Harnessing the power of wind and solar with advanced automation, electrification, and digital solutions that turn nature's variability into grid-ready reliability.
Web Story
2025-10-12
<p>Global renewable power capacity is expected to double between now and 2030, increasing by 4 600 gigawatts (GW). In 2025 alone, solar PV generation reached 620 TWh- up 37% from 450 TWh in 2024 -positioning solar to overtake wind and nuclear by 2026 and hydropower by 2029.<sup>1</sup></p>
<p>In more than 80% of countries worldwide, renewable power capacity is set to grow faster between 2025 and 2030 than it did over the previous five-year period.<sup>2</sup> However, challenges including grid integration, supply chain vulnerabilities and financing are also increasing.</p>
<p>ABB’s solutions - AI-driven optimization, predictive maintenance, power conversion technology and intelligent grid components - are helping the renewable industry outrun downtime, optimize performance, and build a leaner and cleaner, energy future.</p>
GRID INVESTMENT URGENCY
To accommodate renewable growth and electrification demands, annual grid investment must increase by approximately 50% by 2030 from current $400 billion levels. This creates significant opportunity for advanced grid infrastructure and digital optimization solutions.
POWERING THE WINDS OF CHANGE
Evolution of cumulative wind power capacity in Europe
Our involvement in wind power commercialization spans over four decades. Working alongside industry partners, ABB maximizes energy output, ensures grid stability, and maintains smooth operations through automation, electrification, and digital solutions engineered to withstand harsh environmental conditions. Today, more than 60,000 wind turbines worldwide rely on ABB components, establishing us as the largest supplier of electrical components to the global wind industry. This extensive installed base spans numerous countries and represents decades of proven performance. ABB’s technology and engineering solutions act as a central gateway that unlocks the offshore wind process, allowing the electricity generated by wind turbines to flow through to the national grid and into peoples’ homes. When turbines at a wind farm such as Dogger Bank – the world’s largest – produce power, offshore substations allow the alternating current (AC) to be converted to direct current (DC) so the electricity can be transported onshore, where it is inverted back to AC.
WIND FARMS: MODERNIZATION VS REPLACEMENT
As wind farms expand globally, nearly half of all turbines have reached 15-20 years of operation—a critical phase where performance decline accelerates. Rather than replacing aging turbines and creating massive waste, the industry needs a sustainable solution that balances environmental responsibility with economic viability.
The answer lies in modernization. By upgrading key components like converter controllers, power electronics, and energy-efficient drives, operators can extend turbine lifespan while improving performance and reducing maintenance costs. This approach can effectively double converter life—and by extension, the entire turbine's operational years—aligning with industry trends toward efficiency and cost-effectiveness without the environmental burden of premature decommissioning.
ABB currently supports 14 offshore wind projects worldwide, collectively representing 20 GW of power capacity. Clean, plentiful, and sustainable, offshore wind offers unprecedented possibilities for large-scale energy generation.
SOLAR MARKET GROWTH
The journey from the first photovoltaic cell invented in 1954 to today's massive solar installations represents one of technology's greatest success stories. Modern photovoltaic panels and concentrated solar power plants (CSP) have become cornerstones of the clean energy transition. Global renewable power capacity is expected to double between now and 2030, increasing by 4600 gigawatts (GW) — with solar PV accounting for almost 80% of the global increase.
ABB has been supporting the solar power sector since the 1990s with automation, electrification and digitalization solutions, exhibiting technological expertise in how best to harness, control and store solar energy and efficiently convert it into a reliable power source, ready for transfer into the local grid.
THE INTEGRATION CHALLENGE: WHEN NATURE MEETS THE GRID
The future of energy isn’t just clean—it’s unpredictable. While renewable growth accelerates exponentially, a foundational challenge persists: nature doesn't follow a schedule. Unlike fossil fuels that deliver consistent, on-demand power, wind and solar are inherently variable, decentralized, and weather-dependent. This challenge has created a critical bottleneck: over 2,500 GW of renewable, storage, and large-load projects are currently stalled in grid connection queues worldwide — highlighting that grid integration, not generation capacity, is now the primary constraint on renewable deployment.
Globally, the race to triple renewable capacity by 2030, as pledged at COP28, is well underway—but integration, not generation, is now the challenge. Balancing renewable power supply with end-user demand is challenging as the share of renewables grows.
RENEWABLE ENERGY'S GROWING SHARE
Renewable electricity is advancing faster than ever. By 2030, renewables are forecast to represent 63% of global electricity generation, up from 48% in 2025 -with solar PV leading this transformation. This unprecedented transition requires grid infrastructure, digital tools, and real-time optimization capabilities that ABB's solutions provide.
ABB SOLUTIONS
GRID STABILITY
Switchgear solution
ABB is introducing a complete switchgear solution with the industry’s highest power rating for wind turbines to support larger installations with higher yields, integrating a 7200A Emax 2 air circuit breaker and 3200A AF Contactor.
ABB’s Synchronous Condensers
As fossil fuel plants retire and renewable energy sources like solar, wind, and battery systems grow, ABB’s Synchronous Condensers fulfill the grid’s need for inertia and short-circuit capacity ensuring grid stability.
