The Troll A gas platform in the North Sea has just become the first offshore platform in the world to be powered by a direct current (DC) electricity link originating on land ? an achievement with considerable cost and environmental benefits made possible by ABB technologies. Photo: Bitmap/Dag Myrestrand.

The Troll A Offshore Platform compared with the Eiffel tower, an Egyptian pyramid and the Oslo City Hall.

Gas turbines generating power on the Valhall platform complex were replaced by a 292-kilometer HVDC Light cable link that supplies 78 megawatts (MW) of hydropower from the Norwegian mainland to meet the field's electricity needs.