ABB sets up 500 kV HVDC link to boost renewable power

ABB

ABB has set up a 500 kilovolts (kV) high-voltage direct current (HVDC) link between Norway and Denmark to boost renewable hydroelectric and wind power in grid.

The company said the Skagerrak 4 link at 500 kilovolts (kV) is a new record in transmission voltage using Voltage Source Converters (VSC). The system spans 240 kilometers crossing the North Sea’s Skagerrak Strait, providing 1,700 megawatts of transmission capacity.

The converters rely on semiconductors to convert electricity from high–voltage alternating current to direct current and back, while offering controllability and compact design, said ABB.

ABB“This HVDC Light link helps balance loads between Norway’s hydroelectric-based system and Denmark’s wind- and thermal-based generation,” said Claudio Facchin, head of ABB’s Power Systems division.

ABB has delivered all four of the Skagerrak system’s links, with Skagerrak 1 and 2 in the 1970s, Skagerrak 3 in 1993 and now this latest project.

For Skagerrak 4, ABB delivered two 700-megawatt Voltage Source Converter stations based on the company’s HVDC Light technology. The new link operates in bipolar mode with the Skagerrak 3 link that uses classic Line Commutated Converter HVDC technology.

Use of 500 kilovolt VSC converters opens up new possibilities, when combined with ABB’s extruded 525 kV HVDC cable, the company said.

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