Global
Austria
Bulgaria
Croatia
Czech Republic
Denmark
Estonia
Finland
France
Germany
Greece
Hungary
Ireland
Italy
Latvia
Lithuania
Luxembourg
Netherlands
Norway
Poland
Portugal
Romania
Russia
Serbia
Slovakia
Slovenia
Spain
Sweden
Turkiye
United Kingdom
Global
Argentina
Aruba
Bolivia
Brazil
Chile
Colombia
Costa Rica
Dominican Republic
Ecuador
El Salvador
Guatemala
Honduras
Mexico
Panama
Paraguay
Peru
Puerto Rico
United States of America
Uruguay
Global
Bahrain
Israel
Jordan
Kuwait
Lebanon
Oman
Pakistan
Palestine
Qatar
Saudi Arabia
South Africa
United Arab Emirates
Global
Australia
Bangladesh
India
Indonesia
Japan
Kazakhstan
Malaysia
New Zealand
Philippines
Singapore
South Korea
Sri Lanka
Taiwan (Chinese Taipei)
Thailand
Vietnam
Renewable energy is energy that is generated without depleting any of the earth's natural resources faster than they regenerate. Renewables generation creates far lower emissions than burning fossil fuels - the fastest growing part of humanity’s global ecological footprint.1
The deployment of renewables in the power, heating, cooling and transport sectors is one of the main enablers of keeping the rise in average global temperatures below 1.5°C. Renewables allow electricity generation to be almost completely decarbonized. From a recent report, in 2023, the world added nearly 510 gigawatts (GW) of renewable electrical capacity, almost 50 percent more than in 20222. This is predicted to rise to more than 5,500 gigawatts (GW) by 2030, with almost all of that growth coming from solar and wind, followed by hydropower. Although the growth is not fully in line with the goal set by nearly 200 governments at the COP28 climate change conference in December 2023 to triple the world’s renewable capacity this decade – the report forecasts global capacity will reach 2.7 times its 2022 level by 20303.
But integrating renewable sources into electricity grids poses challenges, as they are dependent on the sun shining and the wind blowing. Furthermore, grids do not always have the capacity to transmit power when it is available in relation to consumer demand. Therefore the transition to renewable energy requires a smarter grid that can integrate distributed energy sources, manage bi-directional energy and communications flows, and store excess power to help balance supply and demand.
ABB enables this transition, providing electrification, automation and digitalization technologies that support the effective end-to-end ramp up of renewable power : from the production of solar panels and being the leading global supplier of electrical components for the offshore wind industry, to enabling smart, stable and resilient grids and flexible energy storage systems.
Many organizations are also turning to integrating renewables into microgrids to optimize energy consumption, ensure continuous power supply, reduce Co2 emissions and enhance network security. Deploying ABBs smart grid technologies enables the microgrids to export or import power, to or from the national grid, helping to balance supply and demand.
Our fully digitalized energy storage portfolio raises grid efficiency with factory-built, pre-tested solutions, which can be deployed directly to customer sites for fast installation e.g. ABB’s distributed control systems (DCS), allows operators to utilize data insights from all areas of the plant, delivered in real time, to drive efficiency and optimize production.
From robotics solutions for the manufacture of solar panels to complete instrumentation, control and electrical solutions for solar power plants, ABB supports the growth of solar power on the ground, in water via ‘floating panels’ and even in the desert. For example, ABB provides components for TSS4U's off-grid solar power systems that replace diesel generators in remote locations with sustainable energy.
The Al Dhafra PV2 solar project – the world’s largest single-site solar plant, for which ABB supplied automation and optimization power generation solutions – uses four million solar modules to generate enough electricity for 200,000 homes across the UAE per year. It will also help reduce Abu Dhabi’s annual CO2 emissions by more than 2.4 million metric tons, the equivalent of removing approximately 470,000 combustion cars from the roads.
In the southern Jutland town of Broager, CO2-neutral district heating is produced by, among other things, extracting heat from the local groundwater.
ABB and Absolicon have developed the world’s only complete solution for the mass production of concentrated solar collectors in Härnösand. Absolicon’s robotic production line now uses ABB robots to produce a solar collector panel every six minutes, compared with up to only three units a day using manual production methods.
ABB’s medium-voltage switchgear will enable the Cirata floating solar power plant in West Java to generate 192 megawatt peak (MWp) of clean energy, enough to power 50,000 homes. The 250-hectare floating solar power plant is set to avoid up to 214,000 tons of CO2, and contribute to Indonesia’s target of 23 percent renewable energy generation by 2025.
ABB has a broad portfolio of technologies for offshore wind to help energy operators harness this power through smarter production, storage and distribution, accelerating the global energy transition.
As an example in 2023 ABB secured an order to deliver an integrated bridge-to-propeller solution for Havfram Wind’s two new wind turbine installation vessels. The vessels, incorporating the latest battery-hybrid drivetrain technology, and ABB’s Azipod ® electric propulsion will be among the most energy-efficient designs to operate in the offshore wind industry. (Image below)
At the Dogger Bank Wind Farm located more than 130 km off the northeast coast of England, 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. ABB also supplied a grid-scale battery energy storage solution for Ecotricity’s wind farm in Gloucestershire, which will help pave the way for the National Grid’s goal of reaching net zero by 2050.
The biggest wind energy producer in the Baltics, Enefit Green, avoids up to 79% of CO2 emissions and improves uptime with ABB’s reconditioning services. ABB converters (ACS800) are utilized in 24 wind turbines at Enefit Green’s Aulepa and Aseri wind farms with a total capacity of 72MW and an average yearly capacity of 160 GWh, accounting for almost a quarter of Estonia's wind energy output.
ABB's technologies such as high-performance synchronous generators play a crucial role in ensuring efficient and reliable geothermal power plant operation. Our partnership with Indonesia-based Kaishan Group to increase the geothermal potential of Indonesia is one such example.
Hydropower is a renewable energy source that uses the power of water flows to generate electricity. ABBs automation and digitalization solutions have helped some of these customers around the globe.
ABB has supplied Axpo-the largest producer of renewable electricity in Switzerland with ABB Ability™ Smart Sensors and ABB Ability™ Condition Monitoring to convert the motors at one of their hydropower plants into smart, wirelessly monitored devices. With increased efficiency in its plant, Axpo is better able to provide sustainable power for its customers.
Two of Finland’s major hydro power plants from customer Kemijoki Oy , located in the freezing Arctic Circle, are now SF6 ‘greenhouse gas’ free thanks to ABB’s turn-key generator circuit breaker retrofit that gears them up for a more resource-efficient future.
With more than 730 million people living on 11,000 permanently inhabited islands across the world, and with the number of natural disasters rising sharply in recent decades, it is crucial to find solutions to these issues and meet the energy needs of island residents in a secure, stable, and sustainable manner.
In 2024, ABB won four orders from Red Eléctrica to supply synchronous condensers in the Canary and Balearic Islands in order to maintain stable power supply on the islands as they absorb increasing levels of renewable energy. The integrated solution, which also includes automation and electrical equipment, will play a vital role in helping meet Spain's energy transition goals. The technology also plays an important role in helping the Faroe islands transition to 100% renewable energy and will enable Jeju island in Korea to achieve its clean energy goals.
As the world keeps embracing alternative energy solutions, ABB will continue building upon our technologies, expertise and services to help utility companies and energy suppliers build a cleaner future for all.