Alstom Grids Tampere unit will supply equipment to power transmission project in Saudi Arabia

Alstom Grid has been awarded a turnkey contract by Saudi Electricity Company (SEC) to supply Flexible AC Transmission Systems to the Quwayyah substation in Saudi Arabia. Alstoms Static VAr Compensator (SVC), to be supplied by Alstom Grids Tampere unit, will improve power quality across the utilitys AC network. The SVC is part of a project with a total value of approximately 30 million for Alstom Grid.

Alstom Grids Tampere based Power Electronics unit will be engineering, manufacturing, testing and delivering the Static VAr Compensator (-50/+170 MVAr 132 kV) with the associated capacitors and air-core reactors for the Quwayyah substation, located approximately 200 km west of Riyadh. The SVC is due to be energised in January 2015.

The civil, construction and installation works, supply logistics (transformers, 132 kV gas-insulated substation and equipment) and local project management will be managed by Alstom Grids local unit in Riyadh.

While improving operating costs, SVCs also dynamically supply reactive power (capacitive or inductive) to stabilise the voltage and dampen transmission system instabilities. This helps to mitigate the effects of both system faults and fluctuating loads, balancing the energy flow as required by the transmission network.

Jouni Mälkönen, Managing Director for Power Electronics Unit at ALSTOM Grid Oy said: The order for this turnkey project is important proof of our competitiveness in the Middle East transmission market and shows the trust that our customers have in Alstoms capability to deliver complex power transmission projects.

Saudi Arabias electricity demand is currently rising at 8% per year, with extensive plans for industrial development by 2022, and six new major cities being built across the Kingdom. This electricity demand is expected to reach 70 GW by 2020, against a current national generation capacity of 40 GW today. Alstom Grid, as global leader in grid development, is supporting the Kingdom of Saudi Arabias energy booming.

Press contacts:
Communications Director Sari Luhanka, sari.luhanka@alstom.com