ABB wins Rs 4,350 cr power transmission project

Power and automation technology firm ABB today said it has teamed up with Power Grid Corporation of India for a transmission link project worth over Rs 4,350 crore to bring reliable electricity to over 80 million people.
The Raigarh-Pugalur 800 kilovolt (kV) UltraHigh-Voltage Direct Current (UHVDC) system will connect Raigarh in central India to Pugalur in Tamil Nadu, the company said.
It said the 1,830 km link will be among the longest in the world, with a capacity of 6,000 megawatts -- the equivalent of more than six large power plants -- which will be enough to meet the electricity needs of over 80 million people.

Stating that the two-way link will integrate thermal and wind energy for transmission of power to high consumption centres located thousands of kilometres away, ABB said it will support electricity demands in the South, when wind strength is low, and transmitting clean energy to the North, when there is excess wind power.
"With our state-of-the-art UHVDC technology, we enable the balancing of renewable and conventional electricity supply over long distances in a smart and reliable way," ABB CEO Ulrich Spiesshofer said in a company release.
The total project value is worth more than Rs 5,700 crore and the balance will be executed by ABB's consortium partner BHEL, the company said, adding that the order was booked in the fourth quarter of 2016 and is expected to be completed in 2019.

Raigarh-Pugalur is ABB's sixth HVDC project in India and the second UHVDC installation, following the multi-terminal North-East Agra link, which has been already partially energised and is in the final phase of completion.

The turnkey project encompasses design, engineering, supply, installation and commissioning. Major equipment supplies include the complete UHVDC stations, including transformers, converter valves, cooling systems, as well as control and protection technology, the company said.
Noting that HVDC transmission links help conserve land as they occupy only one third of space compared to the alternative, it said in this case that amounts to a saving of approximately 244 square kilometres of space -- around one third the area of Bengaluru or the entire city of Kuala Lumpur.

The mega project will also feature technologies selected to minimise the footprint of the transmission stations, it added.