ABB Review Special Report - ABB - ABB Group

EditorialCity lights – a ‘power showcase’built on technology and experienceIn the aftermath of the recent poweroutages that plunged northeasternAmerica and parts of Europe into darkness,politicians and utility ownersrushed to debate the state of the world’spower infrastructure. The outcome ofthis discussion has been general agreementthat more investment is needed.But besides pointing out the vulnerabilityof outmoded infrastructure, theblackouts also served to make a point:wherever we live, we can no longerunquestioningly count upon a reliablesupply of electrical power.While these events gave a full-scaledemonstration of what can happenwhen unstable power systems are drivento their operational limits, it is goodto know that technologies are availablethat could almost certainly have preventedthem from happening.ABB is the world’s leading providerof power technology products andsystems. Constant investment in theirfurther development has enabled ourcompany to book several remarkableachievements in recent years.For example, the world’s largest batterysystem, which went into operation inAlaska in 2003, relies on ABB convertertechnology. Such systems bridge thetime between power cuts and the startupof emergency power generation.Alaska’s new battery is designed toprovide 40 MW of electrical power for15 minutes. Other battery installationsempowered by ABB converter technologyare soon to go into operation inthe United States.ABB is the undisputed world leader inHVDC transmission. The power convertersat the heart of this technologycan make a huge contribution to gridstability. An HVDC power transmissionlink between the Three Gorges damand Changzhou in China successfullycompleted all trials in 2003, and has thecapability to operate at power levels ofup to 3300 megawatts – a new worldrecord! In Brazil ABB recently commissionedpower transmission systems witha total length of 1267 kilometers. Constructionof the systems, which includedfive substations and four series compensationbanks, was completed in justtwelve months.The list goes on: the largest-ever gas-insulatedsubstation for an important nodein the Saudi Arabian high-voltage network;the world’s longest undergroundhigh-voltage cable, developed and installedby ABB, stretching 177 kilometersfrom Victoria to South Australiaand the winner of environmental andengineering awards.ABB also holds the world record in highpowerswitching with its generator breakers,which can interrupt up to 200 kA atgenerator voltage levels of around 30 kV.These records are solid proof of ABB’sability to provide world-class powertechnology, and of our company’sstrong commitment to research anddevelopment. Such performance isbased on R&D programs that investigatethe physical limits of current interruptionand high-voltage insulation, orthe application of semiconductorswitching in our power electronicsdevices.In addition to device-oriented R&D,ABB also looks at the ‘big picture’. Anexample is our wide area approach tomonitoring power system dynamics andnetwork stability. Engineering tools wehave developed enable us to analyze acomplete grid in a very short time, andpropose significant improvements.This Special Report is devoted to ABBtechnologies which, by ensuring networkstability, prevent the emergenceof situations that could cause entirepower systems to collapse. As anoverview of our company’s broad competencein this important area, the Reportdemonstrates ABB’s ability to supplythe utility industry with each andevery part of its infrastructure. To makesure that electrical energy, upon whichwe depend so much, is available whereverand whenever it is needed.H. Markus BayeganChief technology officerABB LtdSpecial ReportABB Review3