The Nelson River Bipole is a system of two HVDC lines in Manitoba, operated by Manitoba Hydro. They transfer the electric power generated by several hydroelectric power stations along the Nelson River in Northern Manitoba across the wilderness to the populated areas in the south.
The system includes two rectifier stations: Radisson Converter Station near Gillam and Henday Converter Station near Sundance , one inverter station: Dorsey Converter Station at Rosser (26 km from Winnipeg), and two sets of high-voltage direct current transmission lines, each with two parallel overhead conductors to carry the positive and negative feeds.
Bipole 1
Bipole 1 runs 895 km from Radisson to Dorsey. It is rated to run at a maximum Potential difference of 450 kilovolts and a maximum power of 1620 megawatts. When it was built between March 1971 and October 1977, mercury arc valves were used to rectify the alternating current. In 1993 the mercury arc valves of one pole were replaced with thyristors, increasing the maximum power and voltage of the line to its current levels.
Bipole 2
Bipole 2 runs 937 km from Henday to Dorsey. Bipole 2 can transfer a maximum power of 1800 MW at a potential of 500 kV. Bipole 2 was put into service in two stages. After the first stage in 1978 the maximum transmission rate was 900 MW at 250 kV, which increased to its present figure when it was completed in 1985. Unlike Radisson station, Henday station has always been equipped with thyristors.
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