India : ABB makes a mega deal

ABB, a pioneering technology has teamed up with India’s national electricity Power Grid Corporation of India Ltd, to construct a transmission link with a capacity to bring electricity to more than 80 million people.

The transmission of 800 kilovolt (Kv) ultra high voltage direct current (UHVDC) system will connect Raigarh in central of India to Pugalur in the southern state of Tamil Nadu.

The two-way link – 1,830 kilometer, the longest in the world with a capacity of 6,000 megawatts – will integrate thermal and wind energy for transmission of power to high consumption centers located thousands of kilometers away, supporting electricity demands in the south, when wind strength is low, and transmitting clean energy to the north, when there is excess wind power.

“A top priority of the Indian Government is to deliver reliable electricity to support the country’s impressive growth momentum, and ABB is honored to partner with Powergrid for this smart transmission project” said ABB CEO Ulrick Spiesshofer. “We are committed to India for more than a century and with this project, we are delivering the benefits from the Energy Revolution to the country building on the strength of our local manufacturing footprint. 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”

The mega project Raigarh-Pugalur is ABB’s sixth HVDC project in India and the total cost is amounted nearly US$ 640 million.