ABB wins large power line order from Brazil
The Swiss-based engineering group ABB has announced orders worth $540 million (SFr580 million) to supply the world's longest power transmission link in Brazil.
ABB, which is based in Zurich, said the orders were made from the Abengoa Group for the delivery of key technology.
The so-called power highway will link two hydropower plants in the northwest of the country with São Paulo, Brazil’s main economic centre, over a distance of 2,500 kilometres.
An ABB statement said on Wednesday that power would be transmitted at very high voltage (600 kilovolts) to minimise transmission losses.
ABB’s power systems unit, which accounts for 20 per cent of group sales, is set to benefit from a trend to use renewable energy as it makes equipment such as overhead transmission lines and underwater cables needed to feed wind, hydro and solar power into the electricity grid.
Last week ABB gave a cautious outlook as demand in the industrial, construction and automotive markets wanes as a result of the economic downturn.
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