Power and automation technology group ABB has commissioned an upgrade, employing its widely used MACH system, of the control and protection system of the Skagerrak 3 HVDC link between Norway and Denmark. The installation and commissioning time was set at only four weeks, to minimise outage time.
The delivery contract included control of the bipolar configuration of Skagerrak 3 (constructed by ABB in 1993) and Skagerrak 4. The latter, currently under construction by ABB, is to be delivered later this year.
"This upgrade reinforces ABB’s focus and commitment to supporting customers throughout the lifecycle of the products and systems it delivers," said Hanspeter Faessler, head of ABB’s Grid Systems business, a part of the Power Systems division. "It also underlines the company’s emphasis on growing its service business."
ABB pioneered HVDC technology 60 years ago and has been awarded around 90 HVDC projects representing a total installed capacity of more than 95 000 MW, which accounts for about half of the global installed base.
The Skagerrak 3 HVDC link, owned by the Danish transmission system operator, Energinet.dk, and the Norwegian equivalent, Statnettis is over 240 km long and crosses the Skagerrak Strait. It enables transmission between the almost exclusively hydroelectric-based Norwegian system and the wind and thermal power-based Danish system.
