Red Eléctrica de España has completed the repowering of the 400 kilovolt (kV) line and 70 kilometres between the substations in Castelnou (Teruel) and Peñaflor, in Villamayor de Gállego (Zaragoza) – both located in the region of Aragón.

Repowering means increasing the transmission power capacity of a line without building new infrastructure or modifying the existing layout of the line. In this case, the works consisted in increasing, around 4 and 5 meters, the height of 13 of the 163 towers that make up the route of the transmission line, reinforcing the tower foundations and adapting the tension of the conductor cables. With these actions, it has been possible to increase the transmission power capacity of the line by 30%, which will facilitate, in particular, the evacuation of the electrical energy generated by the wind farms located in the vicinity of the Ebro valley.

With a budget of 1.2 million euros, the repowering of this electricity transmission line, contemplated in the 2015-2020 Electricity Transmission Grid Development Planning drafted by the Ministry of Energy, Tourism and the Digital Agenda, is encompassed within the programme that is being included in the different development plans regarding the transmission grid. These actions aim to improve and optimize existing infrastructure efficiently, with minimal impact on the territory and reducing the non-availability of these assets while work is performed. In addition, they allow other improvements to be made, such as installing bird-saving devices.

Red Eléctrica de España has been carrying out this repowering programme for more than 15 years. During this time, more than 5,000 km of 220 kV and 400 kV line circuit has been repowered nationwide allowing the overall the transmission power capacity to increase by more than 20,000 megawatts.

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