action The customer magazineof ABB in Australia

1|2011

Power factor correction 6An easy cost saving essential for businessABB chargers cut time to power up electric fleet at Geneva Motor Show 24 Technologies to support the growing market for dependable, low-emission electric vehiclesSVC: a cost and time effective option to a 330 kV grid expansion 28A solution within the existing grid infrastructure that guaranteed power system security in the south west area of Western Australia

Features

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Balancing the need to provide reliable and affordable energy supplies with rising concerns for the environment, continues to be a serious challenge for Government and industry alike.

Globally, industry consumes about 42 percent of all electricity generated, accord-ing to the International Energy Agency. However energy efficiency measures can deliver half of the cuts in emissions that are needed over the next 25 years to slow global warming, compared with a busi-ness-as-usual scenario.

In this latest edition of ABB Australia’s Action magazine, we look at projects in Australia and abroad that are delivering those efficiency and environmental gains.

With power consumption increasing at a considerable pace due to the resources boom, we explore how ABB has helped Western Power expand the capacity of its grid system while improving reliability and stability. In the west, ABB is also helping Rio Tinto increase its power supply to its iron ore operations at Hope Downs.

In Hepburn Victoria, ABB’s smart grid solution has connected Australia’s first community-owned wind farm to the grid, and in Queensland, ABB will help enable the generation of renewable energy for Mack-ay Sugar. Further afield, ABB is continuing to demonstrate leadership in the provision of solar solutions, with the commission-ing of a solar plant in Lazio, central Italy.

ABB has recently published the report “Trends in energy efficiency 2011”. Based on survey findings conducted by the Econ-omist Intelligence Unit, the report is an essential baseline in understanding glob-al energy usage and the key challenges expressed by over 384 senior executives across the globe. Visit www.abb.com/energyefficiency for more details.

And finally, we are pleased to welcome Brisbane-based Mincom to the ABB port-folio. This acquisition further strengthens our ability to provide our customers with a complete solution for managing their infrastructure and assets.Enjoy reading!

Content

Axel KuhrCountry ManagerABB in Australia

action 1 |2011

Action 1| 2011 • Customer magazine of ABB in Australia • copyright 2011Tel: +61 1300 782 527 • E-mail: marketing@au.abb.com • Editor: Leanne Sprlyan • Designer: Lu NanProduced and published by: ABB in Australia, Corporate Communications • Any use of text or images requires the written consent of the publisher

6 18Local news Power factor correction: An easy cost saving essential for business

Feature story Sharing values - Powerlink

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Local news6 Power factor correction

An easy cost saving essential for business 10 ABB’s smart grid solution integrates

Australia’s first community-owned wind farmSmart grid technology critical to the successful integration of Australia’s first community-owned wind farm into the local electricity grid

12 ABB’s solution a winner for Racecourse Mill cogeneration plantState-of-the-art control systems and electrical cogeneration plant solution to support the generation of renewable energy at Queensland sugar mill

14 Software softens the blow of major floodingMobile workforce management software from Ventyx, handled every call with no loss of efficiency

Features18 Sharing values - Powerlink

ABB is implementing the world’s first commercial installation of IEC 61850-9-2 LE process-bus technology in Australia

Global news22 ABB investment sharpens solar focus

ABB has agreed to buy a 35 percent stake in Novatec Solar, an innovative Concentrated Solar Power (CSP) technology company based in Germany

24 ABB chargers cut time to power up electric fleet at Geneva Motor ShowTechnologies to support the growing market for dependable, low-emission electric vehicles

Applications26 Closing the power gap for state’s largest

ice makerState-of-the-art power factor correction equipment makes more efficient use of existing power infrastructure at Golden West Ice’s manufacturing plant

Product news33 BIOTEMP® - biodegradable, high firepoint

dielectric insulating fluid transformers A natural ester-based fluid made from vegetable-based oil that offers environmental benefits, improved transformer performance and fire resistant properties compared to traditional mineral oil dielectric fluids

Content

24

28 Application notes SVC: a cost and time effective option to a 330 kV grid expansion

Global news ABB chargers cut time to power up electric fleet at Geneva Motor Show

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Local news

ABB will provide integrat-ed automation, safety and telecommunications sys-tems and related equipment for the new upstream coal seam gas project. ABB was appointed the main auto-mation contractor for the project by QGC Pty Limited, a BG Group business. “ABB’s extensive oil and gas project delivery and manage-ment expertise, combined with our large portfolio of technology and services, is the comprehensive approach needed to successfully ex-ecute these complex projects for our customers,” said Axel Kuhr, country manager for ABB in Australia.ABB’s delivery will optimise the efficiency of the upstream gas gathering and compres-sion facilities, and provide communications and remote operation for the 540 kilome-tres of buried pipeline net-

work that will transport gas to a liquefied natural gas pro-cessing facility at Gladstone, Queensland. The plant will ini-tially produce 8.5 million met-ric tons of LNG a year. Coal seam gas is natural gas extracted from coal beds and provides the same amount of energy as coal but with 40 percent lower carbon dioxide emissions. ABB completed the initial front-end engineering and design study for the project in early 2011. The scope of supply includes its Extended Automation System 800xA for process control and inte-gration with other plant and remote pipeline systems, as well as integrated safety, compressor protection, emer-gency shutdown, fire and gas applications and other related automation equipment and services. It includes telecom-munication systems infra-

ABB wins A$64 million order for Curtis LNG ProjectAutomation and telecommunication systems to maximise efficiency of new natural gas project - one of Australia’s largest capital infrastructure projects.

CSG opportunities at Queens-land Gas Conference and Exhibition (QGCE) in Bris-bane, 16-17 August

To learn more about this excit-ing project and the develop-ments in the Coal Seam Gas (CSG) sector, register to attend QGCE to hear Axel Kuhr, coun-try manager of ABB in Australia, give a keynote presentation on ‘CSG challenges and opportu-nities from a global technology partners’ perspective’.

ABB’s state-of-the-art 800xA control system will be on display at the exhibition, along with an impressive and comprehensive range of power and automation solutions for the oil and gas industry. For further details on this event visit www.abbaus-tralia.com.au/events.

structure and equipment, as well as installation, commis-sioning support and related project services. The project will be commis-sioned in several phases, with first deliveries scheduled in 2011 through to project completion in 2014.

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With the world leaving be-hind a long era of energy abundance and entering an era of constraint, ABB set about to understand the global position on en-ergy usage and the many complex challenges facing government, business and society.Australia’s energy efficiency performance, along with re-sults from other G20 countries and seven energy intensive in-dustries, have been compiled in ABB’s newly published “Trends in global energy ef-ficiency 2011” report. Collec-tively, these countries account for about three-quarters of the world’s energy consumption.

Survey findings of 348 senior executives, conducted by the Economist Intelligence Unit, shows that almost ninety per-cent of executives in the man-ufacturing and power utilities sectors say that they expect energy efficiency to be critical to profitability over the next two decades. However, many cite a lack of information and clear efficiency benchmarks for their industry as the rea-sons for the reported gap be-tween awareness and action on energy efficiency. Almost ninety percent of executives in the manu-facturing and power utilities sectors say that

they expect energy efficiency to be critical to profitability over the next two decades.

“Our aim is to raise aware-ness about the opportunities to save costs and reduce environmental impact offered by energy efficiency,” said Axel Kuhr, country manager for ABB in Australia. “Un-derstanding the potential is an important first step in the journey towards using energy more productively.”To view the trends in energy efficiency performance for your industry, according to figures from Enerdata, an in-dependent information and

consulting company special-ising in the global energy in-dustry and carbon market, go to: www.abb.com/energyef-ficiency for the online report.

Trends in global energy efficiency 2011

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ABB green transformers for a better world 2011 Nationally 25 - 29 July 2011ABB has developed clever new solu-tions using high performance materials to improve the efficiency, safety and environmental friendliness of transform-ers. Attend one of our half day technical seminars to learn from industry experts about how ABB transformers can help reduce environmental impact and the operational costs of power facilities. Our seminars will focus on the latest advances in transformers including the insulating liquid BIOTEMP® and amor-phous core transformers.

Asia-Pacific’s International Mining Exhibition (AIMEX)Sydney 6 – 9 September 2011AIMEX is an important trade event for the Asia-Pacific mining community held once every four years. ABB will be at stand 1711 showcasing a full range of power and automation products spe-cifically geared to the mining industry. In addition to the hands-on product expe-rience, industry experts will be available for technical discussions.

Water Industry Operators Associa-tion Conference Bendigo 7 – 8 September 2011ABB is pleased to be part of the 74th WIOA Conference and Exhibition in Bendigo, the largest regional water event in Victoria. Visit our stand where a comprehensive range of ABB’s instru-mentation and high energy efficient motors and drives solutions will be brought together with technical experts to answer your application queries.

For more detailed information and to register online for any of these events go to www.abbaustralia.com.au/events.

ABB’s substation installation at Rio Tinto’s Juna Downs site in Western Australia

Local news

ABB was recently awarded a $30 mil-lion order by Rio Tinto for a substa-tion that will increase power supply to expand their iron ore mining at Hope Downs mines in the Pilbara region - a large, remote and thinly populated area in Western Australia known for its vast mineral deposits, in particular iron ore.“Reliability, efficiency and quality of power supply are critical to ensure productivity in mining operations, and this new substa-tion will help to meet Rio Tinto’s addition-al electricity needs and support the com-pany’s expansion plans,” said Axel Kuhr, country manager for ABB in Australia. The turnkey project includes the design, supply, installation and commissioning of a new 220/33 kilovolt (kV) substation that will provide power to the new Hope Downs-4 mine. The order includes civil and electrical works as well as the sup-ply of transformers, disconnectors and a range of high- and medium-voltage air-insulated switchgear.

