CESI: “human-style” towers for CASA – 1000 project

CESI  has agreed with the TSO of Tajikistan, Barqi Tojik, and the relevant Project Implementation Unit of the Ministry of Energy, to develop and design a new family of “human-style” towers for the CASA 1000 project. CESI is involved as Owner Engineer in the implementation of the project. CASA-1000 is an electrical interconnection between Central and South Asia, based on the application of the HVDC technology.  The project includes the construction of two electrode stations, in Vhaksh for Tajikistan and in Charsadda for Pakistan. In addition to the main parts, the construction of converter stations with a rating of 1300 MW +/- 500 kV in Sangtuda – Tajikistan and  Nowshera – Pakistan, and the 800 km HVDC line for the interconnection of the two converter stations are included. In particular, the Vhaksh electrode station is connected to the Sangtuda main converter station with an electrode line of about 25 km. For a section of this electrode line, it has been agreed to build the new family of “human-style” towers.  Throughout its experience in the field of Power grids, CESI managed the design of these special towers in cooperation with Kalpataru, the EPC Contractor of the transmission line.

The “human-style” tower, called “Humelec”,  is a combination of the existing tower body, already design and installed along the line, with the top part outline similar to a human being.

The Humelec tower is a suspension tower and is designed fulfilling all the prescriptions of the Technical Specification of the CASA-1000 Project. Moreover, the human shape is realized adopting the same materials of the other sections of the electrode line. This solution is envisaged to avoid the introduction of new components and to allow the use of the same foundations of the normal towers, with no extra costs for the project.

The modularity of the stylized human shape for the head of the tower allows for the creation of different figures. In this way, it is possible to arrange a sequence of towers that simulates a rhythmic movement of the body: the dancing towers of Tajikistan!