power plant - to Oberzier. However, it was not built to its full length and only put into operation with two 110 kV circuits. This line leaves the substation first in a south to south-east direction, then swings to the south-west and meets the BAB 4 west of Arnoldsweiler . From the Talbenden substation, the line took up two more 110 kV circuits and followed the motorway to Hoven , from where a four-circuit 110 kV line continued to the Mariaweiler substation.
  • Another new 380 kV line was built from 1978 to supply the Hambach opencast mine with its gigantic machinery , which was then being developed . This is designed for four circuits, but so far only has three circuits. A 380/30 kV substation was built on the southwestern edge of the opencast mine, where three 200 MVA transformers feed into the approx. 350 km long 30 kV supply network of the opencast mine. In 1980 the power supply to the opencast mine went into operation.

In 2003, the subsidiary RWE Transportnetz Strom GmbH took over the facility along with the entire RWE transmission network. Since 2009, as an independent company, it has been called Amprion and is responsible for the 380 and 220 kV lines in the former RWE network. The 110 kV network has been operated since 2003 by the RWE subsidiary Rhein-Ruhr Distribution Network , which became a co-founder of Westnetz on January 1, 2013 .

modernization

Until 2023 Template: future / in 3 years, the plant will be completely modernized for around 50 million euros while operations continue, this is also taking place with regard to the construction of the converter station at the Oberzier location. Foundations, busbars and steel structures have been renewed and the system area increased since spring 2016, and the first new transformer was put into operation in autumn 2015. A second new 350 MVA transformer was delivered on Friday, October 13, 2017 and is scheduled to go into operation by August 2018.

The line from Rommerskirchen to Weisweiler runs right through the extension area of ​​the Hambach opencast mine and must therefore be relocated. In 2017, a replacement route from Rommerskirchen to the Oberzier – Sechtem line near Blatzheim was built for this purpose and looped into the existing line there. This line has been in operation since 2018, which means that the old line has been taken out of service. However, it has not yet been dismantled (as of 10/2019). Dismantling is planned in the course of 2020.

The plan is to expand the line to Sechtem in the Oberzier – Blatzheim section from two to four 380 kV circuits, for which new masts will have to be built, as the Danube masts currently in use are only designed for two circuits. Instead of the branch that was put into operation in 2018 as a temporary solution, both circuits of the line coming from Paffendorf will lead to the Oberzier substation, so that the same condition as before the old line to Rommerskirchen, now on a changed route, will be restored. The exact route of this line has not yet been determined (March 2020).

Converter station

Converter hall under construction

So far there has been no direct line connection between the German and Belgian power grids. The 100 km long direct current connection ALEGrO ( A achen L üttich E lectricity Gr id O verlay ) planned as underground cable between Oberzier and the Belgian substation Lixhe of the network operator Elia is intended to improve the security of supply as the first direct connection. Commissioning is planned for the end of 2020. The Oberzier location was chosen because of the better connection to the German transmission network and better performance. Therefore, the substation is currently (2019) being expanded to include a converter station:

In May 2019, the floor slab for the 6500 m 2 converter hall was poured. The hall should protect the sensitive technology consisting of transistors, diodes, capacitors and coils from the effects of the weather. In June the first of the four transformers, each weighing 260 tons, was delivered with a special transporter. Three of the transformers are intended for daily operation, one serves as a reserve. The shell of the converter hall was completed in autumn 2019. Then the interior fittings of the building technology and the power electronics take place. The control cabinets have already been tested in advance at the Siemens plant in Erlangen , where they are now being dismantled and reassembled in Oberzier. During normal operation, the converter station is to be remote-controlled from the Amprion headquarters in Rommerskirchen and Brauweiler.

technology

technical structure

The system is divided into three areas - one switchgear each for 380 kV and 110 kV as well as a converter station (under construction as of 2019) to convert the three-phase current from the public network into direct current for the HVDC connection to Belgium. The 380 kV switchgear makes up the largest part of the plant, it comprises 19 switch panels with five busbars, eleven of which lead off as overhead lines, five serve as a reserve and two are connected to the 110 kV system via power transformers .

The switchgear for 110 kV has seven switchgear panels with two busbars, two of which lead off as overhead lines and two more as earth cables - the latter were also designed as overhead lines; as part of the construction of the HVDC converter station, this was replaced in 2019 by a circuit around the system installed underground cable replaced. Two further switch panels are connected to the transformers, another serves as a reserve.