Reliable power for expansion of iron ore mine

Substation automation systems compli-ant with the IEC 61850 global standard will be supplied and equipped with the company’s latest generation of protection and control products. The substation will also feature 11 kV reactors and capaci-tor banks, which will help to reduce elec-tric losses and improve network stability. The existing 220 kV substation was also constructed by ABB and has been supply-ing reliable power to the Hope Downs-1 mine for more than five years. This is the 13th substation installation that ABB has supplied since 2005 in the Pilbara region. The project is scheduled for completion by mid 2012.The two substations are located in south eastern Pilbara and will supply electrici-ty supporting an annual iron ore produc-tion capacity of 15 million tons at the new Hope Downs-4 mine. They will also support mine dewatering, an open cut shovel, wet ore processing infrastructure and power a staff village of more than 600 personnel.

ABB Australia upcoming event calendar highlights

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Power factor correction: an easy cost saving essential for businessDid you know that poor power quality could be costing your business money, causing an unnecessary impact on the environment and it may also be limiting future production expansion opportunities?

Are you also aware that energy providers are applying tariff penalties to consumers who do not take measures to improve the quality of the power at their operation?

We talked with Rob Symonds, ABB’s power quality specialist, to under-stand more about this silent power wastage which is having a negative impact on both industrial and commercial businesses.

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Firstly Rob, what is ‘power factor’?Put in simple terms, power factor can be referred to as a measure of the electrical effi-ciency of an individual installation or plant. When the power factor is improved, the plant operates more effectively by reduc-ing electrical losses and minimising the overall power required to operate the load.

Technically, power factor is the relation-ship of the angle between the kilowatts (real power) and the kVA (apparent power) expressed as a number between 0 and 1. This would mean a perfect power factor is 1.0 (or unity). Diagram 1 shows the effect of power factor correction on the appar-ent power (kVA).

For example, with an improved power fac-tor from 0.7 to 0.9 there is a 22.19 percent energy recovery. This means that the feeding transformer is unloaded by 22.19 percent.

For this discussion then, a measure of pow-er quality can be described as the ‘correc-tion of the power factor’.

Why do businesses need to correct their ‘power factor’? I can explain it easily if we use a cold glass of beer as an example.

Power is delivered to you as a portion of kilowatt (real power) with a component of reactive power (kvar) and the total of these together are kVA (apparent power).

Using a glass of beer as an analogy (dia-gram 2), the entire contents of the glass delivered to you represents the apparent power (kVA). The liquid is the ‘real power’ and does the work of quenching your thirst.

The froth on the beer represents the ‘reactive power’ (kvar) and does nothing to quench

your thirst. What it does do though is, it excites your taste buds and starts the thirst-quenching process. Indeed, you would be unhappy if you received your cold beer with no froth as you would think it was flat.

So, using the beer analogy, should there be any ‘froth’ in our electricity?Between 10 - 15 percent froth is typical with a cold beer, as is a small portion of reac-tive power to an inductive load. We need this small component of reactive power for industrial or commercial loads to excite electric motors, start fluorescent tubes etc. Suppliers of electricity often place limits on the usage of reactive power (kvar’s) as this restricts the capacity they have available to other network users.

Power factor correction (PFC) equipment generates reactive power on site where and when it is needed. This lessens the demand on the electricity supplier and as a result, reduces the overall effective cost of supplying the end users power require-ments. PFC equipment also directly reduc-es the carbon footprint of the installation.

Why are electricity retailers concerned about the quality of the power at a site? If we look at the bigger picture, better over-all power factor at your site reduces the load on the suppliers’ infrastructure such as zone substations and power stations. This alleviates the need for them to make major costly upgrades to their network and eases the demand on our environment.

In cases of reduced site power quality, pen-alties are being imposed by the individual electricity retailer. These are called Power Factor Tariff Penalties and are additional charges imposed by electricity suppliers on consumers who operate at less than optimum or contracted power factor levels.

These penalties are being used as a finan-cial incentive for users to correct the pow-er requirements of their site. �1 is a guide to published penalty tariff structures and how these could be affecting businesses.

Electricity consumers can also benefit from improvements to the quality of the power at their site. Improvements mean they can install additional production equipment for instance, without switchboard upgrades or adding new consumer mains. It could pos-sibly reduce the need for investing in a new transformer or switchgear.

What Australian businesses and indus-tries are impacted by poor power quality?Industries with an inductive load are rou-tinely affected by tariff penalty regulations and they would be further impacted by pen-alty changes that occur in the future. �2 outlines typical unimproved power factor ranges by industry.

Local news

Diagram 1: Power factor correction on apparent power Diagram 2: Beer analogy of power

Rob Symonds, ABB’s power quality specialistRob joined ABB in 1998, bringing with him 23 years of power quality experience in Australia and overseas. Over the past 13 years, Rob has facilitated power quality solutions for the manufacturing, heavy industry, utilities, resources, telecoms and commercial building sectors.

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For example, using the formula in �3, an arc welding business with a demand of 1,000 kW per month which has an unim-proved power factor of 0.4, has a demand of 2,500 kVA. Power factor correction equip-ment installed here would improve their pow-er factor to 0.95 and reduce their installa-tion demand to 1,052 kVA. Their monthly kVA demand would reduce to 1,448 kVA or a real kVA reduction of 58 percent. You can easily calculate the potential savings for your business using the formula in �3.

The Australian Energy Regulator (AER) ‘State of the energy market 2010’ report indi-cated that there would be price increases across the entire country with NSW hard-est hit with an average increase of 18 per-cent from July 1. Queensland consumers had their electricity price increased by 19 percent this financial year and there is an expected rise of up to seven percent in the next 12 months.

With the expected move to carbon pric-ing and energy retailers needing to reduce their operating costs, there is a perception that the most effective method to ‘moti-vate’ customers to reduce their demand is through pricing.

How does a business determine what benefits they can achieve by improving their power quality?Firstly, an analysis is carried out of the site’s internal networks power quality by a spe-cialist. With the results of these tests, a tailored solution for an individual custom-er can be determined.

As an example, Geraldton Fish Markets installed low voltage ABACUS PFC equip-ment in 2004 because their summer pow-er generation was inadequate for their pro-duction load. Instead of spending $40,000 - $60,000 on a bigger generator, as well as carrying out expensive associated works

High voltage metal enclosed capacitor bank Power quality filters, active harmonic filters

1 Penalty tariff structure by state

Note:Table is included as a guide only and is correct as at 10 June 2011. Tariff increases expected on 1 July 2011. Individual consumers need to clarify their contract position with their relevant authority.

State Supplier Power factor target

Demand rate

Penalty tariff structure

Comment

Tasma-nia

Aurora Energy

0.75 to 0.9 depending on customer circumstances

kVA demand

Range $177.68 / kVA / annum (LV maximum demand)

The kVA rate var-ies according to the supply voltage

Victoria Powercor / Citi Power

LV - 0.8, HV customers require 0.9 power factor

kW maxi-mum demand

Rate varies depending on the customer capacity

New South Wales

Essential Energy

0.9 minimum kVA demand

Several levels of pricing but the average is $25.00 / kVA / month

In NSW and ACT the minimum requirements are in the NSW Serv-ice and Installation Rules

Ausgrid 0.9 minimum kVA demand

$4.55 / kVA / month

As above

Endeavour Energy

0.9 minimum Time of use demand tariff

$11.50 / kVA / month

As above

Australia Capital Territory

ActewAGL 0.9 minimum kVA demand

Average $11.28 / kVA / month

As above

Queens-land

Energex Presently kW maxi-mum demand

Power factor penalties will be imposed as per Energex Tariff Schedule from July 1

From July 1 demand rate will change to kVA maximum demand

Northern Territory

PowerWater Customers negotiate indi-vidual demand charges

kVA demand

Price ranges between $2.00 - $33.00 / kVA

Energy is charged in kWh

Western Australia

Synergy Improve power factor to at least 0.8 upto 0.9 in certain cases

kW maxi-mum demand

Power factor penalty of 41.06 cents / kvar / day

South Australia

ETSA Utilities

Generally 0.85 is target

kVA demand

Sliding scale ranges from $2.67-$11.08/kVA

Rate depends on total maximum demand

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Local news

like digging up the car park to replace the mains, they installed PFC which immedi-ately reduced the kVA to a level that their existing generator could produce.

The PFC has improved the site refrigeration capability and enabled them to increase their ice production capacity by 30 percent.

Can the PFC equipment be installed without causing a major disruption to the business?Depending on the local electricity regula-tions, the equipment can be installed and ready for cut-over with no disruption to the business.

At an appropriate time nominated by the client, the final connections into the main switchboard can be completed ensuring minimal disruption to the site. Power out-age to complete the installation is typically counted in hours and not days.

You have worked closely with leaders in the mining and oil and gas sectors with PFC technologies. Do you have any insights to the benefits their busi-nesses received?A great number of clients have installed PFC equipment on mine sites because power quality is vital to running these 24 hour seven days-a-week production sites. It ensures that the operators achieve max-imum capacity from their existing power infrastructure.

We are very fortunate in Australia that the global centre of excellence for metal enclosed capacitor banks (MECB) is based

in Lilydale, Victoria. This facility supplies MECB worldwide and the locally-designed and manufactured solutions are installed at many leading global resource companies.

Rob, I’ve heard electrical harmonics are also detrimental to power quality, can you please explain this?Most of the electrical harmonic pollution nowadays is created as harmonic current produced by loads in individual installations. This harmonic current injected into the net-work impedance is translated into harmon-ic voltage (Ohm’s law), and then applied to the loads within that user’s installation.

