Western Power Distribution (WPD) has awarded ABB a contract to install a flexible power link in Devon, Southwest of England.
Financial details of the contract have not been revealed. ABB says that the 20MW power link will enable to increase capacity without the need for additional infrastructure upgrade.
The deployment of the flexible power link is part of WPD’s Network Equilibrium project, which is supported by UK’s Low Carbon Networks Fund (LCNF).
The project has been designed to balance voltages and power flow across electricity distribution system. It has the potential to unlock an additional 344MW of power which is locally produced.
ABB estnates that the use of flexible links could potentially release 1.5GW of capacity in the UK by 2050.
The link will allow controlled transfer of power between two separate 33-kilovolt (kV) distribution network groups. ABB will supply and install a back-to-back static frequency converter solution.
ABB claims that its solution can help in balancing power generation and power demand locally and at the same time enable additional capacity to be released more quickly.
ABB power grids division, grid integration business, managing director Oleg Aleinikov said: “This innovative flexible power link application helps pave the way for the deployment of more intelligent and dynamic networks in the future.
“The entire power value chain is seeing radical changes on the supply and demand side, calling for a more flexible and smarter grid, and ABB is enabling this through innovative technologies, as part of our Next Level strategy.”
Image: ABB to deploy flexible power link in UK for WPD. Photo: Courtesy of ABB.