ABB has secured contracts worth about $17m to upgrade SP Energy Networks' 275kV Kilmarnock South substation in East Ayrshire, Scotland.
The upgrade at Kilmarnock along with new network improvements will help increase capacity in southwest Scotland, resulting in new renewable energy connections.
ABB said wind farms with capacity of about 480MW have already been approved with plans for another 1011MW.
Under the contracts, ABB will design, supply, install and commission 13 bays of gas insulated switchgear (GIS).
This will replace the existing air-insulated switchgear (AIS), which cannot be extended to allow for further capacity.
After energizing the new substation and the transfer of circuits old and redundant system in the AIS will be dismantled.
The solution will be based on ABB’s modular ELK series GIS that is claimed to provide improved flexibility in the optimization of substation layouts.
The modular design of the switchgear will allow for future upgradation. The entire project is expected to be finished by 2019, with ABB’s work planned for completion in 2017.
ABB managing director of the grid integration business unit Oleg Aleinikov said: "We are pleased to work with SP Energy Networks once again and support their efforts in strengthening the power infrastructure in Scotland and bring more power to consumers.
"The focus on service, upgrades and lifetime support is a key element of ABB’s Next Level Strategy."
Image: ABB to supply gas-insulated switchgear to SP Energy Networks. Photo: Courtesy of ABB.