The increasing use of non-linear loads in all types of industrial and commercial appli-cations has resulted in the introduction of potentially harmful levels of total harmon-ic distortion flowing back into the power network. In recognition of this problem, since January 2001 installations have been required to comply with Australian Standard AS/NZS 61000 which governs the allow-able harmonic emission into the electric-ity network. Harmonics could also lead to overheating of cables, motors and transformers, as well as damage to sensitive equipment, trip-ping of circuit breakers and fuses blowing causing premature aging of the installation.

What solutions are available to mitigate harmonics?Passive harmonic filters have proven to be effective, however the applications where these are the most cost effective solution is somewhat limited. Passive filters need to

be specifically designed for the existing load and cannot be easily expanded - therefore they will need to be re-designed if the load changes. Low harmonic drives are another solution in certain circumstances, but the most effective and flexible technical solu-tion is the active harmonic filter. The controller of an active harmonic filter designed by ABB, analyses the line current harmonics and then generates a harmon-ic current (compensation current) that is opposite in phase to the measured pollut-ing current. Since the active filter does not operate according to the conventional low harmonic impedance principle employed by passive filters, it remains unaffected by changes in network parameters and can-not be overloaded. The active filters are a modular design and can be easily expanded by adding slave modules which will expand the filtering capacity.

In conclusion Rob, have you any final words on how businesses can reduce their power usage and decrease their greenhouse gas emissions? Today’s business challenge is to find improvements in energy efficiency and reduce power wastage - there is no ques-tion that poor power quality adds to oper-ating inefficiencies and greenhouse gas pollution. Power factor correction is easy, quick and cost effective and the savings are immediate. This, together with electricity suppliers imposing corrective action through tariff penalties or kVA pricing, should con-vince managers to make investigating PFC at their site a priority.

ABB can provide expertise from initial ener-gy audits to delivering tailored solutions across all areas of power quality.

2 Power factor ranges by industry

Industry Power factor range

Arc furnaces 0.7 to 0.9

Arc welding 0.35 to 0.4

Breweries 0.75 to 0.8

Brick works 0.6 to 0.75

Cement works 0.78 to 0.8

Chemical 0.75 to 0.85

Clothing factories 0.35 to 0.6

Cold stores 0.7 to 0.8

Collieries 0.65 to 0.8

Coreless induction furnaces and heaters 0.15 to 0.4

Foundries 0.5 to 0.7

Machine shops 0.4 to 0.65

Plastics moulding 0.6 to 0.75

Printing 0.55 to 0.7

Quarries 0.5 to 0.7

Rolling mills (thyristor drives) 0.3 to 0.75

Steel works 0.6 to 0.85

Textile 0.65 to 0.75

3 kVA reduction calculation formula

Step 1 Current monthly kilowatt demand

divided by present power factor

(refer �2) = present kVA usage

Step 2 Current monthly kilowatt demand

divided by improved power factor

of 0.95 = reduced kVA usage

Step 3 Difference between these two kVA

figures = potential saving per

month

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ABB’s smart grid solution integrates Australia’s first community-owned wind farm

ABB’s engineers used their vast power quality know-how to develop the modular and cost efficient solution that allows renewable energy to be connected into the electricity grid

Photo courtesy of Hepburn Wind Farm

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ABB’s new modular STATCOM PCS 100 installation proved itself to be a fast, easy and cost efficient solution

Smart grid technology critical to the successful integration of Australia’s first community-owned wind farm into the local electricity grid.

Renewable energy is widely accept-ed as the preferred option for the future of energy production, and

the wind power generation industry is responding to the increased demand for low carbon electricity. ABB in Australia is working actively with the industry to sup-ply smart grid solutions which enables them to connect clean energy into the main power grid.

Hepburn Wind is Australia’s first com-munity-owned wind farm and is located at Leonards Hill, 10 kilometres south of Daylesford in central Victoria. The facili-ty, which consists of two REpower MM82 2.05 MW (megawatt) wind turbines, pro-vides a total capacity of 4 MW of power and produces enough electricity for 2,300 homes. This will provide enough renew-able electricity for almost all of the house-holds in Daylesford and Hepburn Springs.

“By introducing the new STATCOM PCS 100 prod-uct into the market, ABB is now in the unique posi-tion of being able to pro-vide scalability with anything from 100 kvar to several megavar (MVAr).”

“This is a groundbreaking order for ABB in Australia and the direct result of our desire to develop a new modular and scalable smart grid solution to support the renewable energy and electricity sec-tor in Australia,” said Peter Duncan, head of Power Electronics Systems business in Australia.

“By introducing the new STATCOM PCS 100 product into the market, ABB is now in the unique position of being able to pro-vide scalability with anything from 100 kvar to several megavar (MVAr). We believe this is a significant competitive advantage over other similar solutions that are limited by fixed sizing,” concluded Peter.

ABB delivered and commissioned its first PCS 100 STATCOM in April 2011. The STATCOM has a continuous rating of ±1.1 MVAr reactive power and it also provides a degree of active harmonic filtration. It is connected at 22 kV in the wind farm with the aim of enabling the wind engineering consultants, Consolidated Power Projects, to fulfill the network connection agreement.

The grid code demands that power plants of any kind support the electricity network throughout their operation. Despite using some of the best turbine technol-ogy available, additional equipment like a

STATCOM was needed due to the partic-ularly difficult network conditions.

The most advanced solution to com-pensate the reactive power is to use a voltage-controlled power converter with fast semiconductor switches, which can provide fast and variable reactive pow-er to the grid. The STATCOM converter monitors the line current and voltage in order to promptly provide the capacitive or inductive reactive power.

ABB’s PCS 100 STATCOM solution is a modular, redundant, air-cooled, low voltage converter mounted inside a re-locatable shipping container, allowing a fast, easy and cost efficient installation. The cost benefits include potential sav-ings on land usage due to the small foot-print along with savings on civil works as the equipment is delivered to the site as a pre-tested complete solution.

ABB in Australia have plans to export the STATCOM PCS 100 product to the rest of the world.

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The solution is for Mackay Sugar, which is building a 37 mega-watt (MW) energy cogeneration plant at their Racecourse Mill

in Mackay. ABB is designing, engineer-ing and delivering a $4 million distributed control system (DCS) and electrical pack-age for Mackay Sugar’s Racecourse Mill renewable cogeneration plant. The co-generation plant will utilise the renewable waste matter from the sugar refining pro-cess (bagasse) as fuel to produce steam which generates electricity. The electric-ity generated will be sufficient to meet the mill’s entire power supply needs with enough spare capacity to feed surplus clean power back into the local Ergon grid. The cogeneration plant is expected to be operational by late 2012.

“ABB’s strong local presence and proj-ect execution capabilities, combined with our innovative electrical balance of plant (eBoP) packaged solution, helped us to win this important order,” said Jason Ven-ning, head of ABB’s power generation business in Australia. “Our reliable and energy-efficient technologies will help the mill maximise its use of renewable energy and satisfy their growing need for elec-tricity.”

ABB will provide engineering, system design, installation and commissioning, and other related services for the project. The scope includes the supply of control systems and key electrical equipment including export and auxiliary transform-ers, medium voltage switchgear, variable speed drives and a low voltage motor

control centre solution. The switchgear, drives and control system equipment will be installed and pre-commissioned in a transportable switchroom before being delivered to site for final commissioning in early 2012.

The engineering solution for the control system includes installation and commis-sioning of a wet rack and a Harmony DCS with a Citect HMI (human machine inter-face) for the boiler controls. ABB’s award winning System 800xA will be utilised for the plant’s safety management system. It has improved industrial productivity, safety, and operational profitability for customers in virtually every industry, from traditional utilities and process industries to alternative energy production such as solar, waste-to-energy and bioethanol.

Mackay Sugar is Australia’s second largest raw sugar milling company.

ABB’s solution a winner for Racecourse Mill cogeneration plantState-of-the-art control systems and electrical cogeneration plant solution to support the generation of renewable energy at Queensland sugar mill.

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Control room for clean coal power plant -Torrevaldaliga Nord

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In all areas of business at ABB, we strive to provide the best solution while minimising the impact on our environment and it is no different for the marketing team. That is why we are excited to announce that the Action magazine will soon be avail-able as an on-line version and can be delivered directly to your desktop. By opting to receive your copy of Action magazine via email, you are not only kept up-to-date with the latest industry news and developments, you can also enjoy new interactive content, such as extended video interviews and access

compelling white papers. And if you see a product you like, you can simply click on it for more information.Of course, you can still enjoy your Action magazine as a hardcopy, but if you would prefer to enhance your reading experi-ence by changing your subscription to the new email version, simply register online or return the enclosed reply paid card with your current email address.

Receive Action magazine via email and together we can reduce paper demand by 750 kilograms.

Register online at: www.abbaustralia.com.auEmail your details to: marketing@au.abb.com

Sign-up for instant Action

The Premier of Queensland, Anna Bligh in recognising the generous contribution said: “All the money raised by the appeal will be used to assist the people who have been affected by the widespread flooding in Queensland. Many communities have been devastated. The Queensland Gov-ernment appreciates your willingness to assist Queenslanders in this time of need and thanks you for giving back to the community.”

Axel Kuhr, country manager of ABB in Australia said: “It is important that we unite and provide support for each other in times of crisis, and the immediate re-sponse from our employees across the country has been truly inspirational. We were proud to support the generous spir-it of our employees by adding $133,704 to their contributions to bring our total donation to $180,000.

“Our thoughts and hearts go out to the families and local communities affected, particularly those who have lost every-thing. Our employees will continue to work closely with local businesses to do whatever we can to provide additional assistance for the recovery effort,” added Axel.

The Premier concluded: “It is clear that it will take much hard work and time to

restore the affected communities. How-ever, the recovery process will happen all the faster because of the generosity of community minded organisations such as yours.”

