Swiss power and automation technology company ABB has won orders worth around $900 million as part of the NordLink project.
Nordlink is a proposed subsea high-voltage direct current (HVDC) power cable project to connect Norwegian and German power grids.
A consortium comprising utilities including Statnett and TenneT besides promotional bank KfW has approached ABB for the supply of on-shore HVDC converter stations and the cable system on the German side.
The 623-km NordLink would be the longest HVDC connection in Europe and is scheduled to go into commercial operation in 2020. The contract also includes a five-year service agreement.
“The combination of renewable power generation in Germany and hydro-electricity in Norway, demonstrates that we can technologically enable a sustainable green energy policy across Europe,” ABB CEO Ulrich Spiesshofer said.
NordLink will be a key connecting link between Norwegian and German grids and is expected to improve energy security in both countries besides by allowing surplus wind and solar power produced in Germany to be transmitted to Norway, and hydroelectric power to be transmitted in the opposite direction. The link will transmit 1,400 MW, which can power 3.6 million German households.
“We are bringing clean power to millions of people and supporting the energy policies of Germany and Norway,” Claudio Facchin, the president of ABB’s Power Systems division, said.
In compliance with the order, ABB will design, engineer, supply and commission two 525 kV, 1,400 MW converter stations. These stations would deploy HVDC Light, ABB’s homegrown Voltage Sourced Converter (VSC) technology. One station will be situated near Tonstad in southern Norway and the other near Wilster in northern Germany.
The company would also be laying a mass impregnated (MI) cable system in the German sector, which will include 154 km of subsea and 54 km of underground cable.
According to a press statement, ABB has been awarded about 100 HVDC projects since it pioneered the technology 60 years back. It translates to capacity of more than 120,000 MW and accounts for about half the global installed base.
Ajith Kumar S
editor@greentechlead.com