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ABB takes USD 1<em>bn</em> order for offshore wind power
ABB has won an order worth around USD 1 billion from the Dutch-German transmission grid operator TenneT. ABB are to supply a power link connecting offshore North Sea wind farms to the German mainland grid. This is the largest power transmission order in ABB's history.
It will deploy the world’s largest offshore HVDC (high-voltage direct current) system with a rating of over 900 megawatts (MW). The completed link will be capable of supplying more than 1.5 million households with clean wind-generated electricity.
“Offshore wind power is emerging as a major source of large-scale renewable energy in Europe to help meet emission targets and lower environmental impact,” said Peter Leupp, head of ABB’s Power Systems division. ”ABB is uniquely positioned with in-house manufacturing capability of converter stations, cables and semiconductors, the essential components of HVDC systems, and has invested significantly in these technologies."
Scheduled to be operational in 2015, this offshore network will help to avoid more than three million tons of carbon dioxide emissions per year by replacing fossil-fuel based generation. Germany's installed wind power capacity of over 27 gigawatts presently meets about eight percent of its electricity requirements. Plans are to double that by 2020.