ABB expresses its gratitude to the police, emergency services and military person-nel for their tremendous efforts during the flood crisis and to the many thousands of volunteers who freely donated their time during the clean up effort.

ABB rallies behind Queenslanders

Anna Bligh, Premier of Queensland

Earlier this year, ABB and its 1,500 employ-ees in Australia, rallied behind Queenslanders to raise $180,000 for the Premier’s Flood Relief Appeal, with the company contributing more than two dollars for every dollar donat-ed by employees.

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Local news

CitiPower and Powercor Aus-tralia manage the poles, wires and equipment that deliver electricity to homes and busi-

nesses in and around Melbourne. Just a few months after installing the Service Suite mobile workforce management (MWFM) solution from Ventyx, Powercor’s fault management crews were faced with a major outage due to record flooding.

Supported by the highly scalable Ser-vice Suite mobile scheduling and dispatch software, Powercor rose to the challenge - managing 60 percent more work orders while maintaining the same levels of ef-ficiency and job completion rates.

In 2009, CitiPower and Powercor implemented the Ventyx Service Suite MWFM software solution to help schedule and dispatch crews tasked with installing

1.1 million remotely read “smart meters.” The efficiencies achieved led Power-

cor in October 2010 to expand the scope of Service Suite to encompass the faults operations of Powercor. This included the integration of the utility’s Outage Manage-ment System (OMS) and mobile software for approximately 300 work crews tasked with restoring faults in the electricity dis-tribution network. Once in a lifetime

In January 2011, only a few months af-ter these crews went live on the new sys-tem, disaster struck. A giant lake of flood-water 90 km long washed over the state of Victoria, causing widespread outages. At one point as many as 43,000 Powercor customers were off supply, along with the removal from service of a zone substa-tion supplying 8,000 of those customers.

The scale of the outage caused a major spike in work orders - up 60 percent on the previous week. It was a challenge that no one at the utility had ever experienced, the type of natural disaster that may hap-pen only once in 200 years.

With the surge in work volume and only a few months’ experience with the new Ventyx solution, Powercor was con-cerned that the crews would struggle. “This flooding emergency was considered a true escalation event, for which crews

Software softens the blow of major flooding This year’s record flooding saw major power outages in Australia and a 60 percent rise in work orders for electricity distributor, Powercor. Thanks to mobile workforce management soft-ware from Ventyx, an ABB company, every call was handled with no loss of efficiency.

Innovative mobile work management software from Ventyx, an ABB company, helped utility crews in Melbourne restore power after major flooding

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Local news

ABB has agreed to acquire Mincom the Bris-bane-based company to broaden its software portfolio and establish the Group as a leader in enterprise asset management (EAM) soft-

ware and services. Mincom brings expertise and experience in a range

of industries, and a comprehensive set of solutions for applications such as EAM, mining operations and mo-bile workforce management. Mincom has nearly 1,000 employees and annual revenues of approximately $200 million. With a distribution network in 19 countries, the company is a leading software player in the Asia-Pacific and Latin America regions, with customers including 17 of the top 20 global mining groups, as well as busi-nesses in the energy sector, defence and other asset-intensive industries.

“The acquisition of Mincom is part of our strategy to continuously broaden our software offering,” said Joe Hogan, CEO of ABB. “Mincom helps us to increase the depth of our enterprise asset management offering, building our position as a leader in the key growth sec-tors of natural resources and energy. For our custom-ers this means extending the life of their infrastructure, optimising asset management and reducing the overall cost of ownership.”

To ensure continuity for customers, ABB will retain the Mincom management team and its operations will be added to Ventyx, ABB’s dedicated software busi-ness. The Ventyx portfolio combines information and operational technologies (IT and OT) to optimise asset performance, integrate business processes and deliver insight into global business operations. Mincom’s strong presence in the natural resources sector is complemen-tary to ABB’s expertise in mining control systems and its leading position in energy management technology.

“Joining forces with ABB is a logical next step in the development of our company and a strong validation of the business, our people and our products,” said Greg Clark, CEO of Mincom. “It will expand our global reach and service capabilities, enabling us to continue building on the business we have fostered over the past three decades.”

The transaction is subject to customary regulatory approvals.

Ventyx is a leading business solutions provider offering enterprise software, energy markets data, and profes-sional services - all backed by deep, industry-specific domain expertise - to energy, utility, communications, and other asset-intensive organi-sations worldwide.

ABB acquired Ventyx in June 2010 and they became part of the Network Management business unit within the Power Systems Di-vision. The merger of Ventyx and ABB Network Management offer-ings added SCADA, generation management, transmission and distribution management, outage management and market manage-ment systems and services to the Ventyx solution suite - enabling the company to provide operational management, control and enter-prise IT solutions from one provider.

Ventyx subsequently acquired Insert Key Solutions in December 2010 and Obvient Strategies in January 2011, giving the company advanced solutions for equipment reliability and advanced business intelligence. As a result, Ventyx delivers solutions for the control and management of the total util-ity value chain from a single trusted supplier.

Ventyx combines leading solu-tions and the most experienced team of professionals in the indus-try to help our customers improve their operational and financial per-formance. With a strong track re-cord of achievement, Ventyx is the performance-proven leader.

are allowed to revert to paper, if re-quired. But, most crews didn’t. They continued to use Service Suite on their mobile devices,” said Alan King, Manager of Field Mobile Applications for CitiPower and Powercor’s CHED Services. “This was seen by Power-cor as a very good sign of their faith in the system as the best solution for handling this crisis.”

Despite the significant increase in workload, “The crews were able to handle the volume of work thrown at them,” said King. “This was the first time they really ‘stress tested’ Service Suite, and it held up as expected and did the job they needed it to do.”

The improved ability to capture accurate data and receive real-time updates from the field also aided the business during the flood, said King. “I doubt we would have been able to handle that work volume so easily us-ing paper,” said King. “It’s fair to say that Service Suite played a major role in helping us respond to this emer-gency. Our crews have never seen anything like it, and Service Suite saved us significant costs in terms of overtime, resources, and dispatch demand. It aided the business im-mensely.”

ABB acquires Mincom to expand enterprise software business

Learn more about Ventyx, an ABB company

Strengthens offering for natural resources, smarter grids and other asset intensive industries

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Local news

This question, which is critical to the health and safety of plant personnel working on or near ener-gised electrical equipment, was answered by ABB’s Kelvin Wong and David Stonebridge in a compre-hensive article in the June edition of specialist indus-try publication “Industrial Electrix”.

David who has more than 40 years of extensive experience in switchgear, type testing and handling site issues highlights that when dealing with switchgear, inter-nal arc faults are more of a potential haz-ard to lives than a bolted short circuit. Arc flash can produce enormous gas pres-sures and extreme temperatures. Plant personnel in the path of super-hot gases created by the arc can be killed or suffer serious burn injuries.

David outlines that wearing personal protective equipment (PPE) alone, will not provide 100 percent protection; you need a complete safety strategy. To truly increase safety and ensure compliance in the workplace, it is critical to learn and identify arc flash hazards, train plant em-ployees in safe work practices, and use equipment with built-in safety measures.

To read the full article and learn more about design concepts and strategies that can reduce arc flash incidents, please visit www.abbaustralia.com.au

Can arc fault protection be provided when maintaining low voltage switchgear?

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Become a fan of ABB in Australia

ABB has launched its local facebook site and we welcome you to join the ‘ABB in Australia’ online community. This new interactive platform provides immediate access to breaking news, events, videos, photos, engaging interviews with industry specialists, and links to interesting whitepapers.‘Like us’ today!

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Local news

ABB welcomed the Baldor Electric Company to the Group when it com-pleted its acquisition of company in Jan-uary 2011, and advanced its strategy of becoming a leader in the North American industrial motors business and a global leader for movement and control in in-dustrial applications.

The $4.2 billion acquisition closes a gap in ABB’s automation portfolio by adding Baldor’s strong NEMA motors product line and positions the company as a market leader for industrial motors, including high-efficiency motors. Baldor also adds a growing and profitable me-chanical power transmission business to ABB’s portfolio.

“Baldor is a great company with an ex-tremely strong brand in the world’s larg-est industrial market,” said Joe Hogan, ABB’s CEO. “Baldor’s product range and regional scope are highly complementary to ours and give both companies signifi-cant opportunities to deliver greater val-ue to our customers.”

“We are now even better placed to sup-port our customers with energy efficient solutions that can pay for themselves in energy savings, sometimes within months, and reduce operating costs for clients in the long term.”

The transaction has substantially im-proved ABB’s access to the industrial customer base in North America, open-ing opportunities for ABB’s wider port-folio including energy efficient drives and complementary motors. This move comes at a time when regulatory chang-es in the US and other parts of the world will accelerate demand for energy ef-

ficient industrial motion products. The acquisition will also enable ABB to tap the huge potential in North America for rail and wind investments, both of which are expected to grow rapidly in coming years.

Baldor will join ABB’s Discrete Au-tomation and Motion division. ABB will retain Baldor’s management and brand and the business will continue to be headquartered in Fort Smith, Arkansas, USA, which is Baldor’s current head-quarters location.

ABB acquires Baldor to become a global leader in industrial motion

Axel Kuhr, country manag-er for ABB in Australia said, “For Australia, Baldor’s well respected servo drives and portfolio within the power transmission area extends our range and depth of offer-ing past the motor shaft to bearings, couplings and related equipment.

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Joe Hogan, CEO of ABB

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Feature story

Apioneer in the fields of NCIT 1 and process bus technology, ABB began commissioning a series of six outdoor substa-

tions with process bus and NCIT tech-nology in 1999. The mixed technology, or “hybrid” substations supplied to the Australian utility, Powerlink Queensland, were based on ABB’s intelligent plug-and-switch system (iPASS). Electronic modules integrated into the drives of the circuit breaker, disconnector and earthing switch of the iPASS modules could com-municate using a proprietary optical pro-cess bus. Furthermore, the iPASS mod-ules were equipped with ABB’s ELK-CP sensor for voltage and current measure-ment, also connected to the process bus.

