Hitachi ABB Power Grids India, along with consortium partner Bharat Heavy Electricals (BHEL), has energised the first stage of 6,000 MW +/- 800 kV ultra-high voltage direct current (UHVDC) transmission link connecting Raigarh in Central India to Pugalur in Tamil Nadu.
Once completed, the approximately 1,800 km long two-way transmission line will have the capacity to meet electricity needs of over 80 million people in the country.
When wind strength is low, it will support electricity demand in the south, and when it is in excess, transmit clean energy to the north.
This is also one of the key initiatives of the government of India to increase renewable energy capacity to 450 GW in the nation’s electricity mix, which is aligned with the UN Sustainable Development Goal of affordable and clean energy. The company has been involved in this project since 2016.
Occupying one-third of the space of a traditional AC transmission, HVDC transmission links help to conserve land. In the current case that amounts to a saving of approximately 244 sq km. The mega project will also feature technologies selected to minimise the footprint of the transmission stations.
The consortium of Hitachi ABB Power Grids and BHEL had won the order for Raigarh-Pugalur 800 kV UHVDC transmission link from India’s national electricity grid operator,the Power Grid Corporation of India (POWERGRID) in 2016.
The project encompasses design, engineering, supply, installation, testing, commissioning of complete UHVDC converter terminal stations as well as major equipment supplies, including 800 kV converter transformers, converter valves, cooling systems and control and protection technology.
Raigarh-Pugalur is the company’s sixth HVDC project in India and the second UHVDC installation, following the multi-terminal North-East Agra Link.