The transformer arrived Bjerkreim Substation at 1 am Thursday 11 October.
Statnett Transport was in charge of yesterday’s leg from Egersund to Bjerkreim, carrying the transformer on a specially designed transport trailer. Two tractors were used to pull the heavy load over the heathland to the Bjerkreim substation. With the two tractors in front, the convoy increased to 132 wheels, with a total weight of 478 tonnes and a total length of 85 metres.
“We would like to thank all the patient drivers on the roads around here yesterday. The land transportation went very well,” said Ove Lieng, Project Manager at Statnett Transport.
The transformer was manufactured by Siemens (Koncar) in Zagreb, Croatia. From there, the first part of the trip was by train to Bratislava in Slovakia, where the transformer was loaded onto barges on the Danube River for further transport to Schiedam in Rotterdam in the Netherlands. The transformer was then transferred to Statnett Transport’s ship Elektron II, which made the crossing to Egersund. Low water levels in the Danube delayed the journey, and the trip lasted all the way from 2 August until last night.
“I am very pleased to have the first transformer here in Bjerkreim,” said Statnett’s project manager Even Vandbakk. “There will be two transformers here, and they will convert the voltage level from 300 to 132 kilovolts. They are absolutely necessary to be able to supply consumers with the power produced by the wind turbines planned for the area. In addition, the substation will be important for securing the local power supply when Lyse Elnett builds new regional network facilities here.
The second of the two transformers that Statnett will install in Bjerkreim is also on the way. It is scheduled to arrive at the substation in late October.”