ABB secures $30m renewable integration contract in Germany

ABB, the Switzerland-headquartered power electronics company, has won a $30 million contract to deliver grid stabilization and power control system technology to the German grid.

The intention of TenneT, the Dutch-German transmission system operator that awarded the contract, is to incorporate more intermittent energy from renewable sources into its grid, and to do this it needs a viable and state-of-the-art stabilization solution.

Enter ABB. The company is an established player in the solar inverter sector, but also has vast experience across the electronics and power sectors, and thus will deliver its hybrid Static Compensator (better known as a STATCOM) to the Borken substation in Hessen, located in central Germany.

The STATCOM will help to support the grid when it receives flexible reactive power, offering dynamic voltage support and reducing the risk of outages. The control system is part of the recently augmented ABB-Ability digital offering, which has been introduced by ABB to bring greater transparency, monitoring and control to all types of energy networks – be they in the home, off-grid, or grid-connected.

“We are delighted to work with TenneT to support Germany’s mission to supply clean wind and solar power to millions of people,” said ABB power grid division president Claudio Facchin. “Our innovative STATCOM technology will boost power transmission capacity and improve power quality. The project exemplifies ABB’s strategic focus on renewables and leveraging technology to reinforce our position as a partner of choice for enabling a stronger, smarter and greener grid.”

Germany is well down the path of its “Energiewende” – the transition from centralized, antiquated energy sources to a more flexible, cleaner grid. The country wants to source 80% of its energy from renewables by 2050, and is a world leader in solar and wind energy – combined, the two sources provide more than 40% of Germany’s electricity supply.