A new substation to be constructed by ABB in Romania will enable the country to connect 700 MW of newly installed wind power capacity to the grid.
Romania's national transmission utility, Transelectrica, and four other European companies, have placed orders worth $24 million with ABB to design, build and commission the substation in the Tulcea region on the banks of the River Danube.
The new 400 kV air-insulated switchgear substation will receive and transform power from the 700 MW wind farm, which is being developed by Verbund subsidiaries Alpha Wind and CAS Regenerabile, as well as Beta Wind of Romania and Land Power Inergia of Italy.
Key equipment to be supplied with this order include power transformers, a range of switchgear, instrument transformers, control and protection devices and an IEC 61850 substation automation system to facilitate communication between the numerous devices within the substation and beyond.
Romania's installed wind power capacity stood at just 14 MW at the end of 2009, according to the European Wind Energy Association (EWEA). The country has some of the best wind conditions in Europe and has set itself ambitious renewable energy targets underpinned by a green certificate system.
Installed wind energy capacity could reach 5 GW by 2020, according to the Romanian Wind Energy Association.
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