A process bus is the communication net-work between primary equipment (such as instrument transformers) and second-ary equipment (such as protection and

control IEDs 2) of a substation automa-tion system. This optical communication network is used to transmit analog data (such as current and voltage measure-ments). The network can also be used to transmit binary data (such as the switch-gear’s position indications) and trip-and-close commands (to operate the circuit breakers and disconnectors), but this is not part of current process bus imple-mentations. In today’s conventional sub-stations, this information is exchanged through extensive parallel copper cabling. The use of fiber-optic networks not only eliminates vast parts of the copper ca-bling, it also increases operational safety by isolating the primary from the second-ary process �1.

The ELK-CP sensor families are based on redundant sets of Rogowsky coils 3 for current measurement and two inde-pendent capacitive dividers for voltage measurement. As it contains no oil, this equipment is both environmentally friend-ly and extremely safe. The fully redundant design of the sensors (including the asso-ciated electronics) permits application of two completely independent and parallel protection systems, boosting the avail-ability of the secondary system. As sensor

electronics can be replaced independent-ly and without requiring a shutdown of the entire protection system, repair activities require less time and, because no live parts need to be handled, the activities are also much safer �2.

ABB installed more than 300 such elec-tronic sensors in Powerlink’s substations. Notably, in more than 10 years of service, none of the primary converters ever failed.

Sharing values - PowerlinkABB is implementing the world’s first commercial installation of IEC 61850-9-2 LE process-bus technology in Australia

Stefan Meier – The introduction of the IEC 61850 standard represents a great step forward in substa-tion automation – and the process is continuing. One example is the application of the standard’s subsec-tion, IEC 61850-9-2, for the sharing of sampled analog values using Ethernet. By integrating this technology into its substation automation systems, ABB has com-bined over 10 years of experience in producing non-conventional instrument transformers for current and

voltage measurement with the latest communications technologies. It is now possible to connect primary (high-voltage) equipment to ABB’s field-proven sub-station protection and control devices more effectively, improving the reliability and availability of optimised substations. Combining these vital technologies in the world’s first commercial implementation of IEC 61850-9-2 LE, ABB is refurbishing a substation it first com-missioned in 1999.

The publication of IEC 61850, began a new chapter in describing substation functionality and communications.

1 Station and process bus in substations

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Feature story

Using fibre optic networks not only eliminates vast parts of the copper cabling, it also increases operational safety.

Based on experience values, the mean time between failures (MTBF) of the sen-sor electronics is almost 300 years. This demonstrates the extreme reliability and high availability of the sensors, even un-der the very demanding environmental conditions of the Australian climate.

Powerlink upgrade projectPowerlink launched an upgrade project that involved replacing secondary equip-ment in the hybrid substations, including the process-oriented electronics that con-nect to the process bus. A central require-ment of this upgrade is its full compliance with international standards, especially the implementation of the process bus for sampled analog values, which has to comply with IEC 61850-9-2 LE �3.

Powerlink awarded the contract for up-grading the first iPASS substation to ABB. This project represents the world’s first commercial implementation of a process bus according to IEC 61850-9-2 LE. Its implementation is now well under way.

Process bus according to IEC 61850-9-2 LEThe publication of the international stan-dard for communication networks and systems in substations, IEC 61850, be-gan a new chapter in describing substa-tion functionality and communications. For the first time, there is now a standard supporting true interoperability between devices from different vendors, along with a future-proof design. The standard has rapidly gained market acceptance 4.

ABB played an important part in the cre-ation of the standard and continues to be a driving force in its maintenance and further development. Since installing the world’s first multivendor project in 2004, ABB has gone on to deliver more than 1,000 systems with an IEC 61850-com-pliant station bus to sites in about 70 countries.

Following the successful introduction of IEC 61850 at the station level, its impor-tance in process-oriented communication using process bus is increasing rapidly. Completing the standard’s ability to de-fine all necessary time-critical signal ex-changes between the process and bay levels, the standard’s part 9-2 focuses on the exchange of sampled analog values through an ethernet network.

IEC 61850-9-2 requires that analog sam-ples are transmitted by so-called merg-ing units (MUs). The MU time correlates and merges analog data from individual phases or measuring points in the sub-station before transmitting them via the ethernet network, from where the data can be accessed by protection and con-trol devices. With the introduction of the CP-MUP, ABB is the first company to of-fer a conformance-tested, UCA-certified 5 merging unit.

IEC 61850-9-2 has made it possible to exchange signals from NCITs in a stan-dardised way, supporting the eminent advantages of NCIT technology. These include the highest levels of accuracy throughout the complete measuring range, a space-saving design and dra-matically improved safety compared to conventional equipment.

To facilitate implementation of part 9-2 of the standard, and to simplify its applica-tion, the UCA International Users Group has developed an implementation guide-line for IEC 61850-9-2. The guideline provides additional information on how to implement the standard and defines a subset of the same. This document is referred to as IEC 61850-9-2 LE (for light edition) and is predominant among to-days 9-2 implementations.

Because the NCIT merging units are tai-lor-made for a specific type of NCIT, they form a single entity that can be jointly developed and type tested, permitting the behaviour of the complete measuring chain at the IEC 61850 port to be defined.

This is in contrast to stand-alone merging units (SAMUs), which interface to con-ventional CTs 6 and VTs 7. SAMUs sample the analog signals and supply them to the process bus. Inevitably the conver-sion of analog values to digital samples influences the transient response of the measuring chain. This dynamic behav-iour of the SAMU is not covered by the IEC 61850 standard. Activities to address this are ongoing in the relevant IEC and Cigré technical committees and working groups. The definition will be incorporated in a future release of IEC 61869, the in-ternational standard for instrument trans-formers �3.

5 One of Powerlink’s iPASS substations with NCITs

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Extension of proven sensor technology with state-of-the-art process busIn the upgrade project for Powerlink, ABB is building on its extensive expe-rience with NCITs and will replace the originally installed proprietary process bus with IEC 61850 technology. The new IEC 61850-compliant system will handle communications at both the station and process levels.

In the Powerlink Queensland project, ABB will use its SAS600 substation automation system, protection and control IEDs from its Relion® 670 series and its REB500 decentralised busbar and breaker-failure protection system. All protection and control devices in the system will connect to the IEC 61850-9-2 LE process bus and receive sampled analog values from ABB’s CP-MUP merging units. The MUs will interface with the existing combined current and voltage sensors through new sensor electronics. In this way, modifica-tions to the primary apparatus can be kept to a minimum �5.

2 ELK-CP3 combined current and voltage NCITs with IEC 61850-9-2 LE merging unit

3 Standardisation of transient performance and communication interfaces

Feature story

A substation automation system for a 1½ breaker arrangement, similar to that used for the secondary system upgrade in Aus-tralia, is shown in �4. Using the embedded redundant design of ABB’s NCITs, a sec-ond fully independent system of merging units and protection IEDs is used to meet the customer’s redundancy requirements.

To demonstrate the suitability of compo-nents and prove the concepts to be used in the Powerlink project, additional measures to verify the new technology were taken.

A series of pilot installations featuring NCITs and IEDs connected to the pro-cess bus were commissioned to gain

experience with the new technology in real-life substation environments. Among these was the upgrade of a feeder at one of Powerlink’s 275 kV substations with new sensor electronics, merging units and protection IEDs from ABB’s Relion® range. Besides helping customers to gain important experience and confidence, the pilot installations are also delivering vital information on the long-term stability and behaviour of the pilot equipment com-pared with conventional or non-conven-tional devices.

All ABB protection and control equipment undergoes rigorous product and system verification testing in ABB’s own UCA-certified system verification centre8. In ad-dition, a concept test was performed for the Powerlink secondary system upgrade project in ABB’s test field with experts from both companies. Special attention was paid to the behaviour of the system under various fault conditions.

The system behaved reliably, as specified, and under no condition did it overreact or issue incorrect tripping signals. Such er-roneous signals could, in a real-life situa-tion, lead to blackouts in the power net-work.

During the simulation of the various po-tential failure conditions, permanent and detailed supervision of all system compo-nents proved its importance in enabling the fast and accurate identification of faults. Continuous system supervision drastically reduces the need for periodic maintenance activities and tremendously simplifies maintenance by guiding substa-tion personnel to the precise location of faults.

Testing and maintenance of process bus installationsThe replacement of copper wires by fi-bre optic cables and the description of the transferred information according to IEC 61850 open new opportunities for intelligent testing tools that support the commissioning and maintenance of sub-station automation systems.

ABB was quick to release the integrated testing toolbox, ITT600 9, containing a comprehensive suite of tools to help us-ers fully benefit from the advantages of IEC 61850.

ITT600 masks the underlying complexity of the IEC 61850 standard and provides testing and maintenance personnel with a clear view of the data available in the system. For example, it facilitates the veri-fication of consistency of the installation with the station configuration description (SCD), and helps to analyse communica-tion between IEDs and the station-level system.

ABB played an important part in the creation of the IEC 61850 standard and continues to be a driving force in its maintenance and further development.

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4 Substation automation system for a 1½ breaker switchgear with one of two redundant protection systems

6 ABB IEC 61850-9-2 analyser

Feature story

Since the introduction of the process bus for sampled analog values, the corresponding tools have been added to the tool-box. This is particularly important in a scenario where measure-ments are provided by NCITs using an optical connection to the merging units. In such a situation, all conventional CT and VT terminals are rendered obsolete and all analysis is done on the IEC 61850-9-2 network. Drawing on its extensive experience with the integration of IEC 61850 and the development of test-ing tools, ABB is developing a feature-rich analyser for sampled analog values �6.

