ABB has won orders worth over $150 million from Danish energy company Ørsted (previously Dong Energy) to supply a range of technologies that will help integrate and transmit power from Hornsea Project Two, which will in due course be the world’s largest offshore wind farm. The orders are the first tranche of a global five year frame agreement for the supply of electrical and automation equipment for offshore and onshore wind power connection and integration to the grid.
Hornsea Two is a 1400 MW project to develop wind resources in the North Sea about 100 km off the English northeast coast. The additional power supply will support economic growth in the UK’s Humber region, and help the UK meet its target of generating 15 % of energy needs from renewable sources by 2020.
ABB will supply its static VAR compensation Light (SVC Light) technology with its ABB Ability MACH control systems, high voltage gas-insulated switchgear, transformers, reactors and harmonic filters. ABB will also be responsible for the engineering, supply, project management and commissioning of the digital control and protection systems for the onshore substation and the two offshore platform substations.
The electrical power flow from Hornsea Two farm will be protected and controlled by the largest static compensation (STATCOM) system ever built for an offshore wind application. STATCOMs help offshore wind generating turbines to increase power transfer capability, improve power quality and enhance grid stability, and reliability. The brain of the STATCOM is the MACH control, protection and monitoring system, which oversees thousands of operations in real time.
As part of the project scope, the ABB MicroSCADA system will be used to monitor the electricity network and gather data from Relion intelligent electronic devices (IEDs) and remote terminal units (RTUs). Advanced mission critical technology will also be used for communication between the offshore platforms and the onshore substation.
