The substations and grid connection will help to integrate 228MW of renewable energy generated by one of the largest onshore wind farms in Europe. Vattenfall’s Pen y Cymoedd Wind Energy Project, consisting of 76 turbines, is currently being developed. It is scheduled to be operational by 2016.
ABB will design and construct two new substations linked by 9.2 kilometres of underground cable. The substations will be equipped with IEC 61850 compliant substation automation, control and protection equipment and will also include compact 132 kilovolt (kV) PASS (Plug And Switch System) hybrid switchgear and STATCOM (Voltage Source Converter based reactive power compensation) units to support grid voltage stability.
The company will also supply transformers to step up the voltage from 33kV at the point of generation to 132 kV for sub-transmission and then to 400 kV for input into the National Electricity Transmission System.
“These substations will help to integrate wind energy and boost power supplies to meet growing demand for electricity” said Oleg Aleinikov, head of ABB’s Substations business. “They will also reinforce the transmission grid and help enhance reliability and efficiency.”
The UK has a total installed capacity of more than 10,000MW and is currently among the world's six largest producers of wind power. It is considered to be the best location for wind power in Europe and among the finest in the world, with over 6,300 MW of the capacity located onshore and the rest offshore.
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