The advantage of analysing values on the process bus versus conventional current and voltage measurement begins when the measurement points need to be accessed. With the values avail-able on the process bus network, it is no longer necessary to access live components and no CT terminals need to be short-circuited and opened. By connecting the ethernet port of the analysis tool to the process bus network, or directly to the merg-ing unit, the maintenance engineer can easily access all sampled value streams. In contrast to analysis by amp- or volt-meter, the 9-2 analyser readily displays data that were previously not di-rectly available. These include views of current and voltages of all phases at once, phasor diagrams and in-depth information on the transmitted telegrams. This last information gives vital in-sights into the system’s health and can, for example, indicate that parts of the system are undergoing testing.

Future trendsUsing the full potential of the process bus concept and its defini-tion in IEC 61850, binary data can also be transmitted through

the optical communication network between primary process and protection and control IEDs. By placing binary input and output modules close to the primary process, virtually all cop-per cabling can be avoided, resulting in additional advantages such as the ability to electrically isolate process- and bay-level systems, and the continuous supervision of all signals.

By combining its cutting-edge application of IEC 61850 tech-nologies on the station as well as the process level with vast experience in the field of NCIT technology, ABB is building intelli-gent, future-proof offerings to meet customer demands for more reliable, efficient and safe solutions, maximising the benefits and value of their assets.

Stefan Meier

ABB Power Systems

Baden, Switzerland

stefan.meier@ch.abb.com

Footnotes1 NCIT: non-conventional instrument transformer2 IED: intelligent electronic device3 The Rogowski coil is a device used to measure alternating current. It comprises

a toroidal winding. The current-carrying conductor is arranged to pass through the center of the toroid. The output of the sensor is a voltage, which is propor-tional to the derivative of the current.

4 See also ABB Review Special Report IEC 618505 The UCA International Users Group is a not-for-profit corporation focused on

assisting users and vendors in the deployment of standards for real-time ap-plications for several industries with related requirements.

6 CT: current transformer7 VT: voltage transformer8 See also “Verified and validated: ABB has its own verification and validation

center” on pages 23–28 of ABB Review Special Report IEC 61850.9 See also “A testing environment: ABB’s comprehensive suite of software testing

and commissioning tools for substation automation systems” on pages 29–32 of ABB Review Special Report IEC 61850.

For past editions of ABB Review, visit www.abb.com/review

All ABB protection and control equip-ment undergoes rigorous product as well as system verification testing in ABB’s own UCA-certified system verifi-cation center.

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Global news

The link will supply hydropower from northeastern India to the city of Agra over a distance of 1,728 kilometers. The ultrahigh-voltage direct current (UHVDC) link operating at 800 kilovolts will have a converter capacity of 8,000 megawatts, the highest ever built. When operating at full capacity, the link will be able to supply enough electricity to serve 90 million peo-ple based on average national consump-tion. UHVDC technology minimises trans-mission losses and improves efficiency.

The system will be the world’s first UHVDC link with three converter stations: Two “sending” stations will convert power from AC to DC for transmission over a single power line that will pass through the narrow Siliguri Corridor and deliver electricity to the third, “receiving” station in Agra where it will be converted back into AC for distribution to end users.

The multi-terminal solution consider-ably reduces costs compared to the al-ternative of running separate power links from multiple hydropower plants to Agra.

The North-East Agra transmission project will be executed together with BHEL, a leading Indian government-owned power company. The order will be booked on completion of financing requirements.

$900 million power super-highway in India

ABB investment sharpens solar focus

ABB strengthens data centre capability

ABB has agreed to buy a 35 percent stake in Novatec Solar, an innovative Concen-trated Solar Power (CSP) technology company based in Germany.

The ABB Group has added to its efficiency solutions for the data centre business with an investment in US-based Vali-dus DC Systems, a provider of breakthrough direct cur-rent (DC) technology that can reduce power losses by up to 20 percent.

Ultrahigh-voltage solution from ABB selected to deliver a transmission system worth about $900 million to the Power Grid Corporation of India.

Novatec Solar is a leading provider of Linear Fresnel CSP technology using flat mirrors to concentrate the sun’s en-ergy onto a receiver to produce steam. The solar-produced steam reduces the need for fossil fuels to generate electric-ity in existing or new power stations, and also in process plants and other indus-trial applications where heat is required. Compared with other CSP technologies, Novatec Solar’s technology is highly competitive due to its use of flat glass and common steel in low-lying mirror modules that are easy to assemble and install.

Novatec Solar’s patented Linear Fres-nel technology has been demonstrated with a 1.4 megawatt (MW) plant connect-ed to the Spanish electricity grid since March 2009. The company is currently constructing the world’s first commercial 30 MW Linear Fresnel power plant, also in Spain, and recently won an order to retrofit a solar field to a 2,000 MW coal-fired power plant in Australia.

The investment includes an option to acquire 100 percent of Novatec Solar and an agreement to cooperate on future solar power plant projects.

DC technology is substantially more energy efficient than traditional al-ternating current (AC) technology for electrical distribution. DC systems are also less complex, requiring less space and equipment, resulting in considerable additional savings in real estate and capital expenditure.

Data centres can use 100 times more electricity than a similar size office building. DC technology can improve their energy efficiency by 10 to 20 percent compared with AC systems by trimming power conver-sion losses. It also reduces power equipment, installation, real estate and maintenance costs, resulting in a saving on total facil ity costs of up to 30 percent.

The investment complements ABB’s strong technology platform to bolster its entry into the $24 bil l ion market for telecommunications and data center power infrastructure. DC systems provide data centres with a game-changing advantage in both operational and capital cost savings.

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Concentrated solar power plant for power generation

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Global news

ABB to supply new power trans-mission link between the Nordic and Baltic regions. ABB will de-liver a high-voltage direct current (HVDC) transmission system com-prising two converter stations and cable to transmit 700 MW (mega-watts) of electricity with minimum losses across a distance of more than 400 kilometres.

One megawatt battery storage solution to be integrated into power distribution network.

Phenix Renewables has se-lected ABB to deliver a 24 megawatt (MW) photovol-taic (PV) solar power plant in Lazio, central Italy. ABB will be responsible for the design, en-gineering, erection, civil works and commissioning of the plant. ABB’s modular EBoP (electrical balance of plant) concept will enable fast track execution within four months.The two 700 MW, ±300 kV (kilovolt) con-

verter stations (one in Nybro, Sweden, the other in Klaipeda, Lithuania), will use ABB’s HVDC Light technology. The order placed by Svenska Kraftnät of Sweden and LIT-GRID turtas AB of Lithuania also includes the supply and installation of two 300 kV underwater cables, each 400 km long, and land cables of the same voltage in Sweden and Lithuania.

The system incorporates special fea-tures such as active AC voltage support providing greater network stability and black-start capability providing faster grid restoration after a blackout. The system is capable of being integrated into a future pan-European grid with the evolution of the DC grid concept, under discussion around the world.

HVDC Light technology offers several environmental benefits, such as neutral electromagnetic fields, oil-free cables and compact converter stations. It is the ideal solution to connect remote power sourc-es like renewables to mainland networks, overcoming distance limitations and grid constraints.

The link is scheduled to go into opera-tion in 2015.

Pioneering energy storage pilot project

$50 million PV solar order

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ABB wins $580 million power transmission order

SVC Light with Energy Storage

Phase reactor for HVDC Light

EKZ, a leading Swiss distribution utility, is partnering with ABB on a pioneering en-ergy storage pilot project, which will be the largest of its kind in Switzerland. The stor-age facility will be integrated into the utility’s power distribution network and evaluated in key areas such as balancing peak loads, in-termittent power supply, and the viability of such a solution for grid optimisation.

ABB will deliver the one megawatt lithi-um-ion battery-based solution with an initial capacity to store 350-500 kWhs (kilowatt hours) of electricity providing additional power to the grid on demand. EKZ will eval-uate the connection and behaviour of grid-linked battery storage and monitor various operational and economic parameters. The pilot is scheduled to be energised by the end of 2011 when EKZ will take over the operations.

ABB also recently commissioned its first DynaPeaQ® energy storage installation for UK Power Networks at a site in Norfolk, England. The system is based on ABB’s SVC Light® technology, combined with lith-ium-ion battery storage and is located in an 11kV grid with considerable penetration of wind power. This is the first time an electrical energy storage device has been installed on an 11kV distribution network in the UK.

The 24.2 MW plant is based on single-axis trackers, which precisely follow the posi-tion of the sun to position PV panels at the best angle for maximum energy pro-duction. Key ABB products in this project include low- and medium-voltage switch-gear, transformers, cables, the automation and control system and protection equip-ment.

ABB will also build a 150 kilovolt (kV) substation equipped with the latest moni-toring and control system to facilitate reli-able and efficient integration of the electri-cal power generated by the solar panels into the grid. The PV panels will be supplied by the Norwegian company, REC (Renew-able Energy Corporation) in consortium with ABB.

In 2010, ABB executed 16 photovoltaic power plants in southern Europe alone. The plants range in capacity from 1 to 24 MW, and have a total installed capacity of about 100 MW.

ABB built solar module for PV plant in Totana, Spain

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ABB chargers cut time to power up electric fleet at Geneva Motor Show

The DC fast charger linked to the Protoscar on the e-mobile stand at the 2011 Geneva Motor Show

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Global news

Technologies to support the growing market for dependable, low-emission electric vehicles

ABB recently exhibited its portfolio of charging solu-tions for electric cars at the March 2011 Geneva Motor

Show, including a fast charger that expands the range of electric vehicles by recharging them at more than 10 times the speed of a standard char-ger.

