With the growth in intermittent renewable generation and a reduction in thermal power, Italy’s electricity grid required additional inertia and reactive power. Grid operator Terna commissioned GE to install two synchronous condensers and flywheel at the Brindisi substation in the Apulia region of southern Italy. Each synchronous condenser unit will supply reactive power of up to +250/-125 MVAr and 1750 MWs of inertia to support grid stability.

The system is designed to quickly regulate the energy parameters of the transmission network, generate or absorb reactive energy, regulate the voltage and improve the energy factor, and increase the overall inertia of the power grid.

Under the contract announced in May 2020, GE will install two electrical two-pole generators, step-up transformers, and generator circuit breakers, as well as all the electrical and mechanical auxiliaries. A 20-year maintenance agreement has also been signed.

This is one of a number of similar projects combining synchronous condensers and flywheels commissioned by Terna in recent years in order to stabilise the Italian electricity grid through the energy transition.

Terna has ordered four 250 MVAr other synchronous condenser units from GE at the Selargius and Maida plants in Sardinia and Calabria, while two 160 MVAr synchronous condensers have been operating at the Favara and Partinico Terna substations in Sicily since 2015.