Hitachi ABB Power Grids has announced the launch of SVC Light Enhanced at CIGRE 2021. Its next-generation grid stabilisation solution, which combines two grid stabilising technologies into one device that enables transmission systems to integrate more renewable energy and contribute to a carbon-neutral society.
SVC Light Enhanced enables the smooth integration of renewable energy into the world’s rapidly evolving energy system, underpinning new and fast-growing uses for emission-free electrification, ranging from powering data centres to sustainable mobility.
The world’s power grids are coming under increasing strain from the destabilising effects of variable and often unpredictable renewable energy (i.e., solar and wind) in the power mix. This is heightened by the closing of conventional power plants, which store large amounts of energy in their rotational equipment (called inertia) that is used to counteract disturbances that could cause an outage in the power grid.
The SVC Light Enhanced solution addresses these challenges by combining two power quality and grid stabilization technologies in a single compact device. This pioneering technology comprises an SVC Light STATCOM which provides vital reactive power to balance the impact of renewables. It also incorporates supercapacitors, which store hundreds of megawatt-seconds of energy and automatically release it within milliseconds when disturbances occur, thus reducing reliance on conventional power plants.
“SVC Light Enhanced fills a large and growing gap in the market, for which our customers worldwide have been seeking an efficient and reliable solution,” said Niklas Persson, Managing Director of Hitachi ABB Power Grids’ Grid Integration business. “It delivers huge amounts of power instantly to keep grids stable and resilient, enabling utilities to increase their uptake of emission-free energy and progress toward carbon neutrality.”
STATCOM technologies, such as SVC Light from Hitachi ABB Power Grids have a 40 per cent lower carbon footprint over their life cycle compared to traditional solutions. Earlier this year, Hitachi ABB Power Grids delivered the world’s most powerful STATCOMs, enabling more renewable energy to flow through the German transmission system. Other recent innovations include the world’s first hybrid synchronous condenser and STATCOM in the UK.
Hitachi ABB Power Grids said that the launch of SVC Light Enhanced is further evidence of their commitment to helping customers and countries transition toward a carbon-neutral energy future – a commitment that it has outlined in its Sustainability 2030 strategic plan.
Based around four pillars – Planet, People, Peace and Partnerships – the strategy draws from the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals, where each pillar has corresponding targets that drive the business to contribute social, environmental and economic value.
Targets relating to protecting the planet include becoming carbon-neutral in its own operations by 2030. As a first step, the business expects to have moved to 100 per cent fossil-free electricity by the end of 2021. It has also announced a target to halve CO2 emissions along the value chain by 2030, and is working closely with suppliers to achieve this. Other 2030 planet-oriented targets include halving waste disposed, and reducing freshwater usage by 25 per cent.
