ABB wins $30 million orders to provide power infrastructure for wind farms in Brazil

ABB, the leading power and automation technology group, has won orders worth around $30 million from Casa dos Ventos, a leading renewables company in Brazil, to provide substations and related power infrastructure enabling the efficient integration of power from two new wind complexes (comprising 13 wind farms) into the country’s transmission grid. The orders were booked in the first quarter of 2015.

The projects in northeastern Brazil are scheduled for completion in 2016. Once finished, they will be capable of generating enough renewable energy to meet the consumption needs of about 300,000 local households, avoiding the annual emission of approximately 325.000 tons of carbon dioxide.

The two 216 and 130 megawatt (MW) wind complexes São Clemente and Tianguá will be located in the states of Pernambuco and Ceará. Casa dos Ventos has the largest portfolio of wind projects in Brazil, with more than 4,800 MW of renewables capacity in operation or under construction.

“These substations and related infrastructure will facilitate the integration, transmission and distribution of clean wind energy to serve growing electricity needs in the region,” said Claudio Facchin, president of ABB’s Power Systems division. “They will also help strengthen grid reliability and secure power supplies. This order is a further example of ABB’s Next Level Strategy and our focus on expanding in growing markets.”

ABB will be responsible for the delivery of the 230 kV and 69 kV air-insulated switchgear substations including compact 34.5 kV substations with distribution transformers, connection bays and overhead lines.

To reduce the impact of disruptions resulting from the integration of intermittent wind power into the grid, ABB is also supplying reclosers – circuit breakers designed to interrupt short-circuit current – to isolate faults and prevent outages from cascading across the network.

The substations will also be equipped with IEC 61850-compliant open standard automation capabilities as well as control and protection systems, to enable monitoring and control of all power assets to enhance operational and maintenance efficiency and safety at the facilities.