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ABB OPENS ERA OF POWER SUPERHIGHWAYS
27 February 2007 - ABB Automation Technologies
| ABB has officially opened the world's first installation for testing the technology of energy-efficient power superhighways. The testing facility in Ludvika, Sweden will allow long-term testing of direct current rated at 800 kilovolts, marking another first for ABB, which pioneered high-voltage direct current systems more than 50 years ago. The last voltage increase in HVDC systems occurred 20 years ago when ABB built a transmission line rated at 600 kV for Brazil's Itaipu hydroelectric power plant, a world record. |
One of the main aims of the project was to develop a new bushing for 800 kV.
ultra high-voltage direct current transmission systems rated at 800 kV will make it viable to produce electricity in remote regions of China, India, Brazil and Africa, where vast hydropower resources remain untapped. An UHVDC link 2,000 kilometers (1,240 miles) long is 30 percent cheaper, partly because it reduces electricity losses by 30 percent compared with 500 kV DC or 800 kV alternating current technology. "ABB's technology will enable some of the most populous regions in the world to pursue rapid economic development with lower environmental impact," said Bernhard Jucker, head of ABB's Power Products division. The ultra high-voltage direct current test site in Ludvika, Sweden.
China and India are set to be the main users of the new technology as seek to secure reliable power supplies. India plans to build five ultra high-voltage DC lines over the next ten years, each with a capacity of 6,000 megawatts; China is planning one line every year for the next decade, each with a capacity of 5,000 MW to 6,400 MW. Based on average electricity consumption per capita, a 6,400 MW UHVDC link could provide enough power to meet the needs of about 50 million people in India, and 14 million in China. There are also plans to install 800 kV UHVDC lines in southern Africa and in Brazil. "Because power is often generated far from consumers, there is all over the world an increasing need to be able to transmit large amounts of electricity over long distances," said Per Haugland, global manager of ABB's Grid Systems business unit, at the inauguration in Ludvika. "By increasing the voltage level of the transmission, considerable advantages for the environment are gained, such as decreased losses and smaller transmission line highways." The test site represents ABB’s third historical milestone in the development of high-voltage direct-current technology. These are: 1954: ABB delivers the world’s first HVDC commercial installation – a link between the island of Gotland and the Swedish mainland.
1997: ABB introduces HVDC Light, a transmission technology with unique advantages through full reactive and active power control.
2006: ABB opens installation to test 800 kV UHVDC. The test site will operate at 850 kV DC, and test equipment like: a transformer prototype, transformer bushing, wall bushing, bypass breaker, surge arrester, smoothing reactor, voltage divider, RI-capacitor, disconnector, optical link and post insulators.
http://www.abb.com
About: ABB Automation Technologies
ABB is a leader in power and automation technologies that enable utility and industry customers to improve performance while lowering environmental impact. The ABB Group of companies operates in around 100 countries and employs around 105,000 people.
ABB has streamlined its divisional structure to focus on two core businesses: Power Technologies and Automation Technologies. The Oil, Gas and Petrochemicals division is slated for divestment. ABB Power Technologies serves electric, gas and water utilities as well as industrial and commercial customers, with a broad range of products, systems and services for power transmission, distribution and automation. ABB Automation Technologies blends a robust product and service portfolio with end-user expertise and global presence to deliver solutions for control, motion, protection, and plant integration across the full range of process and utility industries. In addition to ABB's automation activities directed at the oil and gas industries, ABB Lummus Global continues to design and supply production facilities, refineries and petrochemical plants. ABB's former Upstream business, divested in July 2004, is now part of Vetco International (www.vetco.com). |
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