ABB will deliver 95 units of medium voltage converters for wind turbines to GE Renewable Energy for the first phase of the Dogger Bank offshore wind project.
This is ABB’s first major order under its Long-Term Supply Agreement (LTSA) with GE Renewable Energy and the largest order of its kind to date.
The 95 PCS6000 medium voltage converters will be installed in GE’s Haliade-X 13 MW wind turbines.
Currently, the most powerful offshore wind turbines in the world, they are destined to produce 1.2 GW of power at Dogger Bank A – the first phase of the UK’s 3.6GW Dogger Bank Wind Farm.
ABB’s converters will play the role of taking the power produced by GE’s wind turbines and converting it to the right voltage and frequency for the wind farm grid. The converters are rated to handle the high-power output, with one rotation of each 220-metre diameter rotor generating enough electricity to last a UK household two-days.
ABB’s collaboration with GE began in 2017 and the companies have worked closely to optimize the PCS6000 converter for the Haliade-X platform. This included successful test operations on a turbine installed at the Port of Rotterdam, Netherlands.
”The selection of the right converter is critical to achieve the performance and reliability that yields the maximum return on investment. And medium voltage converters are the optimum choice for today’s high-power wind turbines,” said Chris Poynter , Division President for System Drives, ABB Motion.
”We have worked closely with leaders in the wind industry to develop innovative technology to match the growing scale of offshore turbines. That is why we are extremely proud that our commitment and world-class solutions won the confidence of GE Renewables for Dogger Bank.”
ABB in Turgi, Switzerland is leading project engineering while the PCS6000 converters will be manufactured by ABB in Łódź, Poland. First delivery is scheduled for summer 2021 with completion in late 2022.
The Dogger Bank Wind Farm is being developed in three phases as a joint venture between SSE Renewables, Equinor, and Eni for Dogger Bank A and B, and as a 50:50 joint venture between SSE Renewables and Equinor for Dogger Bank C.
The wind farm is located more than 130 kilometres from the North East coast of England. Each phase will have a capacity of up to 1.2 GW and represents a multi-billion-euro investment. The total power output of 3.6 GW will be capable of powering six million homes. When operational in 2026, Dogger Bank will become the world’s largest offshore wind farm.