Alstom Grid demonstrates capabilites to wind farm experts
STAFFORD-based transformer manufacturer Alstom Grid has shown off its capabilities to leading delegates of a power systems body looking to develop remote offshore wind farms.
The firm’s plant in Stafford was selected by the International Council on Large Electric Systems (CIGRE) as the ideal venue for its latest conference.
The council is composed of engineering personnel and specialists worldwide, including those at the forefront of the UK’s power system development.
CIGRE UK conference chairman, Norman MacLeod, technical marketing director for Power Electronics at Alstom Grid, said: “The UK Government has set defined targets for the proportion of electricity to be generated from renewable sources.
“A large amount of the renewable energy required will have to come from offshore wind generation as opportunities to site turbines on shore are limited. As these offshore wind farms are remotely located from the shore, the engineering of their connection needs careful consideration.”
He said the equipment and network required to deliver the Government’s targets would be significant and occupied the thoughts of many attending the event.
During the conference, the 150-strong delegation held a number of meetings and seminars to discuss the various options for sustainable energy.
To coincide with this, Alstom also arranged a number of tours so the delegates could see the company’s Power Transformer facility, its High Voltage Direct Current (HVDC) Thyristor Valve Test facility and the recently completed Voltage Source Converter (VSC) Demonstration facility.
The Power Transformer facility, the only high power, high voltage facility of its kind in the UK, recently benefited from a multi-million pound investment to improve the firm’s capabilities for state-of-the-art transformer design, manufacturing and testing.
The plant can build transformers up to 1000 kV AC (Alternating Current), HVDC converter transformers up to 800 kV DC (Direct Current) and specialised designs such as quadrature booster transformers. Many of the completed transformers are exported around the world.
Alstom’s Valve Test Facility is one of only a handful of such specialised laboratories in the world, where high power, high voltage thyristor valves can be fully tested for use on HVDC projects.
The VSC HVDC demonstrator is the first UK-based HVDC facility showcasing next generation technology in real time. The technology, dubbed ‘HVDC MaxSine’, will be the heart of future offshore wind connection systems.
