PARIS – December 14, 2016 - National Grid has contracted GE Energy Connections (NYSE: GE) to supply its latest Utility STATCOM technology at three different substations along its transmission grid. The solution will provide added stability supporting the UK-Belgium high voltage direct current (HVDC) interconnection (NEMO link).
GE will install its Utility STATCOM solution on a turnkey basis at the Bolney, Ninfield and Richborough substations. This STATCOM solution will support National Grid’s alternative current (AC) network and the operational reliability of the HVDC connection between the UK and Belgium, which will deliver more than 1 GW of bi-directional power between the two countries. The STATCOM solution can help stabilize the network, particularly during and after faults occur on the network. A stable network will ensure the HVDC interconnection is reliable in supporting the European Union strategy "to achieve a competitive and integrated European energy market".
"While countries seek to improve grid interconnections, it is essential to ensure that its own grid network is viable and reliable. Our solution provides our customers with that confidence, as they forge ahead to integrate more renewable energy into their grids," said Bob Turko, FACTS General Manager, Grid Solutions, from GE Energy Connections. "This solution will help National Grid maintain the reliable supply of electricity to its customers even when faults occur in the network."
This next generation STATCOM solution is a Voltage Source Converter (VSC) technology based on Modular Multilevel Converter[1] (MMC) architecture leveraged from GE’s robust HVDC solution. This design provides more stable output power generation than other competitive solutions, helping our customer’s grids handle faults and fault recovery that is within the industry’s best performance. This more powerful design, combined with GE’s Advanced Digital Control system, and experience from almost 400 shunt connected FACTS solutions offers our customers a complete, world-class, digitally enabled solution.
