ABB Wins Power Orders to Help Improve Energy Efficiency for Steel Plants in the Persian Gulf Region
SVC Light® FACTS systems to help stabilize metallurgical processes and maintain power quality
Zurich, Switzerland, March 3, 2009 - ABB, the leading power and automation technology group, has received orders of around $16 million to install flexible AC transmission systems (FACTS) for two steel plants in the Persian Gulf Region. The installations in Kuwait and UAE and are expected to be operational in 2010.
The contract was awarded by Danieli, the Italian manufacturer of electric arc furnaces for steel manufacturing. ABB's solution includes two SVC Light® (Static Var Compensation) installations (rating 0/+164 Mvar at 33 kV). "This solution will help enhance production through improved power quality and at the same time reduce the energy consumption needed to produce the steel" said Per Haugland, head of the Grid Systems business within ABB's Power Systems division. Each installation will help stabilize the voltage feeding an electric arc furnace and mitigates electric disturbances emanating from the steel making process.
Steel makers increase the rating of the electrical arc furnace to boost production, but are often hampered by poor and insufficient power supply. ABB's SVC Light® technology offers reactive power compensation with special attention to weak networks with severe voltage support problems. SVC Light can be connected directly to the furnace bus without an intermediate transformer.
ABB is a global leader in the growing field of FACTS, with more than 700 installations in operation and under construction across the world. SVC Light® forms part of ABB's FACTS portfolio that enhance the security, capacity and flexibility of power transmission and distribution systems, as well as improve productivity and power quality. It is a unique power semiconductor technology based on IGBT (insulated-gate bipolar transistors) power transistors. This technology is successfully deployed in the steel metallurgical industry and helps mitigate incandescent lamp flicker, due to its highly dynamic response.
ABB (www.abb.com) is a leader in power and automation technologies that enable utility and industry customers to improve performance while lowering environmental impact. The ABB Group of companies operates in around 100 countries and employs about 120,000 people.