Since the prototype fast char-ger presented at Geneva in 2010, ABB has developed its first gen-eration commercial product and ob-tained certif ication under the global CHAdeMO standard for fast charging using direct current (DC).

ABB’s DC chargers are now opera-tional in pilot projects in Europe and Asia, providing rapid charging facil i-ties for the first electric vehicles ca-pable of rapid charging, including the Protoscar Lampo, Mitsubishi i-MiEV, Peugeot Ion, Citroen Czero and Nis-san Leaf.

At the motor show, ABB also pre-sented its prototype standard charger based on alternating current (AC), which is designed for installation at home and at other locations where cars are typically parked for longer periods (offices, shopping centres, etc.). These units fully recharge a car battery in about eight hours.

By cutting charging times to less than 30 minutes, fast chargers enable longer trips and are expected to play a crucial role in the spread of electric vehicles.

In January, ABB invested $10 mil-l ion in ECOtality, a San Francisco-based developer of charging stations and power storage technologies, to enter North America’s electric ve-hicle charging market. As part of the agreement, ABB will supply ECOtality with both standard and fast chargers for a US Department of Energy-fund-ed project to set up 15,000 charge points to support the deployment of 8,300 electric vehicles in cities across the US.

ABB’s AC pillar charger

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Applications

Closing the power gap for state’s largest ice maker

State-of-the-art power factor correction equipment makes more efficient use of existing power infrastructure at Golden West Ice’s manufacturing plant

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Applications

ABB’s power factor correction equipment has enabled the largest manufacturer of food grade ice in Western Austra-

lia to make optimum use of its existing power supply and improve the power ef-ficiency of its plant located in Geraldton, 424 kilometers north of Perth.

Golden West Ice produces over 300 tons of the highest quality ice per day and has over 3,000 tons of cold stor-age capacity to support the local cray-

fish industry. Bulk quantities, five and 15 kilogram bags of clean, filtered ice leave the factory every day to supply the fish-ing industry and customers all over the state’s metropolitan and regional areas via its fleet of delivery vehicles.

The Geraldton ice works installed their first power quality device, an ABB ABACUS 300 kvar power factor correc-tion (PFC) cubicle, eight years ago. The ABACUS unit was needed because the existing power capability, which was op-erating at its maximum 1200 amp load capacity, was struggling to cope with the power demand required during peak pro-duction periods. Now at full plant load, the PFC equipment reduces the plants total current load by 200 amps which al-lowed a new ice machine compressor to be brought into operation.

“We called ABB during the expansion planning stage, when it became clear that the existing power infrastructure serving the site would not be able to handle any additional demand,” said Stephen Lodge

of Golden West Ice. “ABB recommended we install the PFC to reduce our power draw. Once we succeeded in reducing it to under 1,000 amps per phase, which picked up 180 – 200 amps per phase, we were able to put in another ice ma-chine compressor and increase our pro-duction capacity by 30 percent.”

“The power quality improved and eliminated the need for major investment in new power generation and network in-frastructure,” said Rob Symonds, power quality specialist for ABB in Australia. “Without our equipment to satisfy the power capacity requirements they would have had to spend $40,000 to $60,000 on a bigger generator, plus additional costs associated with civil works in re-surfacing car parks.”

Stephen added: “Overall we have been very happy with the stability of our power network. In fact, we are on the same power line and road as the local school and they recently had an issue where they had 25 personal computers blow up. We had no problems at all.”

Golden West Ice’s new metropolitan facility located in Malaga has plans to be equipped with ABB’s power quality equipment during 2011, ensuring the new plant operates at maximum power efficiency with the lowest possible car-bon emission.

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“ABB recommended we install the PFC to reduce our power draw. Once we suc-ceeded in reducing it to under 1,000 amps per phase, which picked up 180 – 200 amps per phase, we were able to put in another ice machine compressor and increase our produc-tion capacity by 30 percent.”

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Applications

Western Power, owner and operator of the grid infrastructure, was studying various options to accommodate increasing levels of power transfer from independent gen-erating facilities in the south-west without destabilising grid voltage levels that may have led to voltage collapse.

A number of options were considered, including:− Deferring enhancement of the network

that would require additional generation to be located in the metropolitan area.

− Installing a new 330 kV transmission line. This option would have been at a high cost and would have taken a consider-able time due to environmental approv-als and construction period.

− Installing capacitor banks and synchro-nous condensers. This option did not meet the requirements and was too expensive.

− Installing a Static Var Compensator (SVC).

SVC: the optimum solutionThe SVC option was considered the most appropriate, as it met the required network load growth (connection of approximately 525 MW of new generation in the region without compromising system security). It was also possible to implement within the required time frame and was the most cost effective and practical solution.

The SVC, supplied by ABB and located at the Southern Terminal Station in the Perth metropolitan area is rated at 132 kV, 100 MVAr inductive to 200 MVAr capacitive (-100/+200 MVAr) and designed to man-age grid voltages following an outage of a 330 kV transmission line. It maintains volt-age stability, provides flexibility for trans-mission equipment outages and balances the increased flow of energy entering the network from new generators.

The SVC prevents system over-voltage dur-ing load rejection events, and enables the management of power system stability in case of system disturbances/power sys-tem faults. This is achieved without resort-ing to under-frequency or under-voltage load shedding and are additional benefits of having the SVC connect to the grid.

Automatic control of external capacitor banks has been integrated in the SVC control system. This accommodates 10 capacitor banks, initially four, at 132 kV with a total of 343 MVAr approximately, within the Southern Terminal site and at terminal sites in the metro area.

Due to space restriction, the SVC was incorporated into an area of 50 x 60 metres in a corner within the existing terminal sta-tion boundary. The location was selected to allow future expansion of the site for additional lines with minimum environ-mental and visual impact.

SVC: a cost and time effective option to a 330 kV grid expansionPower consumption is increasing at a considerable pace in Western Australia (WA) due to the resources boom and the associated population increase. The challenge for Western Power, owner and operator of the grid infra-structure, was to find a solution within the existing grid infrastructure that guaranteed power system security in the south west area of WA, while coping with increasing demand from the rapidly expanding metro area of Perth.

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Applications

The SVC was designed and constructed by ABB as a turnkey project supported by Western Power and Norman Disney and Young, consultants to Western Power.

Meeting the increased energy demandThe SVC at Southern Terminal has enabled Western Power to meet the state’s increased demand for energy in a timely and cost effective manner by optimising the existing infrastructure for both publi-cally owned and private generators. It has created greater capacity for them to sup-ply electricity to the network while main-taining reliablity and quality of power for customers.

As the SVC stabilises the voltage on the network, it has alleviated voltage distur-bances to homes and businesses in the southern area of the state - enabling great-er levels of productivity for industry and business across Western Australia.

Installing the SVC has deferred the need for a 330 kV line which would have taken up to seven years to implement and resulted in land clearing for hundreds of kilometres for the line easement. The installed SVC and associated works cost less than 20 percent of the cost of building a 330 kV line and saved approximately 41/2 years of project time.

Efficient power system controlThe SVC proved to be extremely efficient in controlling transmission voltage levels across the network during recent bush fires and major storms in the Perth and metro areas. The SVC successfully con-trolled voltage levels across the network when these events caused two 3-phase faults on the 132 kV grid located about 75 km from the SVC site. Despite these major disturbances the SVC maintained transmission voltage levels and alleviated power supply interruptions for customers connected to the 132 kV grid.

SVC installed at the Southern Terminal Station in the Perth metro area has optimised the capacity of the existing infrastructure and deferred the need to build a new 330 kV transmission line

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Applications

The SVC automatically adjusts system voltage levels at the heart of the power network at the terminal stations locat-ed at Southern and Northern Terminal. Previously, this process was controlled remotely by a series of different devices at the power stations and switchyards. This resulted in much longer response times, increased risk for a voltage collapse and blackouts to parts or the whole of Perth depending on the operation of the net-work and generation.

Main circuit designThe SVC comprises a thyristor-controlled reactor (TCR) rated at 155 MVAr, a thy-ristor-switched capacitor (TSC) rated at 145 MVAr, and a 5th harmonic filter rated at 55 MVAr. This gives the SVC a total, continuously controllable reactive pow-er range from 100 MVAr inductive to 200 MVAr capacitive.

Control systemThe SVC is controlled by a duplicated microprocessor-based control system. The control system is based on the ABB MACH2 concept, built around an indus-trial PC with add-in circuit boards and I/O racks connected via standard type field buses. Dedicated voltage and current

transformers provide the control system with information of the network parame-ters employed in the SVC control system.

The control system provides facilities for SVC control either from an operator work station (OWS) in the SVC control room or remotely via the SCADA system.

The SVC performs system control tasks as follows:− Voltage control− Damping of system electro-mechanical

oscillations by means of POD (power oscillation damper). (Currently not acti-vated at Southern Terminal.)

− Control of mechanically switched capac-itors (MSC) in the substation.

The normal mode of operation is automatic voltage control. The voltage control sys-tem is a closed loop system with control of the positive-phase sequence voltage at the 132 kV bus. The desired voltage ref-erence is set from the OWS.

The SVC is designed for continuous oper-ation in degraded modes. In such modes, the SVC is available for operation within a limited range even if one or more of its reac-tive branches are temporarily unavailable.

