LONGEST POWER TRANSMISSION LINE IN THE WORLD

Yup, you read it right. This is about the World's Longest Overhead Transmission Line as of today. It is around 1700 km in length, transmitting power of 560 MW. Interestingly enough it its transmission voltage is 500 kV dc, mainly due its relatively long distance.

Inga-Kolwezi Lines Route

The Inga-Kolwezi Link, formerly known as the Inga-Kolwezi link has the distinction of being the World's Longest Transmission Lines. It is a line linking the Inga hydroelectric complex at the mouth of the Congo River to mineral fields in Shaba (Katanga) in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

The world's longest transmission lines were completed and dedicated in 1982, following an almost 10 years of planning and construction. It is believed that it cost around $1.3 billion, duly exceeding its initial budget of $250 million.

The variation in the cost could be attributed to the difficulty in terrain and other technical aspects of the project. According to an ABB paper, due to the extreme length of the transmission lines and the difficult logistics along the route, it was decided to build two mono polar lines with four switching stations. The converter stations were built so that the two converter poles can be operated in parallel with ground return, in case of a mono polar line outage.

There were insinuations though that a large part of the variance in cost could be explained by suggestions that well-placed officials in the Mobutu government (in the former Zaire) may have accepted gratuities at various critical junctures during the construction phase. But is another issue though, and most if not all of transmission lines engineers who’ve been in projects most likely know on the probability and reality of these types of scenario. :)

Hydroelectric Dam on the Congo River at Inga Falls

This remarkable project is not only significant to the Country of Congo, but for the continent of Africa as a whole. Sure it gave them the distinction of having the world’s longest transmission lines to date. But more importantly, the fact an energy source is harnessed and an availability of substantial amount of power truly comes in handy. Construction of the Inga–Shaba Project provided the Ministry of Energy and the Société nationale d'électricité (SNEL), with the means to promote further development activity throughout Zaire, by attracting potential investors and overseas firms.

Finally, in a world energy report in 2007 by A. Clerici of Italy, it is found out that the continent of Africa has 14% of the world’s population. Yet, it only accounts for 3% of the world’s energy consumption. With only 7% of its hydro-potential of 230GW being explored, much is still needed to be done. Much is still needed to be done by us, Engineers. :)

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