ABB, a leading global technology company, is presenting some of its latest technologies with a focus on the increasing digitalisation of the grid, at the ongoing GCC- CIGRE International Conference and Exhibition for Electrical Equipment, in Doha, Qatar.

The event, which opened on November 8, will conclude on November 10.

In addition to its exhibition showcase, ABB experts will deliver several technical papers that address the latest trends and developments of an evolving grid, said a statement from the company.

N Venu, lead division manager, ABB’s Power Grids division, South Asia, Middle East and Africa, said: “The power sector is experiencing a major transformation and the grid is evolving to address new challenges and opportunities both from a supply and demand perspective.”

“Trends like the big push for renewables require the grid to become more flexible, interconnected and intelligent, in order to adapt to the new dynamics while ensuring reliability and efficiency. This calls for increasing levels of digitalisation and ABB is at the forefront of this evolution, with technology solutions like digital substations,” he added.

The highlight of ABB’s stand is a digital substation concept that builds on the international standard IEC 61850 to achieve new heights in reliability, interoperability and real-time performance. This concept incorporates digital communications via fiber optic cables, replacing traditional copper connections using analog signals, increasing safety, flexibility and availability, while reducing environmental impact, said a statement.

The digital substation uses the digital process bus – connected either by fiber optics or a wireless network, such as ABB’s Tropos offering. Just the removal of copper can, in some circumstances, justify the switch to digital. For example, going digital can cut the quantity of copper in a substation by 80 per cent – a substantial cost saving and, more importantly, a significant safety enhancement, it asid.

Managing large communication networks is another key pre-requisite for building smarter electric grids since the number of smart grid connected devices is expected to increase significantly in the coming years. ABB has boosted its capability in this area with the introduction of the new SuprOS 8.5, a carrier-class communication network management system (NMS) capable of managing a utility’s entire field area network from a single console.

SuprOS can manage thousands of communication network devices and provides network-wide visualisation tools for fault, configuration and performance management from a single console. This technology will also be highlighted at the ABB stand.

As part of its composite service offering ABB will display sensor and software based solutions like its Transformer Intelligence concept to facilitate the integration of operational and information technologies and enable asset health management.

Mostafa Al Guezeri, managing director of ABB in Qatar, said: “The Middle-East is a fast growing region witnessing an increased focus on power infrastructure development to meet increasing electricity demand.”

“ABB has a long and successful track record in the region and we are proud to support the region with our latest technologies to enable a strong, smart and environmentally friendly grid,” he added. – TradeArabia News Service