Swiss power engineering group ABB has won a $70 million order for power equipment from the State Grid Corporation of China for a new power link in northeastern China that is expected to help the development of industry in the region.
The new high-voltage, direct current (HVDC) link will transmit 3,000MW of power over 920km from Hulunbeir, in the Inner Mongolia of China, to Shenyang in the Liaoning province. The ABB order is part of a project with an estimated total value of $400 million.
The new DC power transmission link will run in parallel to an existing alternating current (AC) link, creating a so-called hybrid transmission corridor with a higher capacity and greater reliability. The proportion of power lost as heat into the atmosphere is expected to also decline as DC links have smaller losses than AC over long distances.
ABB will provide key components for the converter stations at each end of the link, to switch AC to DC and then back to AC again, as well as measuring equipment for the converter stations. The link is scheduled for commercial operation in December 2009.