ABB Review Special Report - ABB - ABB Group

Powering Trollwith HVDC LightTom F. Nestli, Lars Stendius, Magnus J. Johansson, Arne Abrahamsson, Philip C. KjaerWith its compressors, motors andelectrical systems devouring manytens of megawatts, an offshoreinstallation can be a power-hungrybeast indeed. The onboard gasturbines or diesel generators thatusually supply this power, however,manage no more than about 25%efficiency – way off the dazzling75–80% efficiencies of, say, landbasedcombined cycle powerplants. This inefficiency isn’t justcostly in terms of excessive fuelconsumption, either; high emissionscan rack up the cost stillfurther, for example where CO 2taxation applies.Troll A platform (Photo: Øyvind Hagen, Statoil)Now, new technologies from ABB are making it easier thanever before to deliver electrical power to offshore installations,lowering operating costs and reducing environmental impactat the same time. Seventy kilometers off the Norwegian coast,two of these technologies – HVDC Light and Motorformer– are helping to power 40-MW compressor units on Statoil’sTroll A platform without any local power generation.Special ReportABB Review 53