2002-12-23 -
First pole of transmission system sets new record for capacity
Beijing, China, December 23, 2002 – ABB, the leading power and automation technology group, announced today that it has successfully commissioned the first pole of Three Gorges - Changzhou HVDC transmission link.
The 890 km power link – now the longest in China – was completed on an accelerated schedule in 2 1/2 years and will be used to transmit power from the Three Gorges hydropower plant to the rapidly developing Shanghai region. At 1,500-megawatts, it establishes a new world record for power capacity of a single HVDC converter system.
"This is a remarkable achievement in the HVDC history considering the technical complexity and the massive transfer of technology," said Peter Leupp, Chairman and President of ABB (China) Ltd. "The project is proceeding quickly and successfully through close cooperation and teamwork with our customer, the State Power Corporation of China."
The complete bipole of the 3,000 MW Three Gorges - Changzhou HVDC link is scheduled to come into commercial operation in 2003. ABB won the contract in 2000 – valued at more than US$ 340 million – for the supply of two converter stations. The Chinese State owned Xi’an Electric Grouptransformer works, an ABB licensee, is manufacturing a substantial amount of the main HVDC components including a quadruple valve, two converter transformers and high power thyristors.
HVDC is a cost-effective and environmentally friendly solution to transmit electricity in bulk over long distance with low losses. It is particularly suitable for country like China with load centers being far away from its energy base. In 2001, ABB was awarded a second HVDC project linking Three Gorges to Guangdong.
ABB (www.abb.com) is a leader in power and automation technologies that enable utility and industry customers to improve performance while lowering their environmental impact. The ABB Group of companies has about 146,000 employees in more than 100 countries. ABB in China employs more than 6,000 people in 27 companies and sales offices in 23 major cities.