ABB and State Grid Corporation of China (SGCC) have announced the successful testing of an 800 kV high voltage direct current (HVDC) converter station in China, a year ahead of schedule.
The two companies have labelled the milestone a “significant technological achievement” and say that the Xiangjiaba-Shanghai transmission system will set a new benchmark for HVDC technology.
ABB, in co-operation with SGCC, has carried out an ‘open-line’ test for Pole 1 of the Fengxian converter station in Shanghai. The Swiss firm received the order for the project from SGCC just two years ago.
The Xiangjiaba-Shanghai link will be capable of transmitting 6400 MW of power from the Xiangjiaba hydropower plant, located in the southwest of China, to Shanghai – a distance of over 2000 km. Transmission losses on the line will be less than seven per cent, says ABB.
The largest HVDC link currently in operation in term of capacity and voltage levels is the 600 kV Itaipu transmission line in Brazil. Other HVDC lines in China currently operate at 500 kV.
Under its contract with SGCC, ABB’s scope of delivery includes fourteen 400 kV converter transformers and fourteen 800 kV converter transformers. It is also supplying thyristor valves, DC (direct current) switchyard equipment, measuring equipment for the AC (alternating current) switchyard and the newly developed DCC800 HVDC control system.
