ABB to roll out first-of-its-kind ‘substation to substation’ digital solution in the UAE
Initiated by TRANSCO, ABB will provide products and solutions necessary to achieve a complete end-to-end digital solution for the 400kV Al Dhafra project
ABB has announced that it will deliver a first-of-its-kind ‘substation to substation’ digital solution, as part of the 400 kV Al Dhafra switching station project in partnership with Abu Dhabi Transmission and Despatch Company (TRANSCO), in the UAE.
ABB stated that its solution will allow TRANSCO to guarantee performance and correct operation of the application, compare the availability of service and at the same time, provide substation network separation. Additionally, ABB will supply protection relays, merging units, fibre-optic communication equipment and gas-insulated switchgear with non-conventional instrument transformers for the project. It will also provide local support to the project and will help TRANSCO evaluate their strategy in further adopting and deploying digital substations.
As a key component of smart power grids, digital substations remove the last electrical connection between high voltage equipment and protection and control equipment.
Commenting on the partnership, Dr Salem Al Harthi, projects director at TRANSCO, said: “As an innovative, world-class provider of sustainable water and electricity transmission services, TRANSCO is always looking to deploy new technologies to optimise our systems and operations as we transition to a digitalised grid.”
“Through this collaboration with ABB, we are able to build on our reputation for secure, reliable and economical transmission services, while embracing innovation and organisational excellence across our entire value chain.”
Initiated by TRANSCO, the project will include a range of ABB products and solutions necessary to achieve a complete ‘end-to-end’ digital substation solution and is part of the wider innovation enabling the digital transformation of the power industry.
Meanwhile, Dr Mostafa AlGuezeri, managing director of ABB’s Power Grids business in the UAE, Gulf and Near East, said that ABB and TRANSCO have a long-standing association and the Al Dhafra project further strengthens this relationship.
“With the advancement in digital substation technology, ABB and TRANSCO are pioneering a truly unique substation-to-substation solution that will better utilise the existing digital technology, whilst improving availability and reliability of the mission-critical application,” he added.
The project not only achieves digitalised end-to-end protection, but also introduces a unique application that is the first of its kind to be delivered in the region, the statement added. The solution will provide utilities with high quality data for faster and better-informed decision making and at the same time enables a safer working environment, it concluded.
