ABB to support integration of solar energy in Saudi Arabia
ABB has won an order to supply Gas Insulated Switchgear (GIS) which will be installed at a substation that will transmit power from Green Duba, the first integrated solar combined cycle (ISCC) power plant in Saudi Arabia. Located in the country’s north-west, along the Red Sea coast, when operational in 2018, the energy generated from the plant will be equivalent to the annual power consumption of approximately 600,000 Saudi Arabian households. The order, worth around $26 million was booked in the fourth quarter of 2015.
The Green Duba power plant will deploy an innovative solution that integrates solar energy and combines with natural gas to produce up to 550 megawatts (MW) of electricity, of which 50 MW will be from solar. The adjoining substation will be constructed by SSEM-Initec Energia Consortium for the country’s leading power utility, National Grid, Saudi Arabia. ABB will design, supply and commission a 420-kilovolt (kV) Gas Insulated Switchgear (GIS) for this substation, providing a compact solution with increased reliability and safety, while minimizing environmental impact.
“ABB’s proven GIS technology will help integrate clean solar energy into the grid and enhance power transmission capacity to address growing electricity demand in the region” said Giandomenico Rivetti, Managing Director of ABB’s High Voltage Products business unit, a part of the company’s Power Grids division. “We have an extensive track-record in the region and are pleased to deploy our leading-edge technologies to support the integration of renewables, a key element of our Next Level strategy.”
ABB’s GIS has been enhancing electricity transmission in Saudi Arabia for almost four decades, and has been deployed extensively in the Gulf Grid project, which links the electricity networks of six Gulf states as well as the Haramain high-speed railway project that connects the pilgrimage cities of Mecca and Medina.
ABB pioneered high-voltage GIS in the mid-1960s and continues to drive this technology, offering a full range product portfolio with voltage levels from 72.5 kV to 1,200 kV. ABB’s GIS is designed to enhance grid reliability with minimized footprint, lifecycle costs and environmental impact. As a market leader in high-voltage GIS technology, ABB has a global installed base of more than 23,000 bays.
In a power system, switchgear controls, protects and isolates electrical equipment to boost the reliability of power supply. ABB pioneered high-voltage GIS in the mid-1960s and continues to drive the technology, offering a full range product portfolio with voltage levels from 72.5 kV to 1,200 kV. As a market leader in high-voltage GIS technology, ABB has a global installed base of more than 25,000 bays.
