ABB wins orders worth $440 million
Dec 18, 2007 - Swiss-Press.com-Pressemitteilung
Zurich, ABB, the leading power and automation technology
group, has won orders worth $440 million from the
State Grid Corporation of China and other partners
to provide new ultrahigh-voltage technology for the
world's longest power transmission link.
 The
power superhighway running 2,000 kilometers (1,240
miles) from western China to the highly industrialized
coastal area in the east, will have a capacity of
6,400 megawatts (MW). That is enough to meet the needs
of about 31 million people in China, based on average
consumption per capita The link from the Xiangjiaba
hydropower plant to Shanghai is scheduled for completion
in 2011.
The ultrahigh-voltage direct current (UHVDC) link
comprises two substations and a power transmission
system using breakthrough technology to transmit electricity
at ultrahigh voltage (800 kilovolts), which will minimize
the amount of power lost in transmission.
Increasing the voltage level of electrical transmission
creates considerable advantages for the environment,
including lower electricity losses and the use of
less land compared to traditional overhead lines.
UHVDC is particularly suitable for vast countries
like China, where the centers that need power are
often located far from power sources.
This project represents a number of breakthroughs
in electrical power transmission:
The 6,400 MW power rating is more than double the
most powerful rating in operation today. At 2,000
km, the transmission line will be the longest in the
world. Transmission losses will be less than 7 percent,
significantly less than the losses from conventional
500-kilovolt (kV) high-voltage direct current (HVDC)
transmission schemes. The savings from using UHVDC
compared with HVDC are equivalent to the annual power
consumption of more than 900,000 people in China!
"Ultrahigh voltage transmission is a vital new technology
for the efficient use of hydropower generated in remote
areas," said Peter Leupp, head of ABB's Power Systems
division. "ABB technology, which plays an essential
role in this project, can support the economic development
of some of the world's most populous regions, while
lowering environmental impact."
UHVDC transmission is a further development of HVDC,
a technology pioneered by ABB more than 50 years ago.
The new technology, using thyristor valves equipped
with newly developed six-inch thyristors (power semiconductors)
and an advanced control system, allows the biggest
capacity and efficiency leap in 20 years. The increase
became possible following advances in basic research
in a number of fields, including the development of
new materials for outdoor insulators and advanced
control systems with extremely high calculation capacity.
Im Internet recherchierbar unter:
- www.swiss-press.com
- www.pressemappe.ch
- www.help.ch
Ueber ABB Schweiz AG:
Das Unternehmen erm?glicht seinen Kunden in der
Energieversorgung und der Industrie, ihre Leistung
zu verbessern und gleichzeitig die Umweltbelastung
zu reduzieren. ABB besch?ftigt rund 105'000 Mitarbeitende
in ?ber 100 L?ndern.
In der Schweiz besch?ftigt ABB rund 5?200 Mitarbeitende.
Das Unternehmen konzentriert sich schwergewichtig
auf die beiden Kernbereiche Energie- und Automationstechnik
und liefert Systeme und Gesamtl?sungen f?r Versorgungs-
und Industrieunternehmen. Zudem ist ABB Weltmarktf?hrer
f?r die Aufladung von grossen Diesel- und Gasmotoren
mittels Turboladern mit dem Label "Made in Switzerland".
Pressekontakt: ABB Schweiz AG
|
