Colombia’s ISA Transelca taps Smart Wires for advanced power flow control tech

Power grid tech developer Smart Wires has announced delivery of a second large-scale project with Colombian transmission company ISA Transelca to unlock grid capacity.

The deal will see Smart Wires deliver their SmartValve advanced power flow control (APFC) solution to with ISA Transelca in the Atlántico region of northern Colombia.

The APFC installation will be carried out across five 220kV circuits and is expected to unlock over 300MW of additional transmission capacity in 2024.

According to Smart Wires in a release, Colombia’s Atlántico region is set to experience substantial growth in electricity demand, with 1.5GW of wind and solar generation already approved for connection. This is significantly increasing power flows on transmission circuits in the area and was predicted to cause overloads on multiple circuits, especially in contingency scenarios.

ISA Transelca proposed deploying SmartValves to resolve congestion on the 220kV circuits. The national planning agency, UPME, selected Smart Wires’ APFC solution as the preferred option and included it in the national expansion plan.

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According to Smart Wires, SmartValve is an APFC solution that quickly solves grid bottlenecks and other grid issues to create extra capacity and support optimised use of the existing grid.

A single-phase, modular static synchronous series compensator, the solution injects a voltage in quadrature with the line current to synthesise a capacitive or inductive reactance. This means it can push power off overloaded lines or pull power onto underutilised lines.

By deploying SmartValves across five circuits at two sites to push power off overloaded circuits and onto circuits with spare capacity, says Smart Wires, ISA Transelca can unlock over 300MW of extra capacity on the existing grid to support the connection of new renewable energy generation and improve the utilisation of capacity on new infrastructure in the area.

Said Joaquin Peirano, general manager for the Americas at Smart Wires: “Our collaboration with ISA Transelca exemplifies how strategic investments in APFC can optimise grid capabilities and expedite the adoption of renewable energy.

“Following the successful completion of the CO-COST project [with ISA Transelca] last year, this new project leverages our partnership to bring reliable, scalable solutions to address the challenges of modern energy distribution.”

As part of the project, the SmartValves at the Nueva Barranquilla substation are housed indoors to provide a durable solution in a highly corrosive environment caused by proximity to heavy industry and the sea.

According to Smart Wires, this indoor deployment is made possible due to the flexibility of SmartValve, which means that the layout can be optimised for the space available.

Smart Wires has been active in Colombia for the past five years, starting with a pilot project with Empresas Públicas de Medellín (EPM) in 2021 and followed by multiple large-scale projects with EPM, Enlaza-GEB, and ISA Transelca.

These projects, says the company, have already helped unlock over 1.2GW of firm transmission capacity, improving access to electricity.