Swiss power technology firm ABB has secured contracts worth over $300m to bolster China’s power grid and reduce environmental impact.
Under the orders, ABB will deliver advanced converter transformers for two long distance ultra-high-voltage direct current (UHVDC) transmission links which have the capacity to transport about 10,000MW of electricity at the 800 kV voltage level.
The 1,609 km long Ximeng-Taizhou and 1,231 km long Shanghaimiao-Shandong 800 kV transmission links will provide 25% more energy compared with recent 800 kV UHVDC links, via the same narrow transmission corridor.
The links are part of a project to transmit power from inner Mongolia through long-distance transmission lines, instead of transporting millions of tons of coal, thousands of kilometres away for energy production.
The project intends to reduce carbon emissions by about a third of a billion metric tons and also lower sulfur dioxide and mono-nitrogen oxide emissions and avoid nearly 140,000 metric tons of smoke and dust from polluting the atmosphere.
China has major load centers in its eastern regions, while its energy resources are loacted in the west and northwest.
Due to vast geography and increased demand in the last decade, the country is planning to increase its UHV transmission capacity, allowing delivery of power from new thermal power generation plants near energy reserves while reducing pollution near cities.
ABB power grids division president Claudio Facchin said: "This latest breakthrough of transmitting 10 gigawatts (GW) of power over a single 800 kV UVDC link underlines ABB’s Next Level strategy of delivering innovative solutions for the integration of renewables and efficient bulk power transmission to urban centers."
"Our ultra-high-voltage technologies are enabling countries like China to transmit ever increasing amounts of power over greater distances, with minimal losses and uncompromising reliability."
Image: UHVDC transformer from ABB. Photo: Courtesy of ABB.