NOK 160 million has been contributed by Statoil towards upgrading the electricity transmission network which supplies power to the town of Hammerfest.
Statoil’s contribution has covered about 80 per cent of total construction costs, with the actual upgrading and expansion work carried out by Hammerfest Energi.
This work has been carried out to ensure that the local system functions as a reserve for the Hammerfest LNG plant on Melkøya, which will normally be self-sufficient in electricity.
“We need a secure back-up in case we suffer a power failure,” explains Knut Ivar Pedersen, who headed Statoil’s involvement in the upgrading project.
“Given the levels of power we’ll be consuming, the only solution was to build a new transmission line and improve the existing network.”
Together with Hammerfest Energi, the local power utility, Statoil has upgraded one of the two existing transmission lines linking the town to the Skaidi hub from 66 kilovolts to 132.
The second 66-kilovolt line has been replaced by a new 132 kilovolt installation.
While the upgraded line has a capacity of 120 megawatts, the new transmission system can handle 250.
A new transformer station at Kvalsund, upgrading and modification of the Hammerfest transformer station and expansion of the Skaidi switching station also form part of the project.
This work will also benefit the residents of Hammerfest because the new line will be more secure and stable than the old one, Mr Pedersen notes.
“That improves the quality of the town’s power supply, which can now be provided by just one operational line even on the coldest winter day.”