he picturesque Grimsel, tucked away some 2,100 metres above sea level in the snow-capped Swiss Alps, with its long-winding mountain roads and occasional lush green valleys, is not just a vacationer's delight. It is also home to hydro power plants that draw upon the abundant water in the mountains to generate electricity throughout the year.
The Oberhasli Hydroelectric Power Company or KWO, with a storage reservoir capacity of 200 million cubic meters, has nine power plants in the Grimsel region, generating 1125 MW of power.
One of the power plants also showcases an innovation masterstroke in conserving precious natural resources, thanks to a new technology from the $35.5 billion ABB, a leader in power and automation technologies, which has teamed up with KWO for the project.
POWER INNOVATION
The Grimsel 2 hydro power plant, technically called a pump storage plant, works like a battery. When the demand for power is high, water from the reservoir is released, which meets turbines 400 metres further down the rock face and generates electricity.
When there is excess electricity produced and demand is low, water is pumped back to the reservoir. The process has been made more efficient using a 100 MW convertor from ABB, which regulates the speed of the pump, and hence, the power consumption.
"This is the largest power convertor for hydro pump application, the most powerful with 100 MW, comparable to 1,000 cars," says Ernst Roth, an official with the power conversion division of ABB, at its unit in Turgi in the Swiss Canton of Aargau, which boasts of state-of-the-art processes in engineering, supply chain management and production.
More than 1,000 elements of power electronics ensure that the pumps are regulated correctly to maintain the overall stability of the power grid.
ABB's innovations such as the power convertors have big applications in energy storage, especially at a juncture, where power generation from wind and solar is gaining huge traction across the world.
ABB's innovations such as the power convertors have big applications in energy storage, especially at a juncture, where power generation from wind and solar is gaining huge traction across the world.
An official from TPG, ABB's partner for TOSA electric bus, which charges
fully in 15 seconds, explains the technology to visiting media.
THE INDIA CONNECTION
India, where the company's local arm generated Rs 8,140 crore in revenues in 2015, for instance, has ambitious plans to increase solar capacity to roughly 100 GW, double its wind capacity to 60 GW by 2022 and increase nuclear capacity to 63 GW by 2030.
"The ramp up of solar in India is mind boggling. It is coming up very quickly," says ABB CEO Ulrich Spiesshofer. The company is already providing power solutions to solar projects in India.
In June this year, it successfully commissioned five substations to integrate a 648 MW solar project at Kamuthi in Tamil Nadu to the national transmission grid. The project was awarded by independent power producer (IPP) Adani Group in 2015, and completed on schedule.
The solar photovoltaic project - made up of five plants in a single location - is the largest of its kind in the world.
"We have a fully localised value chain, and a strong team locally in India (of around 10,000 staff). Out of the 5 - 6 GW that is out there today, up and running, we have already run half, and see a double digit growth there in the years to come," Spiesshofer adds.
FOR MAKE-IN-INDIA
ABB is bringing large scale solar-based irrigation solutions for India, and is jointly working with the government on micro-grid solutions in the country. It is executing a multi-terminal UHVDC transmission link between North-East and Agra with 8,000 MW converter capacity.
Spiesshofer said that ABB is looking at India in a long term perspective, as it is one of the largest economies of the world.
"We are in India for over 100 years, offering our entire portfolio," he said, adding that significant investments are being made in infrastructure and utilities, mostly from the government.
"ABB is well positioned to support Prime Minister Narendra Modi in his 'Make in India' drive through our automation solutions," he said.
ABB CEO Ulrich Spiesshofer speaking at the company's Capital Markets
Day in Zurich on October 4.
600 KILOWATT IN 15 SECONDS
In the transport sector, be it the Indian Railways and its electrification programme or the country's ambitious plans to become a fully electric vehicle nation by 2030, ABB sees business opportunities, just as it sees more business coming in from robotics as factories increasingly turn to automation to improve efficiency and productivity.
It, thus, plans to bring its TOSA (Trolleybus Optimisation Système Alimentation) technology for electric buses to India. This is the world's fastest flash-charging connection technology, taking less than a second to connect the bus to the charging point. The onboard batteries can then be charged in 15 seconds with a 600-kilowatt boost of power at the bus stop.
Spiesshofer also said that India is one of the key markets ABB would look for inorganic growth, and that the country has capabilities not only in engineering but in software applications, too. ABB Technology Ventures set up in 2009, is also keen to support start-up companies in India through venture capital funding.
(The writer was in Switzerland on invitation from ABB)
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