Entry no.2 - Hillsboro TS (Transmission Substation)

Followers 1

Entry posted by TakemeThere · February 20, 2015

2,531 Views

Hydro corridors in general seem to be an under utilized feature of the game. In fact they're so ubiquitous and quite frankly not all that interesting to look at in real life, that few of us even notice or pay any attention to them. I get the feeling that most SC4 players, not necessarily on this site but in general, view placing power lines as little more than a nuance. However, its actually one of my favorite things to do - running numerous hydro corridors throughout the entire region. In some cases right through heavily urbanized areas. In addition some of my favorite structures in the region are electrical/transmission substations.

Take for instance the Hillsboro transmission substation. It's not the largest in the region, which is about 3 times its size, but it was the first one I made and its one of the most vital pieces of infrastructure in all of Pretoria. Power lines are just as important/vital as any major highway or rail line.

Hillsboro TS is the primary power distribution node for the Middle East borough and maintains system voltages on no less than 4 separate hydro corridors. All lines to & from the substation are 250kV AC(common long distance power line voltage on Azura) except for the local LC connection which is stepped down to 25kV. Located in Lindin City, it helps to regulate the power flow along the Hardack, Mildread, Tauon & Transcontinental hydro corridors. The amount of power saved from distribution loses is almost equal to the amount of power used by Lindin City and about 50% of the power used by the entire region flows through here.

For reference, here's the location of Lindin City(in red) and the boroughs of the region:

Hillsboro TS is located near the geographical center of the city which is a fair distance away from the urban center of the city located in the south east corner.

Electricity always flows into Hillsoboro TS from the Hardack line(southeast) which originates from the South Shore borough, the location of multiple generators including the largest power plant in the region. Conversely electricity always flows outward on the Tauon line(west) towards Central and the downtown area of the region. Electricity normally flows outward on the Transcontinental(north east) & Mildread(southeast then east) but occasionally is reversed.

Average peak period power flow in and out of Hillsboro TS in 2014:

2,475MW is enough power to supply the needs of 1.2 million people(peak hours consumption) or about half of Pretoria's population. Bunch of power hogs that they are.

time to show the substation itself:

The framework tower/lattice mast is a 556ft tall structure that the PRPA( Pretoria Regional Power Authority) built to update its communication systems to the station. It's vital that communication is maintain with Hillsboro TS from multiple locations at all times. If you read the initial post you may recall I mentioned that one distinct technological difference is the communication/telecommunication network. Basically microwave transmitting is the state of the art method of communication in Azura/Pretoria.

The cityscape is inundated with dozens of these towers, some of which are amongst the tallest structures in the entire region. I'm actually quite fascinated with these structures myself. Truth be told, I consider their exposed metal exoskeletons(of the larger more intricate structures) to be works of art - yes I'm a strange one

This particular structure is based off a microwave transmission tower belonging to bell canada:

The tower was recently repainted for rust proofing purposes. Locals now refer to it simply as Tower Black:

A few last closeups of the transformers:

As in real life, the hydro corridor has been clear cut with vegetation growth kept to a minimum:

The Hardack and Mildread lines both run southeast from the station before they separate in the middle of the Trueno river. Keep in mind power flows to Hillsboro TS from the Hardack line and away from it on the Mildread line.

View of the power lines as they cross the Trueno river:

I made some modifications to the hydro corridor here by separating the Hardac(2) & Mildread(1) power lines. In IRL when two hydro corridors meet the lines don't just combine into one tower as was the case before at this spot.