Siemens is technology leader with "energy highways"

Dec 16, 2009 - Energy Central

Siemens Energy has advanced to technology leader in the field of high-efficiency, environmentally friendly transmission of large amounts of electrical energy. At the end of the year, the company will be putting into operation a high-voltage direct current transmission link (HVDC) in China. With a transmission capacity of 5000 megawatts (MW) und covering a distance of more than 1400 kilometers this HVDC system recently is the world’s most powerful of its kind implemented. Siemens will also be commissioning the world’s largest and highest-capacity 800-kilovolt HVDC transformer in China in mid-January 2010. This transformer is intended for the next even larger HVDC transmission system in China, which at 6400 megawatts (MW) will transport power equivalent to that supplied by 12 average-size coal-fired power plants over a distance of 2000 kilometers. “Our technology leadership offers a good starting basis to become the clear No. 1 on the global market for HVDC”, stated Udo Niehage, CEO of the Power Transmission Division in the Siemens Energy Sector. The global market for HVDC transmission currently has a volume of about EUR3 billion, with average growth of more than ten percent annually. The volume is expected to climb to EUR5 to EUR8 billion by 2020, of which Siemens will have a significant share.

Highest-capacity HVDC transmission systems as in China will help us in the future in transporting large volumes of environmentally friendly electricity from the desert for example to Europe, as planned with the Desertec project. “In the future, electricity highways will not only cross borders, they will also connect entire continents with each other”, stated Niehage. “We will only be able to counter climate change by making more intensive use of energy-efficient technologies. We have to develop renewable energies and convert our power supply systems into smart grids so that we can manage the fluctuating amounts of electricity fed into the grid intelligently. Substantial investments will be necessary for this. However, this will be unavoidable if we are to achieve our climate protection targets and significantly reduce CO2 emission,” adds Niehage.

With their innovative power electronics and ability to control the amount of power to be transmitted intelligently, HVDC systems are an important element of a smart grid. Siemens Energy is one the world’s leading suppliers in this area too and will further expand this position. The Siemens Sector expects orders for smart grids totaling more than EUR6 billion through the year 2014. “As global market leader in grid automation, we are already well established in this business. We’re at the beginning of a new era of electricity with smart grids,” commented Niehage. In the last fiscal year 2009, Siemens earned revenues of nearly EUR1 billion with smart grid technologies. “The smart grid market will also become increasingly dynamic as a result of climate change and programs to boost the economy. Our aim is to grow more than twice as fast the market as a whole,” Niehage added. The addressable market for Siemens will have a cumulative volume of about EUR30 billion through the year 2014. Siemens is targeting annual growth of seven percent in smart grid business and a market share of more than 20 percent.

The energy-efficient connection of offshore wind farms to the power supply grid, high-voltage direct current (HVDC) transmission systems and solutions for setting up smart grids are part of Siemens’ Environmental Portfolio. In fiscal 2009, revenue from the Portfolio totaled about EUR23 billion, making Siemens the world’s largest supplier of ecofriendly technologies. In the same period, our products and solutions enabled customers to reduce their CO2 emissions by 210 million tons.

For more information about Siemens Energy Sector go to www.siemens.com/energy http://www.siemens.com/energy/events/smartgrid

The Siemens Energy Sector is the world’s leading supplier of a complete spectrum of products, services and solutions for the generation, transmission and distribution of power and for the extraction, conversion and transport of oil and gas. In fiscal 2009 (ended September 30), the Energy Sector had revenues of approximately EUR25.8 billion and received new orders totaling approximately EUR30 billion and posted a profit of EUR3.3 billion. On September 30, 2009, the Energy Sector had a work force of more than 85,100. Further information is available at: www.siemens.com/energy.