Electricity + Control August 2015

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STANDBY + BACK-UP ROUND UP
KougaWind Farm project – challenges
The ACTOM group’s medium voltage switchgear business unit, AC-
TOMMV Switchgear, has frequently demonstrated its adaptability
and technical capability of developing and producing cutting-edge
equipment to best suit new applications as they arise. Its develop-
ment of a medium voltage compact substation for use in wind farm
power generation is no exception.
Within a relatively short period it successfully developed and
produced 36 kV compact substations – also known as pad-mounted
transformer kiosks (PTKs) – for use at the Kouga Wind Farm at
Oyster Bay in the Eastern Cape.
The 80 MW Kouga Wind Farm, comprising 32 wind turbine
generators (WTGs), was completed late last year and is now op-
erational. It was one of the major renewable energy projects in the
‘Window 1’ first phase of SouthAfrica’s national renewable energy
programme launched two years ago.
ACTOM Power Systems, the group’s substation project manage-
ment business unit, was awarded the R150 M electrical balance
of plant contract for Kouga, comprising building a 33 kV/132 kV
substation to link the wind farm to the Eskom power grid, provid-
ing and installing the 660 V/33 kV PTKs at the bases of each of
theWTGs and installing the collector network linking them to the
main substation.
ACTOM MV Switchgear was subcontracted to develop and pro-
duce the PTKs, whileACTOMPowerTransformers was assigned the
task of designing andmanufacturing the transformers for the PTKs.
“The project was a new challenge for all three of us,” commented
John McClure, ACTOM Power Systems general manager. “Being
our first balance of plant contract for a wind farm, for our busi-
ness unit it chiefly involved getting to grips with the complex grid
compliance requirements, in addition to designing the cabling
clusters in the collector network.”
The project posed unusual technical challenges for bothACTOM
MV Switchgear and ACTOM Power Transformers, which had to
develop substantially different forms of equipment in their respec-
tive fields than they had previously been called upon to devise for
new applications. Furthermore, they had to achieve their respec-
tive goals within tight time constraints. Greg Whyte, ACTOM MV
Switchgear’s design and development manager, explained: “With
renewable energy, particularly wind farms, the transformer power
and voltage ratings exceed the scope of traditional miniature
substations, where the maximum power rating is 1 000 kVA and
the rated voltage is up to 24 kV. So for the Kouga project we were
clearly venturing into unchartered territory, where the required
rated power for the PTKs was 2 800 kVA and the rated voltage 36 kV.”
Enquiries: John McClure, ACTOM Power Systems.Tel. 011 430 8700
or email
Integration of wind farms
in southern Brazil
Alstom has been awarded a turnkey contract worth
approximately €100 million from Eletrosul Centrais
Electricas S/A (Eletrosul) to integrate wind farms located
at Rio Grande do Sul State, all situated at the southern-
most tip of Brazil, into the country’s transmission grid.
This project is scheduled for commercial operation in
March complete this project, Alstomwill lead a
consortium to provide a turnkey solution, including the
supply of two new substations and the extension of six
existing substations, which will connect the power from
the wind farms substations.This project, known as Lots
A1 &A4 from the Brazilian Electricity RegulatoryAgency
(ANEEL) auction, opens the door to further integration of
renewable energies, empowering the country to better
forecast its wind energy capacity for the next six years, playing a
key role in strengthening Brazil’s transmission system. Alstomwill
supply its products, software and automation technologies with
equipment produced locally at Canoas and Itajuba sites, in Brazil.
“The southern region of Brazil has huge wind energy potential
and will now be able to fully optimise this alternative energy,
ultimately creating diversity in the overall energy mix for over
30 million people. This contract reinforces Alstom’s leadership in
supplying customer-centered solutions and an expert, local engi-
neering team on the ground to bring innovative technologies to
optimize grid performance”, says Sérgio Gomes, Vice President of
AlstomGrid in LatinAmerica. Alstom has been present in Brazil for
60 years and has completed over 30 transmission turnkey projects
in the country in the 230 kV and 500 kV market.
Enquiries: Email
TRANSFORMERS + SUBSTATIONS
A schematic drawing of the pad-mounted transformer kiosk (PTK)
developed by ACTOM MV Switchgear for the Kouga Wind Farm’s
wind turbine generators.
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