South Africa’s Western Cape is getting a transmission line to help manage the predicted electric load growth to transport power from the north to the rest of the country. The transmission network is one of the few 800-kV networks in the world, but the high voltage of the system does not affect the loss of electricity on route, unlike long transmission lines.
A significant challenge for the development of transmission networks in the Western Cape is ensuring that effective control systems for the longer transmission lines are installed to ensure that minimal electrical energy is lost during transition, says ABB South Africa power technologies sales manager Ross Botha.
The loss of energy in transmission is primarily related to the length of transmission lines and not to the substations, which hold the capacitors, explains Botha.
ABB is one of several companies that have been subcontracted for the Western Cape transmission network project using Flexible Alter-nating Current Transmission Systems (Facts), which make transmission more effective by adding capacitors in series to effectively shorten the line distances over which the electricity has to be transported. The power industry term, Facts, covers a number of technologies that enhance the security, capacity and flexibility of power transmission systems.
Facts solutions enable power grid owners to increase existing transmission network capacity while maintaining or improving the operating margins necessary for grid stability. As a result, more power can reach consumers with a minimum impact on the environment, after substantially shorter project implementation times, and at lower investment costs – all compared to the alternative of building new transmission lines or power generation facilities.
ABB has been awarded a five-year contract by Eskom for 765-kV dead-tank circuit breakers and surge arresters, worth R430-million.