Siemens Power Transmission and Distribution (PTD) is delivering a turnkey 400 kV/132 kV substation with gas-insulated switchgear to Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (Dewa) as part of the further expansion of the power supply system of the UAE.
The substation will link the H Station power plant at Al-Aweer to the country’s power supply network. The substation also completes the Emirates National Grid (ENG) by providing a link between the power plant and the power supply system of Abu Dhabi.
The order has a value of Dh370 million ($100 million) and startup of the system is planned for the beginning of 2008.
The turnkey order comprises the delivery of the substation, including a 400 kV and a 132 kV switchgear, four 450 MVA power transformers (400/132 kV), four 40 MVAR reactors (132 kV), cable systems for 400 and 132 kV and automation, control and protection systems along with expansion of the network control system and telecommunications equipment. Gas-insulated busducts (GIB) for 400 kV will also be installed to provide the connection to the nearby switchgear in the H Station at the Al-Aweer power plant complex as well as to the high-voltage overhead transmission lines.
The GIB links will have a total length of about 6 km. With 24 gas-insulated switchgear bays at 400 kV voltage level and 28 bays for 132 kV, this substation is the largest of its kind that Siemens has delivered to date worldwide.
Most of the electricity used in Dubai is generated by the Jebel Ali power plant complex, and at present the total output of this complex already exceeds 3,500 MW. In addition, the H Station power plant complex at Al-Aweer will cover Dubai’s rising demand for electrical power in the future. The peak load power plants in the H Station at Al-Aweer will have a total capacity of about 2,000 MW after the present expansion is complete. The power plants are situated on the outskirts of the city, about 20 km from Dubai Airport.
Siemens PTD has already implemented a number of projects of this type in Dubai for the 132 kV and 11 kV voltage levels. In mid-2004, for example, Siemens was awarded an order by Dewa to build five 132/11 kV substations. One of these substations will supply electricity to Burj Dubai, which is currently under construction in the emirate and will be the highest tower in the world. Another will supply the power for the largest shopping mall in the Middle East being built in Dubai. The other substations will supply electricity to the Dubailand theme park and the Sheikh Zayed University, the largest university in the United Arab Emirates, as well as to the city of Dubai itself.
At the beginning of 2005, another seven stations were additionally ordered for the expansion of the power supply system, and two stations for an Arab urban complex.
