Dzhankeldy Wind Power Project

Figure 2-27 Typical Foundation Dimension for 500kV Tower 
Foundation FK-4 
Foundation F5-Amk 
C
ONDUCTORS 
&
 
W
IRES
 
It is anticipated that each 500kV tower supports three (3) phases and two (2) earthing wires 
that protect the line from lighting strike. 
Conductors 
Conductors are the wires used to carry electrical power. These wires/conductors are made of 
aluminium core steel reinforced and they are in large drums. The wires will be mounted on the 
towers and will consist of three (3) phases of five (5) conductors and two (2) earthing wires. 
There will be five wires in each of the three phases (i.e. there are three conductors each 
comprising of five wires). For 500kV transmission the wires will have a cross-section of 400mm.
The height of the wire at the towers is normally approximately 25m which drops to a minimum 
12.5m at the centre of the span. When crossing sensitive areas like roads, railway or agricultural 
land, the height at the centre of the span can be increased to 16m by adding additional 
sections to the base of the towers or by reducing the distance between the towers. 

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Dzhankeldy 500MW Wind Farm 
ESIA Volume 2- Main Text, Tables & Figures 
71 
Earthing Wire 
The earthing wires also called Optical Ground Wires (OPGW) combines the function of 
grounding and communications. It is anticipated that there will be two (2) earthing wires which 
will be connected to an isolator so in the event of a lightning strike, the electric shock effect 
will go through the closest isolator to the ground ensuring safety and protection. It is often run 
between the tops of high voltage electricity pylons with the conductive part bonding 
adjacent towers to the ground and shielding the high voltage conductors from lightning strikes.