Hitachi ABB Power Grids consortium to build Middle East-North Africa interconnection
- October 20, 2021
Hitachi ABB Power Grids announced that it is the lead in a consortium that has been awarded a major contract worth several hundreds of millions of US dollars from the Saudi Electricity Company and the Egyptian Electricity Transmission Company.
The award is for the first ever large-scale HVDC interconnection in the Middle East and North Africa, enabling the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) and the Arab Republic of Egypt to exchange up to 3,000 mw of electricity – much of which is expected to be generated from renewable energy sources — in the future. The connection will support the flow of power in multiple directions between three terminals and will be the first interconnection allowing the exchange of electric power between both countries.
The global technology and market leader will be delivering advanced technologies for the high-voltage direct current (HVDC) power link between the countries. This includes the supply of three HVDC converter stations located at Medina and Tabuk in KSA, and Badr in Egypt1. The business will also be providing system studies, design and engineering, transformers, valves, high-voltage equipment, technical advisory, commissioning and service, in collaboration with two consortium partners – Saudi Services for Electro Mechanic Works in KSA and Orascom Construction in Egypt.
The HVDC link will give Egypt access to the interconnected power grids of the Arabian Gulf, and KSA access to those of North Africa, whilst strengthening grid resilience and power supply security. Both countries have ambitious carbon-neutrality targets. The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is working to increase the share of natural gas and renewable energy sources to approximately 50 per cent by 2030, and the Arab Republic of Egypt intends to increase the supply of electricity generated from renewable sources to 42 per cent by 2035. The connection directly contributes to the realization of these goals. The in-country value of the investment is significant, generating new jobs and knowledge transfer for people in KSA and Egypt.
In the longer term, the link has the potential to be part of a more broadly interconnected energy system with Europe and the eastern Mediterranean, allowing the exchange of solar power from the south and east with wind and hydro power from the north.
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Three-way connection
The HVDC interconnection will transport up to 3,000 mw of electricity at 500kV along 1,350 km using overhead power lines and a subsea cable across the Red Sea. The power will be able to flow in multiple directions between the three terminals – for instance, from Tabuk to Badr, but also simultaneously from Tabuk to Medina. With the state-of-the-art MACH™ control system, the power flow can be controlled and reversed between the stations without interrupting the continuous power flow, providing maximum flexibility, grid resilience and supply security to both countries.
