Siemens Energy provide transformers for Scottish offshore wind farm

With an installed capacity of 1075 MW, the wind farm will be one of Scotland’s largest sources of renewable energy and is forecast to provide low carbon energy for approximately 1.3 million homes.

The fluid immersed distribution transformers will complement 114 MHI Vestas’ 10 MW turbines that the company will deliver to the wind farm located 27 km from the Angus coastline in Scotland. The low-loss distribution transformers were designed to meet high efficiency requirements. The transformer voltage class of up to 72.5 kV will enable larger power capacities, such as provided by MHI Vestas’ 10 MW offshore wind turbines, while keeping energy losses low. After commissioning, the distribution transformers will transform the voltage from the low voltage of produced electricity to the medium voltage level of 66 kV needed to feed the offshore transmission substation before going to mainland with an even higher voltage. It is anticipated that the Seagreen offshore wind farm will be operational by 2022/2023.

The solution has been specifically designed for MHI Vestas’ needs for a lightweight and compact solution that passes through the opening in the tower base without disassembly. To combine the compactness with challenging and diverging efficiency requirements, a newly developed core design, an innovative cooling solution, as well as a highly efficient winding arrangement were implemented. The transformers will be filled with safe and biodegradable ester insulation fluid as an environmentally friendly and operationally safe alternative to conventional mineral oil. The transformers have been vibration tested to ensure they reliably cope with the highly demanding service conditions and strong vibration typical for wind power applications. In addition, a short circuit test was conducted to ensure the transformers can withstand potential short circuits.

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Read the article online at: https://www.energyglobal.com/wind/03122020/siemens-energy-provide-transformers-for-scottish-offshore-wind-farm/