2007-10-23 - ABB STATCOMS will make the power generated by the new wind farrns more resilient to help them comply with the Grid Code
22 October 2007 – Nordex, a leading supplier of megawatt turbines, is installing ABB state-of-the-art STATCOMS (Static Compensators) at two of the UK’s largest new wind farms, Scout Moor and Little Cheyne Court. The STATCOMs will provide Nordex with a cost-effective solution for dynamic, real-time, reactive power compensation within a compact installation footprint, increasing the resilience of the power generated by the wind farms and helping them comply with the stringent requirements of the Grid Code for voltage regulation and power factor performance.
The 65 MW Scout Moor wind farm is being developed by Peel Wind Power Limited on a site around 30 km north-east of Manchester on the Rossendale/Rochdale border. It will comprise 26 Nordex N80 2,500 kW turbines and is due to be connected to the grid in spring 2008.
Little Cheyne Court, npower renewables’ 60 MW wind farm under construction on Romney Marsh, Kent, is the largest onshore scheme in the south of England to date. Comprising 26 N90 2,300 kW turbines, it will be completed by Nordex on a turnkey basis and go into operation at the beginning of 2009
The need for reactive power compensation
The Grid Code will require the Scout Moor and Liitle Cheyne Court wind farms to regulate their transmission voltage within tight limits, even as the power output (MW) changes according to the windspeed. So reactive power compensation is needed to counteract voltage sags, swells and momentary interruptions. It also has to be provided quickly and efficiently – within fractions of a second – to prevent tripping or crashing of the network, avoiding lost production and potential equipment damage.
Reactive power control provided by generators or capacitor banks alone is too slow for the sudden load changes found in wind farms. The traditional solution would therefore be the SVC (Static VAr Compensator). However, these function most effectively in large utility installations and in reducing the size of an SVC to that appropriate for a typical UK wind farm there is a loss in efficiency and a significant cost increase per VAr of capacity. ABB has developed an alternative in the form of the STATCOM featuring a power electronic voltage source converter (VSC) utilising state-of-the-art semiconductors based on integrated gate commuted thyristor (IGCT) technology.
The STATCOM acts as a dynamic, variable source of reactive power that can inject (add VArs) or consume (take VArs) in small increments, to or from the wind farm output, as required by its control system, bringing superior performance at reduced costs for reactive power compensation and dynamic voltage regulation. It also has the benefit of a small installation footprint as it eliminates large air-cored inductors and mechanically switched capacitors.
About Nordex
As a technological leader among suppliers of megawatt turbines, Nordex benefits particularly from the global trend towards large-scale wind turbines. The product range includes one of the largest series wind turbines in the world (N80/N90 2,500 kW) today some 400 of these turbines are in operation worldwide. This means that Nordex has a crucial edge in terms of experience in operating large turbines compared to most of its competitors in the sector. Overall, Nordex has around 3,000 machines with a capacity of more than 3,000 MW installed worldwide (January 2007). With exports accounting for around 80 percent of its business, Nordex AG also holds a strong position in international high-growth regions. The Company has offices and subsidiaries in 18 countries around the world.
ABB Background
ABB (www.abb.com) is a leader in power and automation technologies that enable utility and industry customers to improve their performance while lowering environmental impact. The ABB Group of companies operates in around 100 countries and employs about 109,000 people.