Oct 20 2010
ABB, a power and automation technology conglomerate, declared that it has acquired an order from TenneT TSO, a transmission system operating company from Germany. The company has received the $50 million plus order to upkeep the grid connectivity of TenneT TSO’s offshore wind farms positioned in the North Sea away from the coastline of Germany. The contract signed for three years is likely to be extended.
According to the signed accord ABB will maintain the two high-voltage direct current (HVDC) power links owned by TenneT which are extended from the BorWin1 and DolWin1offshore wind projects, to the German grid located over the mainland. The company besides maintaining and preserving both the land and sea grounded HVDC converter stations linking the wind farms will also maintain the offshore platforms. The BorWin1 is the remotest offshore wind farm in the world connected to the German grid by utilizing a 200 km cable route laid underwater as well as underground. The 400 MW link built by ABB includes HVDC converter stations located over onshore and offshore and it ensures safe landing of the wind power generated from the BARD Offshore 1 wind park to the German power grid. For the Dolwin1 wind farm ABB has built an 800 MW cable link measuring over 165 km through undersea and underground. The cable will link the Borkum West II wind farm producing 400 MW power and other wind farms that are to be constructed nearby in the future to the German grid. The extruded DC cables used for the purpose are rated for 320 kV the highest rating required for HVDC transmission.
Peter Leupp, Power Systems division’s head of ABB, said that the offshore wind power generation has emerged as a source for large level renewable energy production and it plays a vital role in cutting down the carbon emissions and consequent impact on the environment. He added that his company has the required capability to maintain the connecting links efficiently.
Source: http://www.abb.com/