Hitachi ABB Power Grids celebrates American Wind Week

On July 1, 2020, a new company was born, Hitachi ABB Power Grids. This new company wasn’t developed from scratch; it begins its life as a global technology leader with a combined heritage of almost 250 years, and an enviable energy industry pedigree. Hitachi ABB Power Grids is leveraging ABB’s world-class power systems and equipment capabilities together with Hitachi’s advanced digital technologies and proven track record of innovation. The newly formed joint venture is pioneering a broader range of clean solutions for the global power market.

What unifies this community of people is one central, compelling purpose - powering good for a sustainable energy future, with pioneering and digital technologies, as the partner of choice for enabling a stronger, smarter and greener grid. A broad, and positive statement, to be sure, but what does this mean in practice?

Hitachi ABB Power Grids is creating the technologies needed to integrate renewable energy into power grids. We are working hand in hand with our customers to bring sustainable energy from the far flung corners of the country, where it is generated, to population centers where it is being used to offset the fossil fuel-based generation we have all relied on for decades. We are already participating in many major wind energy projects across the country. From conceptual development and research phase, through construction and installation of systems and equipment, to the utilization of assets, our company has been an important contributor since the early development of the industry. 

The company has been leading the development of technologies to ensure that this renewable energy can be monitored, stored and made available when needed, while minimizing losses. One such approach is the use of HVDC Light converter systems to connect offshore wind farms to onshore transmission networks. This approach, which we’ve already pioneered in Europe in the case of the Dogger Bank project, in which HVDC Light is being used to bring large volumes of renewable energy (enough to power 4.5 million homes!) from offshore into the UK. This technology could certainly bring enormous benefits to offshore wind projects in the U.S. and other countries. 

We are also working to ensure that grids remain secure, resilient and reliable, so that this new, clean power can be delivered wherever and whenever it is needed. For instance, bringing the benefits of wind power and other renewable energy sources to remote, rural communities is also an important focus of the company’s efforts, and the use of microgrids is an increasingly attractive option, as a recent project on Alaska’s Kodiak Island highlights.

Wind power, as one of the most promising, large-scale sources of renewable energy, plays a central role in the company’s vision of this sustainable energy future. Already, wind power has become an important part of the energy mix in North America and has been an increasingly important focus of the company’s business in recent years – both in terms of current, onshore installations, as well on very promising offshore wind developments.

Across the prairie and from coast to coast, the wind industry has been re-shaping the energy generation mix in the country, and we are excited to be part of this movement. 

Now, as the industry joins together for the Fourth Annual American Wind Week, sponsored by the American Wind Energy Association (AWEA), Hitachi ABB Power Grids is helping to develop the newest frontier in the North American power landscape, or perhaps more aptly, its ‘seascape.’ Today, offshore wind is poised to become a major force in the North American power market, with several large projects now in development in the waters off the East Coast. 

As important, new technologies such as floating platforms, and long-distance transmission options such as HVDC are expanding the range of deployment options for offshore wind, making deep water environments viable development opportunities. This in turn is creating the potential for projects on the West Coast and further offshore.

As a proud member of the AWEA family and a pioneer of many of the key technologies that support the wind industry, we celebrate American Wind Week and continue to pursue our purpose “Powering Good for a Sustainable Energy Future.”