Hitachi Energy will power the second stage of Transpower’s grid transformation project on New Zealand’s North Island at the Ōtāhuhu substation in Auckland.
Hitachi’s advanced STATCOM technology will provide stability and voltage control to the North Island electric grid, as demand for clean energy accelerates due to the electrification of industry and transportation, data centers, and population growth.
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Transpower owns and operates the national grid in New Zealand, where electricity usage is forecast to grow by approximately 70% by 2050. Innovative technologies like STATCOM are required to keep up with load growth and maintain system resilience while paving the way for more renewable energy integration.
The second grid stability device, a ±150MVAr STATCOM, will be provided by Hitachi Energy at the Ōtāhuhu substation, which is a major node of high-voltage electricity lines and related infrastructure. STATCOM is an innovative technology that uses power electronics to provide variable reactive power in response to voltage variations, supporting the grid’s stability while the energy mix evolves.
“Voltage control in this region is a growing challenge due to the retirement of fossil-fueled generation, a reduction in system inertia, and the real projected growth in demand for electricity,” Transpower executive general manager grid development Matt Webb explained.
“Since we began work on stage one of this project in 2021, the speed of change in the electricity landscape in the North Island has increased with greater electrification of industry and transportation, new data centers, and major new residential developments. All these factors have combined to trigger this investment sooner than originally anticipated.”
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The installation of the Ōtāhuhu Dynamic Reactive Plant (DRP) follows Hitachi Energy’s successful commissioning of the Hamilton DRP, also a ±150MVAr STATCOM, as part of the Waikato Upper North Island Voltage Management project. The Hamilton DRP, operational since July 2023, was the first site to deploy a STATCOM technology solution in New Zealand at this scale.
Webb said, “The Ōtāhuhu STATCOM provides much-needed voltage support, which enables us to deliver power over relatively long transmission lines into Auckland, our largest metropolitan area.”
