ABB Deploys Skagerrak 4 Link, Sets New HVDC Record - Analyst Blog
ABB Ltd. (ABB) disclosed the successful deployment of a high-voltage direct current (‘HVDC’) link – Skagerrak 4 – between Norway and Denmark. Notably, the 500-kilovolt Skagerrak 4 link set a new world record in transmission voltage using Voltage Source Converters (‘VSC’) that are mostly employed in underground and subsea applications.
In particular, ABB delivered two 700-megawatt VSC converter stations for Skagerrak 4 that will operate in a bipolar mode with the Skagerrak 3 link. It is the first such kind of bipole arrangement between the two technologies. ABB used its advanced MACH control system to handle the different ways of power reversal between the technologies.
The Skagerrak 4 link is primarily strategized at enhancing Norway’s Statnett and Denmark’s Energinet.dk grid. It will aid in balancing loads between Denmark’s wind and thermal and Norwegian hydroelectric-based systems and increasing availability of renewable hydroelectric and wind power energy in the regions.
As a matter of fact, Skagerrak 4 link is one of the four links of theSkagerrak system. Among these, ABB has earlier delivered Skagerrak 1 and 2 in 1970s and Skagerrak 3 in 1993. The Skagerrak system stretches 240 km and provides a transmission capacity of 1,700 megawatts.
Encouragingly, since 60 years, ABB has been leading HVDC transmission technology and has won around 100 such projects, which signify a total installed capacity of over 120,000 megawatts. Also, the company’s HVDC Light is a leader in VSC technology. Including Skagerrak 4, ABB has delivered 15 of 16 such projects on a global platform.
Of late, ABB is focusing on enhancing its foothold in the power and infrastructure industry on a global platform. The company is also benefiting from aging electric infrastructure that requires increased spending for maintenance to meet the reliability standards. Most recently, ABB won a contract for intensification of the electricity transmission capacity and power consistency in the Central and Western Provinces of Sri Lanka (read more: ABB Gets Contract to Enhance Sri Lanka Power Infrastructure).
However, ABB currently has a Zacks Rank #4 (Sell). Some better-ranked stocks include Pioneer Power Solutions, Inc. (PPSI), AO Smith Corp. (AOS) and Regal Beloit Corp. (RBC). While Pioneer Power Solutions sports a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), both AO Smith and Regal Beloit carry a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).
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