ABB to power women's university

ABB has won a $120m (£72m) order from the Saudi Electricity Company to provide power to

’s first university for women, the Princess Nourah bint

.

ABB will design, supply, install and commission one 380/132kV gas-insulated switchgear (GIS) substation and two 132/13.8kV GIS substations.

ABB claims that the use of GIS technology will greatly reduce the size of the substations, enabling Saudi Electricity Company to locate them at the site of the new university in the country’s capital, Riyadh.

The project is scheduled for completion by 2011 and includes delivery of products such as GIS, transformers, medium-voltage switchgear and auxiliary systems.

The university is a $5bn (£3bn) project that aims to enroll as many as 40,000 students. The campus will have 40,000m2 of solar panelling that is expected to provide about 18 per cent of the power required for air conditioning.