The initial 160 MW HVDC Cross-Channel link (IFA 160) was decommissioned in 1984 after operating for more than two decades between Lydd in Kent and Echinghen near Boulogne-sur-Mer. Decommissioning was driven by rising electricity demand in both countries and the limitations and outage‑prone nature of the aging mercury-arc valve equipment, and it cleared the way for construction of a higher-capacity thyristor-based replacement interconnector.
The original HVDC Cross-Channel interconnector, a 160 MW mercury-arc valve link between Lydd in Kent, England and Échinghen near Boulogne-sur-Mer, France, was commissioned in 1961 and entered full commercial operation as the first HVDC submarine transmission scheme between the two countries, enabling bidirectional power exchange between their asynchronous grids.
Installation of the initial HVDC Cross-Channel link’s 45 km undersea cable between Lydd in Kent, England, and Echinghen near Boulogne-sur-Mer in France was completed in 1961, establishing a 100 kV, 160 MW monopolar mercury-arc valve HVDC interconnector across the English Channel. The surface-laid cable, built following a 1955 construction award to ASEA, enabled the first operational HVDC submarine transmission scheme between the UK and France.
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The HVDC Cross-Channel (original 1961 scheme) was an early submarine high-voltage direct-current interconnector built to enable electricity transfers between the United Kingdom and continental Europe. Commissioned in 1961, the original installation had a maximum transmission rating of 160 MW and ...
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Anglo‑French 160 MW cross‑channel interconnector, IFA 160, Cross‑Channel 160 MW HVDC
Construction of the initial 160 MW HVDC Cross-Channel link between Lydd in Kent and Echinghen near Boulogne-sur-Mer was awarded to ASEA (later ABB) in 1955, selecting the company to supply and build the mercury-arc valve HVDC converter equipment and associated infrastructure for this pioneering submarine interconnector.
During its operational life from 1961 to the mid‑1980s, the 160 MW HVDC Cross-Channel link between Lydd in Kent and Échinghen near Boulogne-sur-Mer suffered frequent unplanned outages, as its surface-laid submarine cable was repeatedly taken out of service due to damage from fishing trawls and anchors, and its aging mercury-arc valve equipment became increasingly prone to failures from valve wear. These recurring loss-of-service events highlighted reliability limitations of the original mercury‑arc and surface‑laid cable design and contributed to the eventual decision to replace the scheme with a higher-capacity thyristor-based interconnector.
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