ABB Review Special Report - ABB - ABB Group

Two of the world’s most powerfuland longest high-voltage direct current(HVDC) power transmission highways,each with a nominal rating of3000 MW, are currently being installedin China. Being built by ABB in cooperationwith the State Power Grid ofChina, they will eventually carry cleanhydroelectric power from the ThreeGorges power plant, situated on themiddle reaches of the Yangtze river, tomajor load centers near Shanghai andShenzheng on the Chinese coast.1Location of the Three Gorges power plant on the Yangtze riverThree Gorges DamBeijingHigh availability and a low forced outagerate were key goals from the start ofthe transmission projects. Advancedtechnologies, backed up by solid fieldexperience and featuring built-in operationalflexibility and low maintenance,are therefore being used in all thecrucial areas.To promote and ensure the success ofthe projects at all stages, close cooperationamong ABB, the client, the client’sdesign and inspection representatives,and local equipment manufacturers,was enshrined in the project contractsin the form of training and transfer oftechnology (see panel).Three Gorges power plantThe Three Gorges dam across the Yangtzeriver 1 is the largest of its kind inthe world. Approximately 1.5 kilometerslong and 185 meters (590 feet) high, itsreservoir, with a normal water level of175 meters (560 feet), will stretch over560 kilometers (350 miles) upstream.The hydroelectric plant, with 26 turbine-generators rated at 700 MW, will havea total capacity of 18.2 gigawatts (thenext-largest hydropower plant, Itaipu inBrazil, has a capacity of 12 GW). It isplanned to later install a further six unitsin an underground powerhouse, takingthe total capacity to 22.4 GW. This figurerepresents a more than six percent increasein China’s current total installedcapacity of 350 GW. The average yearlyproduction of the Three Gorges plantwill be 84.7 TWh [1,2].ChongqingYangtzeYellow RiverThree Gorges-Changzhou HVDCHong KongShanghaiWuhanThree Gorges-ShanghaiHVDC (planned)Three Gorges-Guangdong HVDCPower evacuation systemThe power generated by the ThreeGorges plant will be transmitted to gridsin central China, east China, Sichuanand Guangdong via the Three GorgesTransmission System. With over 10,000kilometers of HVAC and HVDC lines,this system will form the basis fora new national transmission grid, as thepresent seven regional power networksand five independent provincial networkswill be combined to create twoTransfer of technology (ToT) and local manufacturingThe contracts for both projects (3GC and 3GG) included extensive co-design, training andToT programs.The co-design program calls for the detailed design to be carried out jointly by design engineersand experts representing SPG and ABB.Training of SPG’s representatives covers maintenance and operation. Its goal is to ensureproper operation and maintenance of the projects by local personnel.The ToT programs include know-how transfer in HVDC system design, control design andapparatus manufacturing to different organizations, ABB as well as non-ABB, in China. Theseprograms will serve China’s long-term objective of increased self-reliance in the design andproduction of high-tech HVDC equipment.Special ReportABB Review7