ABB's $55 Million Substation Order to Integrate Dubai's Solar Park Output

Written by Richard Finlayson, Senior International Editor for Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--ABB Group (NYSE:ABB) (Zurich, Switzerland) has won an order by the Dubai Electricity & Water Authority (DEWA) to build a substation to integrate power from the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum solar park.

Industrial Info is tracking eight Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum solar park projects, with a combined value of $3.2 billion.

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The solar park is one of the largest renewable energy projects in the Middle East-South Africa (MENA) region. It is planned to cover an area of more than 40 square kilometers and have the capacity to produce 1,000 megawatts (MW) when completed in 2030. It will be part of the Dubai Integrated Energy Strategy to diversify the energy mix, under which gas is expected to contribute 71% of electricity, followed by nuclear (12%), clean coal (12%) and solar (5%).

Under the $55 million contract, ABB will supply a gas-insulated switchgear (GIS) substation, which will enhance transmission capacity, boost power supplies and strengthen the reliability of the grid. The 100-MW Phase II of the solar power plant, which is sited in Seih Al Dahal, about 50 kilometers south of Dubai, is scheduled to begin generating power in 2017.

The scope of the turnkey contract includes ABB's responsibility for the design, installation, commissioning and start-up of the plant. Key products to be supplied include eight bays of 400-kilovolt (kV) and 10 bays of 132-kV GIS, two 132/400-kV power transformers rated at 570 megavolt-ampere (MVA), plus the protection system, automation and control and surveillance and communication systems. The substation also will be IEC 61850 enabled, to support open communications automation and protection.

"DEWA works to enhance the efficiency of its network and establishes pivotal projects to achieve the highest standards of efficiency and reliability, which forms the basis of our cooperation with ABB," said Saeed Mohammed Al Tayer, DEWA's managing director and chief executive officer.

For related information, see October 19, 2012, article - First Solar to Construct First Phase of Dubai's 1,000-Megawatt Project.

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