NB Power has chosen ABB to upgrade a 40-year-old HVDC back-to-back converter station in New Brunswick, Canada.
The station was originally built by General Electric. The station provides a bi-directional asynchronous interconnection between the New Brunswick and Hydro Québec grids, in the south-eastern part of the country. It was originally built to provide Hydro-Québec with its first major power interconnection with the remainder of eastern North America.
Eel River HVDC station was recognized as a technology milestone by IEEE (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers) in 2011, for being the world’s first commercial HVDC station to be equipped with only thyristor valves, replacing the previously used mercury-arc valve based systems.
| ABB will replace the existing equipment, originally installed in 1972, with the latest converter valves, state-of-the-art control and protection system (MACH2), DC apparatus and cooling systems. ABB is responsible for associated engineering, part of installation, commissioning and testing. The upgraded station is expected to be in operation in 2014. | 
Eel River HVDC back-to-back station
in Canada. Photo courtesy of NB Power. |
| Main data |  |
|---|
| Commissioning year: | 2014 |
| Power rating: | 350 MW |
| No. of poles: | 2 |
| AC voltage: | Both sides: 230 kV |
| DC voltage: | 80 kV |
| Type of link: | Back-to-back station |
| Main purpose of HVDC: | Interconnection of asynchronous networks. |
| Application: | Upgrade |
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