Desert challenge

The 400kV Al Zour gas-insulated substation in Kuwait.

The GCC Interconnection grid is the most significant transmission and distribution projects the region has ever witnessed. Thomas Hellenas, project manager at ABB, recalls the challenges his company had to overcome while contracted for project's crucial Phase I.

The Gulf Interconnection Grid is one of the most important transnational infrastructure projects to have been undertaken in the Middle East for some time. Once completed, the grid will help prevent power outages, pave the way for a regional energy market and even open up the prospect of linking up with North Africa and Europe.

Phase I of the new grid went online in 2009. Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Bahrain and Kuwait are now linked up. The UAE and Oman will be fully connected to the rest by 2011.The project is being developed under the auspices of the Gulf Cooperation Council Interconnection Authority (GCCIA).

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One of the largest contracts in this mega-project was awarded to ABB. The company was charged with delivering six transmission substations equipped with gas-insulated switchgear (GIS) – three in Saudi Arabia and one each in Kuwait, Bahrain and Qatar - enabling power to be delivered reliably and safely at 400kV to the power systems of all four countries.

Enclosed GIS substations are among the most suitable solutions for the harsh desert climate of the Arabian Peninsula, says ABB.

GIS is compact and robust, as the full metal encapsulation and indoor installation protects it from atmospheric influence and enables it to better withstand adverse conditions. GIS also contribute to the saving of resources through their space efficiency and low maintenance needs, according to ABB.

“Towards the end of the 1960s, they became a common technology in harsh environments such as the Middle East, with the desert and the heat,” says Hellenas. “Sandstorms combined with salt is very difficult for conventional substations, therefore indoor ones were developed.”

To stabilise the voltage of the 400 kV cable between Saudi Arabia and the island of Bahrain, ABB also provided 17 shunt reactors.

Two of these reactors are rated at 300 MVAr and are among the most powerful three-phase reactors ever made. The company also supplied three power transformers, each rated at 650 MVA as well as all necessary auxiliary equipment, surge arrestors and 220 kV high voltage cables.

As part of the turnkey project, ABB was also responsible for the comprehensive design, manufacturing, installation, commissioning and civil works.

Hellenas feels that the compmany was well equipped for the task. ABB can draw on extensive experience in the field of gas insulated switchgear and shunt reactors, having so far installed more than 10,000 high-voltage bays and over 1,000 reactors worldwide.