The Value of Certification
Following powerful growth in the second half of last century, today’s certifications market is in flux, with both technicians and experts questioning the real value of certifications. As a consequence the certification body is increasingly the heart of this process and its choice, its engagement is the new challenge for companies asking for conformity assessment […]
HVDC Environmental Impact
The environmental impact of an HVDC interconnection system HVDC SYSTEM DEVELOPMENT HVDC technology is the only feasible solution when crossing long marine distances. This is the case of some electric interconnection projects in the Mediterranean Sea area. In fact, for long-distance transmission, HVDC systems may be less expensive and suffer lower electrical losses and underwater power […]
HVDC: Back to the future
The future began in Gotland in 1950. It is here, between this island 90 kilometers off the coast of Sweden and the mainland, that the first direct current connection for the transmission of electricity was made. Though limited in size and power, the project has had enormous resonance. In fact, the prototype developed by ABB […]
Dam Safety for Hydropower Development
Hydropower projects can actively contribute to poverty reduction and life quality enhancement in local communities Hydropower is renewable because it draws its essential energy from the sun which drives the hydrologic cycle that, in turn, provides a continuous renewable supply of water. Hydropower accounts for more than 92 percent of all renewable energy generated and […]
Smart grids for preventing blackouts?
Transmission adequacy problems versus electrical growing consumptions, control and protection technological ageing, unpredictable renewable sources penetration, unbundling and market distortion effects, lack of coordination between system operators… are just examples of possible root causes which led to partial or total blackouts in recent years worldwide. USA and European large disturbances on 2003 and 2005, as […]
ORP Potential can enhance flexibility
High operational flexibility (e.g. the ability of a power plant for fast start-up and to adjust load output as a function of changing of market requirement) is an essential pre-requisite to ensure economic success in a liberalized market . Plants under cycling duty are subjected to excursions of temperature, pressure, water flow rate, making very […]