ABB, the leading power and
automation technology
group, has booked an order
worth more than
4,000
crore from Power Grid Corporation
of India Ltd, to deliver an ultra
high-voltage direct current
(UHVDC) transmission system.
The link will supply hydropower
from the northeast to Agra in Uttar
Pradesh, 1,700 km away.
ABB in India will book over
500 crore of the total order
value for local equipment supplies
and will additionally contribute
to the project with design
and engineering services.
The UHVDC link, operating
at 800kV, will have a converter
capacity of 8,000 mw, the highest
ever built. When operating
at full capacity, it will have the
means to supply electricity to
90 million people based on current
figures for average national
consumption.
The system will be the world's
first multi-terminal ultra highvoltage
link and will have three
converter stations. Two "sending"
stations will convert power from
alternating current (AC) to DC for
transmission over a single power
line and deliver electricity to a
third "receiving" station in Agra
where it will be converted back
into AC for distribution to endusers.
The power
link will pass
through the so called
"chicken neck area";
a very narrow patch
of land (22 km wide x
18 km long) in West
Bengal, which borders
Nepal and
Bangladesh.
Using ultra highvoltage
transmission
helps to minimise
losses and improve efficiency. The
deployment of a multi-terminal
solution as compared to running
separate power links brings considerable
cost reductions.
"We are a fast growing economy
with an increasing demand for
electricity," said Bazmi Husain,
Country Manager and Managing
Director, ABB in India. "ABB has
facilitated the development of
India's power infrastructure for
decades. Having
introduced several
new technologies to
the country, including
HVDC and successfully
executed
several subsequent projects, we
are proud to have been awarded
this landmark order that will set
new global benchmarks."
ABB will execute the North-
East Agra transmission project
together with BHEL which will
deliver the remainder of the
project. The total project is
worth about
5,000 crore and
will be executed on a turnkey
basis including design, system
engineering, supply, installation
and commissioning. It is
scheduled to go into operation
in 2015.
UHVDC transmission is a
development of HVDC, a technology
pioneered by ABB more
than 50 years ago, and represents
the biggest capacity and
efficiency leap in over two
decades. ABB is a world leader
in HVDC transmission technology,
with many pioneering
achievements and over 70
HVDC projects around the
world with a combined transmission
capacity around
60,000 mw.