wiredinUSA February 2012

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New Bridon facility

$5bn solar spend planned

Power links Sweden and Finland

ABB has successfully commissioned a power link between Finland and Sweden. The HVDC (high voltage direct current) Fenno-Skan 2 link is a cable-based power transmission system that enables the exchange of an additional 800MW of power between the two countries, mitigating transmission bottle-necks in the region. The Fenno-Skan link is owned and operated by Fingrid and Svenska Kraftnät. The installation includes two converter stations, one situated in Rauma, on the Finnish side, and the other in Finnböle, in Sweden. The newly commissioned link will run in parallel with Fenno-Skan 1, delivered by ABB in 1989 and providing a bipolar link to enhance the capacity for power trading and improve the security of supply in the region. On the Swedish side, the converter stations for Fenno-Skan 1 and 2 are located 70km from each other, due to AC grid constraints. “In addition to enhancing capacity, facilitating power trading and improving security of supply in the region, this link will also help to improve grid reliability,” said Martin Gross, head of the Grid Systems business, a part of ABB’s Power Systems division. ABB has over 70 HVDC projects around the world and a combined transmission capacity of around 60,000 MW.

A joint venture of AMEC, the international engineering and project management company, Babcock Networks Ltd and Mott MacDonald Group has been awarded a five-year extension by National Grid to its existing five-year Electricity Alliance West contract to upgrade overhead power lines and underground cables across the western half of England and all of Wales. The extension, with an estimated value of around £650 million (US$998 million) will see the joint venture continue to provide engineering, management and construction services until 2017. AMEC and Babcock International plc are the major partners with 47.5% share each. Peter Boreham, UK construction director for National Grid, said: “In the period up to 2021, National Grid expects to invest around £20 billion in our gas and electricity transmission infrastructure to support the UK’s growing energy needs. this unprecedented level of growth and the continuation of our alliance partnerships will play a pivotal role in successfully delivering that forecasted increase, with a continued focus on delivering our work safely, efficiently and sustainably.” “Our construction division has a major role to play in supporting

Wire rope manufacturer Bridon International is investing £30 million in a new plant in the UK. The new facility - expected to be fully operational by the end of 2012 - will produce multi-strand ropes in gross package weights of up to 650 tonnes. The site will include a closer machine, capable of drawing together thousands of wire strands into a single rope. Bridon’s closer is believed to be the first of its type capable of making a 600 tonne rope in a single pass, enabling the production of longer, higher-capacity ropes in a single piece and avoiding the need for multiple passes. Bridon’s closer also boasts 24 bobbins (15 and 38 tonne capacity), giving it the ability to make complex ropes. The facility’s deep-water port-side location will allow Bridon to reduce delivery timescales and order lead times for customers. “Bridon Neptune Quay has been built to help us solve our customers’ most significant technological challenges - whether it is reaching new depths off the coast of Brazil, or operating in some of the most challenging environmental conditions on earth,” said Jon Templeman, chief executive of the Bridon Group. The development has been awarded a grant from the UK government’s Regional Growth Fund.

Torresol Energy, a joint venture between Spain’s Sener and Abu Dhabi’s Masdar, plans to invest up to $5 billion to build concentrated solar power plants (CSP) in Spain, the US and the Middle East. Enrique Sendagorta, president of Torresol Energy, said the company was aiming to add about 6,000MW of capacity over the next three years, and that one of the plants could be built in Abu Dhabi. “We are developing a pipeline of projects in Spain, the US and in the Middle East North Africa region,” he told Reuters at the World Future Energy Summit in Abu Dhabi. “The investment would range between $3.5 billion to $5 billion,” he said. Sendagorta said the firm is optimistic of securing funding for the upcoming projects despite tough market conditions. “Foreign banks are financing solar plants because it represents a steady cash flow,” he said. Torresol Energy, a 60/40 joint venture between Sener and Abu Dhabi government-owned green energy firm Masdar, connected two new 50MW solar plants in Spain to the grid during January 2012. Between them, Valle 1 and Valle 2 are expected to produce 160GWh of carbon-free electricity per year. Abu Dhabi is aiming for 7% of its electricity to be derived from renewables by 2020.

EUROPE NEWS

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wiredInUSA - February 2012

wiredInUSA - February 2012

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