Swiss electrical equipment-maker ABB has secured an order from Chubu Electric Power, to supply two blocks of frequency converter systems for the Higashi Shimizu project in Japan.
Image: The order was placed through the Hitachi-ABB joint venture, Hitachi ABB HVDC Technologies. Photo: Courtesy of ABB.
The order was placed through the Hitachi-ABB joint venture, Hitachi ABB HVDC Technologies. For this project, ABB will deliver Voltage Source Converter (VSC) High-Voltage Direct Current Transmission (HVDC) power transmission technology, for establishing interconnection between systems, with different frequencies implemented by converting alternate current into direct current.
Hitachi will build the system using an AC/DC converter, with the combination of ABB Control and Protection System and its converter transformer.
The Higashi-Shimizu project will strengthen the connection between the 50 Hz network in Eastern Japan and the 60 Hz network in Western Japan. The connection is expected to improve transfer of electricity, while increasing power reliability in the country.
The Organization for Cross-regional Coordination of Transmission Operators in the country, which supervises the power interchange among power companies, has been advancing the project to increase the interconnection capacity between the 60Hz area of Chubu Electric and the 50Hz area of Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO) from the present 1.2GW to 3GW.
Chubu Electric is also developing an important project to increase the interconnection capacity of the Higashi Shimizu Substation from 300MW to 900MW and it is scheduled to begin operations in 2027.
ABB Power Grids business president Claudio Facchin said: “The Higashi-Shimizu HVDC project is very important for our 2015 established HVDC joint venture in Japan. Our global pioneering HVDC technology, combined with Hitachi project capability, will significantly strengthen the Japanese power grid, thus bringing tangible benefits to Japanese consumers and the society at large.”
The joint venture between ABB and Hitachi, Hitachi ABB HVDC Technologies was established in 2015. Hitachi owns 51% stake in the joint venture, while ABB owns the remaining 49% stake.
Last December, the Swiss company agreed to sell 80.1% stake in its Power Grids unit to Hitachi for about $6.4bn, excluding debt.
Hitachi was given an option to acquire the remaining 19.9% stake in Power Grids, which could be exercised three years after closing the original deal. The deal is expected to be closed in the first half of next year.