ABB Ability™ OPTIMAX®
With intelligent inverters, energy storage integration, and digital platforms like ABB Ability™ OPTIMAX®, ABB is helping solar operators maximize output, reduce waste, and respond in real time to changing demand and weather patterns.
GRID EFFICIENCY
Wind converters
ABB’s next-generation medium voltage wind converters for utility-scale wind turbines are central to efficient renewable power generation, delivering upto 98 percent efficiency with intelligent software and real-time monitoring features.
ABB’s Symphony® Plus SCADA
Critical to the reliable delivery of water and renewable energy, ABB’s Symphony® Plus SCADA manages complex, distributed infrastructure enabling remote monitoring and control of unmanned stations with minimal effort.
GRID RELIABILITY
MV primary AIS UniGear ZS1 with Relion® protection relays
MV primary AIS UniGear ZS1 with Relion® protection relays control, protect and isolate the electrical equipment, ensuring the reliability of the electricity supply with low maintenance.
Relion® REF 615 feeder protection and control relays
Relion® REF 615 feeder protection and control relays increases safety with its remote operations and control capability and is easily extendable.
Power generators
Elektrisk Drivteknik (EDT) of Sweden builds specialized power generators for electricity testing (up to 1.5 million volts) using ABB's complete range of solutions, from contactors and thermal overload relays to softstarters and Emax 2 air circuit breakers.
SOLAR KEY CASE STUDIES FROM AROUND THE WORLD
Belgium
- Belgium
- Abu Dhabi
- Finland
- Germany
- Netherlands
Indaver and ABB Partner to boost grid resilience with 21 GWh solar project
Indaver, a European leader in sustainable waste management, has partnered with ABB to implement a power management system (PMS) at its Hooge Maey site near Antwerp. The system ensures grid compliance and optimizes the integration of 32,000 solar panels, generating 21 GWh of green electricity annually, enough to power approximately 8,000 households. The project not only supports Indaver’s sustainability ambitions but also contributes to the resilience of the local industrial ecosystem by providing a stable, grid-supporting, renewable energy source.
Driving efficiency at the world's largest solar plant
Our technology maximizes efficiency and reliability of the world’s largest single-site solar plant Al Dhafra PV2 in Abu Dhabi – key to the United Arab Emirates’ Energy Strategy 2050. The plant generates enough power to meet the energy demands of 200,000 homes and reduce city’s CO2 emissions by 2.4 million metric tons per year, equivalent to the annual emissions from 470,000 cars.
Smart electrification solutions power one of Finland’s largest solar parks
EPV Energy’s Heinineva site is now home to one of Finland’s largest solar parks, featuring 123,000 solar panels on a former peat production area, which is a powerful symbol of sustainable transformation.
ABB played a key role in enabling this success by delivering:
- A solar park controller for smart, centralized energy management
- Substation infrastructure with UniGear ZS2 switchgear and Relion® protection relays to ensure reliable power flow
- An EcoFlex transformer station for the tracker field
This project supports Finland’s goal of carbon neutrality by 2035 and showcases how smart automation, strong partnerships, and local expertise can accelerate the energy transition.
Cutting switchgear needs with ABB Innovation
EnBW's Gundelsheim solar park generates 58 million kWh annually, powering 22,000 households—but the real innovation lies in its infrastructure. Facing the challenge of delivering 7,000 kVA per skid while meeting strict German grid standards, EnBW deployed ABB's SSU 7000 secondary skid units for the first time in Germany. The compact, turnkey solution—featuring SafePlus switchgear and Relion® protection relays—reduced secondary switchgear requirements by 50–75% compared to conventional transformer stations, delivering significant cost savings and optimized efficiency while paving the way for future hybrid energy park expansion.
Powering critical missions with reliable off-grid solar
Dutch company TSS4U delivers off-grid solar power systems that replace diesel generators for critical applications worldwide by protecting against overloads and short circuits. ABB's smart circuit breaker technology ensures system safety and reliability by protecting against overloads and short circuits.
WIND KEY CASE STUDIES FROM AROUND THE WORLD
India
- India
- UK - Dogger Bank
- UK - Green Volt
- Estonia
- Denmark
- Norway
Powering six million homes from the sea
Located over 130 km off the coast of Yorkshire in the UK, the three-phase Dogger Bank offshore wind development will deliver clean electricity to approximately six million homes when fully operational. ABB's advanced electrification and digital solutions enable the reliable transmission of offshore renewable power at large scale.
The future is floating: powering Europe's wind pioneer
Set to become Europe’s first commercial-scale floating offshore wind farm, Green Volt will be located 80km off the coast of Peterhead, Scotland. When operational in 2029, the project will supply 1.5 TWh of renewable energy annually—enough to power 555,000 homes—while contributing to the UK’s and Scotland’s ambitious net-zero targets.
Faster, greener repairs for wind generators
ABB has opened a new Center of Excellence for wind generator services at its motors and generators facility in Jüri, Estonia, offering advanced repairs with technology upgrades. Generator repairs, using ABB's technology upgrades are typically 50 percent faster than buying new units, reducing waste and energy use.
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ENGINEERING RELIABILITY INTO THE CLEAN ENERGY FUTURE
From the world's largest solar installations to pioneering offshore wind farms, we're transforming renewable possibility into dependable results—enabling industries to build a leaner and cleaner energy future.