In addition to the electrical systems, there are also some factory buildings and a material store on the eastern edge. Unlike most of the other large substations built at the time, the facility in Oberzier has neither a rail connection for transformer transport nor a radio relay tower . The Jülich – Düren railway line is still used today to deliver the power transformers , with the freight being unloaded at the Krauthausen stop and brought to the nearby substation by heavy goods vehicles.

Overhead lines

A total of six independent overhead line routes lead to the Oberzier substation, one of which was decommissioned in 2018. Of the circuits in operation, eleven are operated with 380 kV voltage and four with 110 kV. With the exception of the two 110 kV circuits leading to the northwest, they are all designed as overhead lines . The former were originally designed as overhead lines, but were replaced by an underground cable during the construction of the converter station.

The line to the Weisweiler power plant and on to the Verlautenheide substation was rerouted in 2010 due to the expansion of the Inden opencast mine and now runs over the pylons already prepared for 380 kV along the A4 near Düren . Originally both circuits ended in the substation of the Weisweiler power station, a single-circuit continuation to the Verlautenheide substation was completed in 1999.

Until 2018, a 380 kV circuit coming from Rommerskirchen led through the Oberzier substation to Maasbracht without having a connection to the system. When the line to Rommerskirchen was decommissioned, this circuit was relocated to the south of the substation above the terminal masts of the line mentioned, so that it flows into a switchgear panel from the south.

Network operator tension Name of the circuit Route
(site
number)
Destination / station Construction year Cardinal
direction
Amprion logo.svg
Amprion
380 kV Kirchberg South 4529 Siersdorf 1967 South → northwest
Selfkant white Maasbracht (NL) northwest
Weisweiler North 4107 Weisweiler power station → Weisweiler station 1973, 2010 south
Weisweiler South
Selhausen West 4527 DahlemNiederstedem 1960
Selhausen East
Real north 4100 Real 1975
Real south
Self-edge white (out of order) 4514 Paffendorf → Rommerskirchen station 1950s
Oberzier Süd (out of service)
Hambach 1a 4152 Hambach 1978
Hambach 2b
Hambach 3c
Western network 110 kV
Mountain east Underground cables Daubenrath → Siersdorf 1967 west
Alleviate east Daubenrath → Jülich
Mariaweiler West 4107 Talbenden → Mariaweiler 1973 south
Mariaweiler East

Web links

Commons : Umspannanlage Oberzier  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. T. Horstmann, K. Kleinekorte: electricity for Europe - 75 years RWE main control Brauweiler 1928-2003 . Klartext-Verlag, Essen 2003, ISBN 978-3-898-61255-5 , p. 93
  2. a b Transformer heavy transports to Krauthausen , Eisenbahn-Amateur-Klub Jülich eV (EAKJ)
  3. a b c d Amprion: New construction of the 380 kV high voltage overhead line substation Oberzier - Point Blatzheim, p. 4236: Documents for the spatial planning procedure. Retrieved August 5, 2020 .
  4. ^ Bruce A. Kennedy: Surface Mining, Second Edition . Society for Mining, Metallurgy and Exploration, Inc. 1990, p. 1085
  5. Aachener Zeitung of June 29, 2015: Amprion is investing 50 million euros in the Oberzier substation. Retrieved April 4, 2017 .
  6. Aachener Zeitung of October 11, 2015: New transformer travels to the Oberzier substation. Retrieved October 13, 2017 .
  7. Amprion: Project description of the Oberzier substation - Blatzheim point. Retrieved October 17, 2019 .
  8. The construction of the converter hall in Oberzier is taking shape. In: Aachener Nachrichten. May 4, 2019, accessed December 22, 2019 .
  9. Jörg Abels: The first “Alegro” transformer reaches Oberzier. In: Aachener Nachrichten. June 13, 2019, accessed December 22, 2019 .
  10. Jörg Abels: A “mobile phone power supply” for 500,000 households. In: Aachener Nachrichten. October 18, 2019, accessed December 22, 2019 .
  11. Municipality of Inden: Announcement, approval procedure for 110/380 kV line Weisweiler – Oberzier, p. 4107. Retrieved on April 4, 2017 .