Onss Commissioned

In 1986, EDF commissioned a new 50 MW HVDC converter station at Lucciana on Corsica, adding a third terminal to the existing Sardinia-Corsica-mainland Italy (SACOI) HVDC link. The Lucciana station uses air-cooled, air-insulated thyristor valves in a 12-pulse arrangement and connects to the Corsican 90 kV AC network, enabling Corsica to draw 50 MW directly from the SACOI line that until then was a point-to-point monopolar link between San Dalmazio (Tuscany) and Codrongianos (Sardinia) using mercury-arc valves. The tap converted SACOI from a two-terminal to a three-terminal multi-terminal HVDC scheme — one of the world's first multi-terminal HVDC installations in commercial service. CGE Alstom (later Alsthom Atlantique) supplied the converter equipment for Lucciana. The 50 MW soutirage capability has been the foundation of Corsica's electrical interconnection with continental Europe ever since, contributing on average around 12% of Corsican electricity supply, and is now being renewed and uprated to 100 MW (with 150 MW available during SARCO outages) as part of the SACOI 3 replacement project planned for industrial commissioning in 2029. EDF SEI owns the Lucciana converter assets while Terna owns the submarine cables and aerial transport infrastructure.