Red Electrica Installs Spain's First 400-kV Cable System

摘要

Redevelopment leads Red Electrica de Espafia to replace a double-circuit, 400-kV transmission line with XLPE-insulated cables in a prefabricated concrete tunnel at the Madrid Airport. Spain's Madrid Barajas Airport is being redeveloped with the construction of two new runways, terminal and satellite areas. Overhead lines in close proximity to airports are regulated by law, because the towers and conductors present a hazard to aircraft takeoff and landing routes and can cause radio electric interference with automatic navigation systems (LLZ, GP and ILS). The transmission system operated by the Spanish utility Red Electrica de Espana (REE) included a double-circuit, 400-kV overhead transmission line located within the area to be developed. This circuit plays an important role in the transmission system, because it closes the 400-kV ring around the Madrid metropolitan area; at the same time, it links generation areas in northwest Spain to high-demand areas located in the Mediterranean area east of Madrid. To eliminate future interference with airport operations, a 12.2-km (7.6-mile) section of the 400-kV transmission line had to be placed underground. Alternative solutions were considered, and although an overhead line would have been the most economical, it was unfeasible to find a suitable route close to Madrid because the land is scheduled for development and acquiring the right-of way would have been very difficult and time-consuming.