NULC hosts prestigious event for energy experts

Newcastle-under-Lyme College was the venue for a prestigious CIGRE UK event that gathered together many of the UK’s power network experts. The aim was to discuss how new technology, like that being developed by ABB, can help power networks adapt to meet the reliability and efficiency challenges of renewable energy.

March 21, 2012 - ABB Power Systems, based in Stone, Staffordshire, has just hosted a gathering of many of the UK power network experts. They came together to discuss how new technology can help power grids adapt to meet the challenges of renewable energy generation, such as wind power. The conference was organized by ABB in conjunction with CIGRE, the international non-profit Association for promoting collaboration with electrical experts from all around the world by sharing knowledge and expertise to improve electric power systems of today and tomorrow. 

Over 140 delegates were drawn to the event, held at Newcastle-under-Lyme College in Staffordshire. Its theme was ‘UK and European Transmission and Distribution network solutions to the challenge of increasing levels of renewable generation’. High on the agenda was how new technology, such as high-voltage direct current (HVDC) transmission, can help transport the power produced by wind farms located far offshore to consumers with minimum losses and maximum reliability.

‘Renewable energy, and especially wind power is now starting to play an increasingly important role as part of Europe’s energy mix. With its many advantages it also brings some significant challenges, especially in maintaining the reliability of supply that we, as consumers, now take for granted. So we were delighted to sponsor this CIGRE UK event that highlights the role that advanced technology, like HVDC and energy storage, will play in our energy future,’ said Colin Green, ABB’s head of Regulatory Affairs and Technology for the UK.

‘Advanced technology is only one part of the solution to our future energy challenge.  It is important not to lose sight of need for people with the right skills.  We are working very closely with Newcastle-under-Lyme College as the educational partner for our apprentice scheme.  We had no hesitation selecting their excellent conference facilities as the venue for this prestigious UK event to bring together technology and education. In fact, we even had some of our current apprentices on hand to demonstrate the augmented reality (AR) presentation of our technology for offshore wind farm grid connections.’

The conference was followed by a technical site visit to the UK’s first voltage source HVDC converter station, which is currently being construction by ABB.  When completed, later this year, the project will provide a 500 MW connection, via a subsea cable, between the power grids of Ireland and the UK.

ABB (www.abb.com) is a leader in power and automation technologies that enable utility and industry customers to improve their performance while lowering environmental impact. The ABB Group of companies operates in around 100 countries and employs about 135,000 people.