ABB, a robotics and industrial automation company, will reportedly empower the world’s biggest digital substation with an upgrade of Air Insulated Substation (AIS) built for the BME (Belarus Ministry of Energy) and its power supply utility Mogilevenergo.
As per official reports, ABB would be supplying the project with its protection and control equipments, ABB Ability based MicroSCADA (Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition) system and a digital process bus that would offer an uninterrupted communication channel between vendors via Ethernet cables instead of traditional copper wires, saving considerable cost and space.
As part of the upgrade, ABB will also be providing digitally enabled HVP (high-voltage products) like DCBs (Disconnecting Circuit Breakers) and FOCS (Fiber Optics Current Sensors) to the Engineering and Procurement Company RIKO, claim sources familiar with the matter.
According to Trade Arabia, digitalization would play a key role in monitoring customer’s assets and systems to efficiently harness extensive volumes of data. Further, digitalization would also offer easy integration of OT (Operational Technology) and IT (Information Technology) systems, enabling real time visibility of operations at control centers, greatly preventing critical failures.
As per Massimo Danieli, Head of ABB’s Grid Automation business, the company is renowned for its digital grid technology development, as it offers an array of digital software and products, control and protection solutions, and substation automation.
Another key component of ABB’s supply scope includes FOCS-FS (Fiber Optics Current Sensors-Free Sanding) and an unconventional instrument transformer that effectively enables open standard IEC 61850 communication in the digital substation, sources cite.
According to industry experts, these high-end technological equipment would hence enable the digital substation to collect real time data on primary equipment and later convert these into actionable information that would help the utility to monitor, control, and preserve assets, as well as derive cost efficiencies.
Massimo Danieli later added that ABB is pleased to support Belarus’ digital substation, eventually reinforcing its position as a partner of choice for a stronger, smarter, and greener energy grid.