ABB Builds Hydropower Link Across India

Swiss power group ABB has booked a US$900 million order from Power Grid Corporation of India to build an ultrahigh-voltage direct current transmission system. The 1,700-kilometer link will supply hydropower from the mountains in northeast India to Agra in central India.

The 800-kilovolt UHVDC link will have a converter capacity of 8,000 megawatts, the highest ever built, according to a company statement. The system will be the world’s first multi-terminal ultrahigh-voltage link and will have three converter stations.

ABB will execute the North-East Agra transmission project with India’s state-owned Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited. It is scheduled to go into operation in 2015.