19.01.2024.
The long-awaited project for the development of the Croatian power system – the Lika Project – is finally moving into implementation, with Dalekovod Projekt d.o.o. participating in cooperation with eminent partners in the field of environmental protection. The project will significantly strengthen Croatia’s transmission network, enhancing its operational security and reliability, while enabling further large-scale growth in the construction and integration of new renewable energy sources.
Currently, the existing transmission grid is heavily congested, particularly along the north-south corridors and the line toward Zagreb. This situation limits the ability to develop and integrate new renewable energy sources and reduces the overall security and reliability of the transmission system.
Moreover, the Lika Project will, for the first time in this region, introduce high-voltage transmission lines capable of supporting direct current transmission (so-called HVDC systems), presenting a major challenge for the designers at Dalekovod Projekt. The last project of such scale and complexity in the region was the construction of the 400 kV Nikola Tesla ring in the 1970s.
The Lika Project includes the construction of the new 400/x kV Lika substation, the 400 kV Veleševec switching station, new 400 kV line bays at Konjsko and Melina substations, as well as nearly 400 kilometers of new double-circuit 400 kV transmission lines (2x400 kV Konjsko–Lika, 2x400 kV Lika–Melina, and 2x400 kV Lika–Tumbri/Veleševec). The large number of facilities, wide geographical coverage, relatively short implementation deadlines, and applicable legal framework all represent an extraordinary challenge for all participants.
Dalekovod Projekt experts are tasked with preparing the conceptual designs of the 400 kV transmission lines – a complex and demanding process that includes surveying the entire route and creating a 3D model, visualizing key locations using augmented reality technology, defining the position and statics of each transmission tower, and more – all to be completed within just 11 months.
Although the Lika Project was initially launched in 2018, when HOPS commissioned a Feasibility Study (in which Dalekovod Projekt also participated), the past four years were devoted to preparations for its continuation. The first implementation phase of the Lika Project, worth nearly EUR 5 million, covers the preparation of conceptual designs and Environmental Impact Studies, with a projected duration of five years.