The link made history in December when it conducted the first exchange of electricity between the islands of Newfoundland and Nova Scotia.
June 14, 2018
ABB has completed a 500 MW high-voltage direct current link in Canada. The Maritime Link will be operated by Emera, an energy and services company headquartered in eastern Canada, and will carry renewables-generated electricity from Newfoundland and Labrador to the North American grid in Nova Scotia.
The link made history in December when it conducted the first exchange of electricity between the islands of Newfoundland and Nova Scotia. It went into service in January and has now been officially handed over to Emera.
The HVDC Light® technology used in the design of the Maritime Link is the first bipolar configuration of its kind in the world using voltage source converters. ABB said this solution enhances system availability, reduces losses and increases grid reliability, as power continues to flow even if one conductor or converter is not in use.
The converter stations are equipped with the ABB Ability™ based advanced MACH™ control and protection system, which ABB said “acts like the brain of the HVDC link. It monitors, controls and protects the sophisticated technology in the stations and manages thousands of operations to ensure power reliability. Its advanced fault registration and remote control functions also help protect the link from unexpected disruptions, such as lightning strikes.”
