ABB has received a $40 million order to provide power equipment to the 800 kilovolt (kV) Dianxibei-Guangdong ultra-high-voltage direct current (UHVDC) transmission link in China.
The 1,950 km-long power cable, operated by China Southern Power Grid Company Limited, one of the country’s two major grid operators, is set to transmit hydro-generated electricity from the Yunnan province in southwestern China to the Pearl River Delta region in Guangdong, “one of the most densely urbanized regions in the world and a major economic and manufacturing hub of China,” the company said in a statement.
The link has the capacity to meet the annual power consumption needs of over 10 million people based on average per capita national consumption. It will also help the region to significantly reduce coal consumption and mitigate carbon dioxide and sulfur dioxide emissions, it explained.
“Ultra-high-voltage technologies are a key element of our Next Level strategy and will help expansive countries like China to reliably and efficiently transport increasing amounts of clean, renewable power over greater distances” commented Claudio Facchin, President of ABB’s power grids division.
ABB technologies will be deployed at the Xinsong converter station in Yunnan and the Dongfang station in Guangdong. The Xinsong converter station is located at a high altitude of 2,400 meters and the valves have been specially designed to meet the demanding electrical and mechanical needs of the harsh environment, ABB said.
The company will also supply dead-tank breakers, live-tank breakers and Direct Current (DC) capacitors, as well as equipment for converter valve towers and halls.
UHVDC transmission is an advancement of HVDC, a technology pioneered by ABB “and represents the biggest capacity and efficiency leap in over two decades” it stressed.
ABB is contributing to a number of UHVDC links across China.