Energy futuresABB in $70 million China power grid deal
China wants to accelerate the pace of electrifying its hinterland, and signs up a Swiss company in a $70 million power grid equipment deal — part of a $400 million package
Swiss company ABB has won a $70 million order for power equipment from State Grid Corporation of China for a new power link in northeastern China. The new HVDC (high-voltage, direct current) link will transmit 3,000 MW of power over 920 kilometer from Hulunbeir, in Inner Mongolia, to Shenyang in Liaoning province. The ABB order is part of a project with an estimated total value of $400 million. The new DC power transmission link will run in parallel to an existing alternating current (AC) link, creating a so-called hybrid transmission corridor with a higher capacity and greater reliability. The proportion of power lost as heat into the atmosphere will also decline as DC links have smaller losses than AC over long distances.
ABB will provide key components for the converter stations at each end of the link, to switch AC to DC and then back to AC again, as well as measuring equipment for the converter stations. The link is scheduled for commercial operation in December 2009.
