NORTH AMERICA
More power capacity for Mexico ABB has been awarded $70 million worth of work on three projects to strengthen Mexico’s power supply. The company will replace an existing air insulated substation with a compact 400kV gas insulated substation. It will also supply three 400Kv and 230kV air insulated substations as well as power transformers, power reactors and protection systems. In the third contract the company is to supply a 400kV static var compensator (SVC) to a substation to help stabilise the network. The contracts were awarded by the Mexican state power utility.
SOUTH AFRICA
Western Cape will benefit from FACTS Eskom Holdings, South Africa’s national power utility, has selected flexible alternating current transmission systems (FACTS) technology from ABB to improve network stability and transfer capacity in the Western Cape region of South Africa. The $16 million contract includes four FACTS installations in the area and the work will be completed by the summer of 2006.
FRANCE
FACTS brings stability to north west France A $15 million contract for FACTS technology has been awarded to ABB by RTE, the French transmission system operator. The order also includes two SVCs, part of FACTS technology. The project is designed to improve the efficiency of the transmission system and increase the capacity of existing networks in Brittany, north west France. The work is scheduled for completion in 2005.
CHINA
Largest-ever GIS switchgear installation ABB has won a $60 million contract to supply and install gas insulated switchgear (GIS) and twelve sets of power transformers for the right bank power plant of the Three Gorges dam project in China. This latest contract for 500kV GIS switchgear combined with an early installation of the same size will make this the largest GIS installation in the world. Over the last five years ABB has won orders for transformers, switchgear and control systems worth $1.3 billion for the Three Gorges dam project.