SVC project team celebrate the successful commissioning of the Southern Terminal Station

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Applications

TSC capacitor bank

Single-line diagram, SVC

Return to service within 48 hours

Western Power’s requirement of ‘48 hours return to service’ after a total failure of the SVC was addressed with the follow-ing features:1. Installation of 4 x 1-phase power

transformers2. Duplicated control systems3. Cooling system with duplicated water

pumps and spare fan4. Duplicated 415 V auxiliary supplies from

the 21 kV SVC busbar5. Western Power provided an emergen-

cy 415 V supply for a “Black start” of the SVC

6. Removable links on the connection from the 21 kV busbar to the TSC and TCR branches

7. Two redundant thyristors in each thy-ristor stack

8. Adequate spare parts provided

Thyristor valvesEach three-phase thyristor valve consists of three single-phase units with PCTs (Phase Control Thyristor) stacked vertically in two anti-parallel stacks per phase. Snubber circuits (series connected resistors and capacitors) are mounted in parallel with each thyristor. The thyristors are elec-trically fired, with energy for firing taken from the snubber circuits. Thyristor firing

orders are communicated via optical light guides from the valve control unit located at ground potential (indirect light firing). The thyristors are liquid cooled, with de-ionised, low conductivity water as coolant.

Loss minimisingLoss minimisation logic has been incorpo-rated into the SVC control system to oper-ate the SVC at the most efficient operating level. This means that the control system operates the SVC to ensure that its own power losses are minimised while remain-ing fully operational.

Noise abatement and control of EMF Rigorous noise mitigation strategies were implemented to meet the state regulations, due to the close proximity of houses to the SVC. The result is an SVC which is extremely quiet in operation and the noise emissions do not exceed 35 decibles at the terminal station boundary.

It was also a key design feature that the SVC met Western Power’s electromag-netic field (EMF) emission requirements.

High reliabilityThe SVC is designed to have a system operation availability time of 99.6 percent, with a reliability rating of less than one fail-ure per annum.

SummaryThe ABB SVC installed at the Southern Ter-minal Station has optimised the capacity of the existing Western Power infrastruc-ture and deferred the need to build a new 330 kV transmission line from the south west of WA to the metro area of Perth.

The SVC solution was less than 20 percent of the cost of a new 330 kV transmission line and saved approximately 41/2 years of project time. The SVC maintains volt-age stability, provides flexibility for trans-mission equipment outages, and balances the increased flow of energy entering the transmission grid from new generators. It is also an insurance against blackouts.

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Product news

The 650 series IEDs provide optimum ‘off the-shelf’, ready-to-use solutions equipped and configured with complete protection functionality and default parameters to meet the needs of a wide range of applications within generation, transmission and sub-transmission.

All products in the 650 series feature several communica-tion protocols for substation automation systems (SAS). In addition to IEC 61850-8-1 and DNP 3.0 protocols, the products now have been further enhanced by adding IEC 60870-5-103 communication. This enables easy integra-tion of the 650 series products into existing installations together with existing secondary systems at extension or refurbishment of the protection and control system.

Three completely new products have been introduced for both ANSI and IEC markets with the release of Relion’s new genera-tor protection REG650, breaker protection REQ650 and the high impedance differential protection REB650. Additionally, the earlier released products for protection of lines and transformers, as well as bay control, are now also available according to the ANSI standard.

Introducing new ANSI/IEC products and features in the Relion® 650 series

Power Products

AdvantagesREQ650

− Ease of use from ready-to-use solutions − Longer life and cost efficiency for your installations

REG650 − Best choice for small and medium-sized genera-

tors − Versatile communication capabilities

REB650 − One IED for a wide range of high impedance dif-

ferential protection applications − Unique functional integration

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Product news

Power Products

Power Systems

BIOTEMP® - biodegradable, high fire-point dielectric insulating fluid transformers

SymphonyTM Plus - evolution without obsolescence

Power and distribution transformers filled with BIOTEMP® _ a natural ester-based fluid made from vegetable-based oil that offers environmental benefits, improved transformer performance and fire resistant properties compared to traditional mineral oil dielectric fluids.

ABB’s proprietary dielectric BIOTEMP solution offers increased transformer overload capability without compromising insulation lifespan under normal loading conditions; enhancing performance and life of transformer assets using the fluid.

BIOTEMP is made from high-oleic oils, such as sunflower and safflower, which contain more than 75 percent of mono-unsaturated fatty acids increasing the oil stability compared to competing products containing much lower levels (typically less then 25 percent). For the technically minded, it also offers superior oxidation stability and hence extended transformer life compared to other available natural ester fluids.

SymphonyTM Plus is the new generation of ABB’s total plant automation for the power and water industries. It is designed to maximise plant efficiency and reliability through automation, integration, and opti-misation of the entire plant.

Symphony Plus meets a broad spectrum of plant configurations and applications, especially in the power and water indus-tries. It is flexible and scalable, designed to serve the needs of small applications as well as large multi-system, multi-server architectures.

It supports the seamless integration of field devices, process and turbine auto-mation systems, electrical and SCADA (supervisory control and data acquisition) solutions as well as business and mainte-nance systems. Symphony Plus provides

users with a secure, reliable control en-vironment and built-in security features which prevent unauthorised system access.

Advantages − Offers superior oxidation stability − Improved fire safety performance with a firepoint over 300°C − Suitable for environmentally sensitive locations − Increases overload-ability without compromising insulation lifespan − Uses fluid made from the most stable renewable vegetable-based oil

Advantages − Total plant automation − Single control and I/O

platform − Unified engineering

workbench − Transformer data into

actionable business decisions − Single control and I/O

platform − Scalable – provides flexible

and scalable configurations − Electrical and device

integration − Inherent system security

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Product news

Power Products

Advantages − Low space requirement − Uses 20 percent less SF6 gas compared to

previous generation − Delivered as a completely assembled bay − Reduces installation time by more than 60 percent − Modular design

Advantages − Internal digital communication speed is

ten times faster − Pre-programmed process database using

common welding parameters − Up to 90 channels for programming − Fully integrated welding solution

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Discrete Automation and Motion

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ABB launched the ELK-14 series of gas insulated switchgear (GIS) which is even more environmentally-friend-ly than its predecessor. The footprint is 40 percent smaller than conventional designs and it also uses 20 percent less SF6 gas compared to the previous generation.

The unit is delivered as a completely assembled bay, reducing installation time by more than 60 percent compared to traditional construction. The bays feature single-phase isolation, and are delivered fully tested and mounted on a frame.

The bay arrangement is highly flexible, so that all system configurations, including subsequent expansions, can be easily and quickly implemented. The systems have been designed for a rated voltage of 253 kilovolt, and can handle rated currents of up to 3,150 Amperes.

ABB’s new solution with ten times faster internal digital communication speed for robotised arc welding offers full integration of all welding equipment, easy programming and powerful performance for automated welding applications.

ArcPack, is designed to offer high quality welds with minimum downtime. The package includes ABB’s fifth generation IRC5 controller, the touch screen interface FlexPendant, RobotWare Arc programming software and an IRB1410 industrial robot to deliver an integrated solution for hassle-free arc welding.

The package is provided with ABB’s new RPC welding power source suited for MIG (metal inert gas) and MAG (metal active gas) welding automation. The RPC welding power source offers enhanced control of welding applications enabling easy specifi-cation of process parameters such as voltage, current and gas flow to be managed via the controller.

Intelligent ArcPack controls improve welding quality

New generation 245 kilovolt gas insulated switchgear

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Product news

Process Automation

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LM200 Laser level and positioning transmitter

Advantages − Measures any surface at any

angle − Built-in laser pointer − Rugged and robust enclosure

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Advantages − Graphic LCD display − Configurable as open

channel flow meter − Pump cycling and monitoring − Auto variable gain and power

for difficult applications − Remote totaliser count

outputs

Micro loop pow-ered ultrasonic level transmitter

Advantages − Low cost and compact with

integral transducer − Four digit alpha-numeric

display − Temperature compensation − Auto variable power control − Suitable for corrosive

applications

The MICRO LP ultrasonic level transmit-ter is designed to measure liquid at up to a five metre range and is mounted on top of the vessel or tank.

The microprocessor in the MICRO LP fires an electronic pulse that the trans-ducer converts into an acoustic pulse. The pulse travels to the level that is being measured and is reflected back to the transducer. The transducer then converts the energy back into an elec-tronic signal and accurately determines the distance.

The powerful software removes false echoes and the electronic filter removes ambient noise. The transmitter is suitable for use in water storage tanks, load-ing and bagging hoppers, mineral oils and open channel flow measurement in V-notch, flumes and weir configuration applications.

Short range ultrasonic level transmitter

A LM200 long range laser level and positioning transmitter is a laser-based distance measuring instrument used in process control systems.

The on-board microprocessor calculates distance by multiplying the speed of light by the time it takes for a laser pulse to travel from the instrument to a target and back. The measuring laser uses invisible, infrared light.

There is a second, visible aiming laser to help with the alignment of the measur-ing laser. The laser beams have very little divergence so that accurate targeting is easy even in silos or vessels that have internal structures.

The KSONIK™ I is a transmitter capable of measuring liquid level or solid applica-tions up to 15 metres or flow rates in all types of open channel flow applications.

The transmitter’s microprocessor fires an electronic pulse to the transducer and starts a timer. When the pulse contacts the surface of the material, energy is reflected back to the transducer, which converts this reflected energy back to an electronic pulse. This pulse is sent back to the microprocessor and determines the “time of flight” of the signal. By com-bining the speed of sound through air and the “time of flight” of the pulse, the microprocessor accurately determines the level of the product.

Powerful software removes false echoes from the signal and electronic filters remove ambient noise.

Connect emission-free power to the grid?

Naturally.

ABB is helping construct the world’s largest offshore wind farm. Using our eco-friendly transmission technology, this 400-megawatt plant is expected to avoid 1.5 million tons of CO2 emissions per year and improve the reliability of the power grid. It’s just one of the ways that we, as the biggest supplier of electrical products and services for the wind industry, can use renewable power sources to help combat climate change. www.abb.com/betterworld