For more detailed background information about the Solar Tsunamis Injection Campaigns, please see the post about our first Injection Campaign, conducted in January 2023.
The second injection campaign took place in early January 2025 using the High Voltage DC link (HVDC) and the substation earth grid at Haywards, Wellington. The team members present included Andrew Lapthorn, Stewart Hardie, and Soren Subritzky from the University of Canterbury (UC); Craig Rodger from the University of Otago (UO); Mark Clilverd from the British Antarctic Survey (BAS); and Mike Dalzell and Lydia Smith from Transpower.
The team injected over 700 amps of DC current into the grid during four periods of 1-2 hours duration over the course of a week, using High Voltage DC converters as the source of current. Power quality monitoring was set up on a 3-phase transformer in Haywards, and a 3-phase transformer in nearby Wilton substation. Similar neutral-ground currents were measured at the transformers at both sites. Complementary scientific equipment was also installed around the substations by UC and BAS. These included very low-frequency radio receivers, vibration sensors, and microphones. These comprehensive datasets are now being analysed, and valuable insights into New Zealand’s high-voltage power grid resilience to the effects of solar storms are anticipated.
Above: Mike Dalzell and Craig Rodger at Haywards.
Below: Left – Mark Clilverd and Mike Dalzell with a VLF receiver. Right – Andrew Lapthorn, Stewart Hardie, Lydia Smith and Soren Subritzky installing sound and vibration sensors at the three-phase unit WIL T8.
