2009-07-06 - More than 40 percent of Hungary’s electric power is generated by a single nuclear power plant. Trouble-free transmission from the plant to the power grid is critical – both for national energy security and public safety. ABB technology ensures this happens.
By ABB Communications
Built in the 1970s and equipped with four Soviet-designed reactors, the 1,860-megawatt Paks nuclear power plant in central Hungary generates around 14,800 gigawatt-hours of electricity a year, which is more than 40 percent of the country’s total power generation capacity.
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The 1,860-megawatt Paks nuclear plant generates about 14,800 gigawatt-hours of electricity annually - more than 40 percent of Hungary's total power generating capacity.
The power is fed into the Hungarian high voltage grid via the plant substation, which consists of ten gas insulated switchgear (GIS) bays, each rated at 420 kV. After some 20 years of service the reliability of the switchgear – which performs the vital function of disconnecting and isolating faults and maintaining grid stability – was in question.
The plant and grid operator - the state-owned power company MVM - turned to ABB to solve the reliability issue and ensure trouble-free transmission from the nuclear power plant to the national power grid.
To prevent switchgear faults from escalating into plant shutdowns, ABB proposed phasing out the 15 non-ABB circuit breakers in the switchgear bays (1.5 breakers per bay) and replacing them with ABB's flagship ELK-3 gas insulated switchgear.
Over the past eight years ABB has replaced five of the 15 GIS breakers and built an additional four GIS bays to increase transmission capacity and reliability. ABB is in the process of replacing another five GIS circuit breakers to secure switchgear reliability.
Following the success of the first GIS retrofit in 2001, ABB and MVM have worked closely together on a long-term project to improve reliability and capacity at this hugely important substation.
ELK-3 is part of ABB’s portfolio of gas insulated switchgear, which covers a vast range of ratings from 52 to 1100 kV and is by far the most extensive on the market.
Compact, reliable, durable
Exceptionally compact and renowned for its reliability and long, maintenance-free service life, the ELK-3 is designed for transmission systems of 420 to 550 kV and was the first GIS to be developed for this rating.
Well-known ELK-3 installations include the two largest GIS substations in the world: the 73 bays at the Three Gorges power plants in China which went into operation in 2008, and the 51 bays at the Itaipu hydropower plant on the Argentine-Brazilian border – still operating trouble-free after almost 30 years.
ABB has a long track record of extending the reach of GIS technology into ever more powerful voltages. World-first achievements include those for 110 kV in 1965, 170 kV in 1966, 550 kV in 1976, 800 kV in 1987 and, most recently, a record-breaking 1100 kV pilot installation for the State Grid Corporation of China.
Click for an ABB Review article (1/2009) about ABB’s achievements in GIS technology.
Click for a list of ABB milestones in GIS technology.