Two new substations will host high voltage electrical networks, including seven transformers, to supply the ITER machine and some of its systems with power. F4E and Ferrovial Agroman will collaborate to design, install, commission and maintain the electrical networks.
We visited the ITER construction site the day the first transformers were delivered in order to capture the way the project is evolving. We interviewed Leonardo Zaccarelli, F4E’s engineer responsible for the implementation of this contract; Gilles Consolo, from the Electrical Division of ITER International Organization, and David Aspiazu, Ferrovial’s project manager.
A total power of 1200 MVA will be made available through a Pulsed Power Electrical Network (PPEN) and a Steady-State Electrical Network (SSEN). For example, the AC/DC converters, the Heating and Current Drive systems, and the Reactive Power Compensation will be supplied through the PPEN, whose high voltage components will come from China. Thanks to this electrical network, the ITER plasma will be heated and the powerful superconductive magnets will operate in order to confine it.
The major consumers of the SSEN, whose high voltage components will come from the US, will supply with power the cryogenic and cooling water systems, the tritium plant and the general infrastructures. This network will provide the power needed to generate the low temperatures for some of the components in the machine.
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