Wednesday, July 21, 2010

Infrastructure: "More Power! ABB Building Longer, More Powerful Transmission in Europe, China" (ABB; GRID)

The stock is up 9 cents at $18.48.
We are fans (see links below)
From Greentech:
It sounds like an infomercial, but ABB is bringing renewables onto the grid with more efficient transmission.

Bigger! Longer! Higher power!

Sometimes press releases sound like internet pop-up ads or late-night infomercials. That's certainly the case with a few announcements from ABB in regards to its work across the globe installing transmission lines. The power and automation technology giant is offering more results quicker, finishing projects ahead of schedule and offering more bang with every mile.

ABB announced that it has won a $700 million order to provide an 800-megawatt high voltage direct current transmission line for the German transmission grid operator transpower. The technology will connect more offshore wind farms in the DolWin1 cluster in the North Sea to mainland Germany.
The project will use HVDC Light technology to move 400 MW of power to an offshore HVDC converter, which then shuttles the energy onshore via underwater and underground cables. In a statement, ABB said the 320-kilovolt technologies will be the highest voltage level ever used for HVDC Light.

The project comes just as the European Wind Energy Association announced that 333 MW of offshore wind was added to the grid in the first half of 2010, with another 151 turbines that can provide 440 MW of power ready to be connected to the grid. The ABB transmission lines to connect DolWin1cluster are expected to be in operation in 2013.

In the U.S., offshore wind is still just a glimmer in the investor's eye; there are 12 proposed projects off the East Coast and in Lake Erie and the Gulf of Mexico.

ABB isn't just linking up wind with its HVDC Light cables. It also announced today that the world's first ultra high voltage direct current, or UHVDC, went into commercial operation as part of the Xiangjiaba-Shanghai project in China one year ahead of schedule. The connection will deliver power for 31 million people....MORE
Previously:
"ABB: Decades of Growth for Infrastructure Leader" (ABB; CHLD.L) 
Transmission Builders and Suppliers (ABB; AMSC; BGC; PWR) 
Wise Bets on a Smarter Grid (ABB; COMV; CSCO; ENOC; ITRI; GRID)
"Everyone Wants A Piece Of the Electric Vehicle Market " and "The Coming Bull Market In Lead-Acid Batteries, Part II" (ABB; XIDE, HEV, ENS, GE, CHP, AONE,)
First Trust Rolls Out Electric-Grid-Linked ETF (GRID) 
Reviewing the New Smart Grid ETF (GRID)