Nov 29 2013
ABB, the leading power and automation technology group, has won an order to provide a grid connection and the associated power infrastructure for Vattenfall’s Pen y Cymoedd Wind Energy Project, being developed in Wales, United Kingdom.
The 76-turbine, 228 megawatts (MW) wind farm being developed in South Wales, will be the largest onshore wind farm in England and Wales and one of the largest in Europe. It is scheduled to be operational by 2016.
The UK has a total installed capacity of more than 10,000 megawatts and is ranked among the world's six largest producers of wind power. It is considered to be the best location for wind power in Europe and among the finest in the world, with over 6,300 MW of the capacity located onshore and the rest offshore.
As part of the project scope, ABB will design and construct two new substations linked by 9.2 kilometres of underground cable. Key equipment supplies include compact 132 kilovolt (kV) PASS (Plug And Switch System) hybrid switchgear and STATCOM (Voltage Source Converter based reactive power compensation) units to support grid voltage stability.
ABB will also supply transformers to step up the voltage from 33 kV at the point of generation to 132 kV for sub-transmission and then to 400 kV for input into the National Electricity Transmission System. The substations will also be equipped with IEC 61850 compliant substation automation, control and protection equipment.
“These substations will help to integrate wind energy and boost power supplies to meet growing demand for electricity” said Oleg Aleinikov, head of ABB’s Substations business, a part of the company’s Power Systems division. “They will also reinforce the transmission grid and help enhance reliability and efficiency.”
ABB provides a wide range of products, systems and services that enable the efficient generation and integration of renewable wind energy into the grid and its reliable transmission and distribution.
Substations are key installations in the power grid that transform voltage levels and facilitate the safe and efficient transmission and distribution of electricity. They include equipment that protects and controls the flow of electric power. ABB is the world’s leading supplier of turnkey air-insulated, gas-insulated and hybrid substations with voltage levels up to 1,100 kV.
Source: http://www.abb.com/