ABB has successfully commissioned and handed over the DolWin2 offshore wind transmission link to the Dutch-German transmission system operator TenneT.

DolWin2 is the third offshore wind connection project that ABB has executed for TenneT in Germany’s North Sea, following BorWin1 and DolWin1. The high voltage direct current (HVDC) link connects offshore wind farms to the mainland grid, and has the capacity to supply more than a million households with renewable energy. DolWin2 supports Germany’s “Energiewende” roadmap, which aims to generate more than 6.5 gigawatts (GW) of offshore wind power by 2020, and 15 GW by 2030.

“We are very pleased to have successfully commissioned and handed over the DolWin2 project and would like to thank TenneT for their continuing trust and cooperation,” said Claudio Facchin, President of ABB’s Power Grids division.

“HVDC is the technology of choice for reliably and efficiently transmitting large amounts of power over long distances with minimal losses. It is ideal for integrating remote renewable energy into the power grid and plays a key role in making ABB partner of choice for enabling a stronger, smarter and greener grid, in line with our Next Level strategy.”

The 916 megawatt (MW) link deploys ABB’s HVDC Light®, Voltage Source Converter (VSC) based technology and includes a 320 kilovolt (kV) converter station positioned on a platform about 45 km offshore. The station connects up to three offshore wind farms to the mainland power grid in Germany. For ABB, the project scope included the design, supply, installation and commissioning of the compact offshore and onshore converter stations as well as the subsea and underground cable systems.

ABB pioneered VSC-based HVDC Light technology 20 years ago and is today the market leader, having delivered 19 of the 25 VSC HVDC projects commissioned around the world. In the upper range, the technology now reaches ±640 kV and can deliver 3,000 MW – enough electricity to power several million households, enabling power transmission over 2,000 kilometers. The system design enables compact converter stations – a big benefit in applications like offshore wind and interconnections.

ABB (ABBN: SIX Swiss Ex) is a pioneering technology leader in electrification products, robotics and motion, industrial automation and power grids, serving customers in utilities, industry and transport & infrastructure globally. Continuing more than a 125-year history of innovation, ABB today is writing the future of industrial digitalization and driving the Energy and Fourth Industrial Revolutions. ABB operates in more than 100 countries with about 132,000 employees.

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