Page 25 - North American Clean Energy January/February 2019 Issue

conditions, and degraded battery performance. Batteries perform best when applied for long-term energy storage requirements in more mild environments.
In addition to vulnerability in extreme temperatures, batteries are often the source of pitch faults reported by the SCADA (supervisory control and data acquisition) system. Battery voltage faults are one type of fault speci c to the turbine’s emergency pitch backup system. is fault may appear during a battery load test, during battery charger failure, or when cold weather a ects battery system performance and the battery fails to charge.
If a fault cannot be resolved remotely, wind technicians must climb the turbine to perform diagnostic inspections. Climbs up- tower present safety risks to the technician, and are costly in terms of maintenance hours, complexity of the process, and lost energy revenue due to downtime.
To overcome the challenges with lead-acid batteries, wind farm operators are retro tting wind turbines with ultracapacitors as a much more reliable energy storage alternative. Existing batteries are replaced with ultracapacitor storage modules, considerably simplifying the backup system. Ultracapacitors perform the same function as the original battery system, with the following advantages:
Ultracapacitors withstand the pitch system’s load with minor voltage drop, compared to battery systems. Once the ultracapacitors are installed and fully charged, subsequent recharges are completed in a few minutes. Often, site personnel must wait for batteries to recharge for approximately 20 to 30 minutes before the pitch process can complete. e fast-responding power and charging capability of the ultracapacitors recovers valuable time. In addition, ultracapacitors provide quick, high power, even after long stretches of non-use. is
is a performance advantage compared to batteries, which often have failures after stretches of idle time.
Ultracapacitors are available as form- t-functional replacements for battery pitch systems, and do not require modi cations to the turbine hardware. Current ultracapacitor-based retro t systems include an integrated charger and communication interface, so that initiation of ultracapacitor system check, voltage, and temperature are reported to the turbine SCADA system. Ultracapacitor retro ts do not require extensive technician training for installation.
e ultracapacitor-based system signi cantly reduces system failure rates, repair time, and both unscheduled and scheduled O&M costs. Ultracapacitor-based energy storage reduces the high number of hours spent maintaining and troubleshooting battery- based systems; this reduces the cost of additional turbine climbs performed to address battery system issues. Technician hours
are saved, and turbine availability and operational e ciency are increased. Further, consumable lead-acid battery and charger replacement parts are no longer needed, nor are the complicated battery storage and disposal processes.
In order to remain competitive with other power generation sources, wind farms must harness the most e cient technologies. While batteries are the traditional energy storage technology for pitch control systems,
they present challenges with cycle life, reliability, and exibility in extreme temperature conditions. Replacing end-of-life or failed battery parts is a time-consuming and costly process that can be avoided with ultracapacitor energy storage systems. Wind farms that have retro tted existing turbines with ultracapacitor energy storage experience streamlined operations, more turbine uptime, and greater overall e ciency.
Joshua Hitt is senior product line manager at Maxwell Technologies, a manufacturer of ultracapacitor energy storage solutions for pitch control, with over 67,000 wind turbine installations worldwide.
Maxwell Technologies /// www.maxwell.com
Energy management software
e technology group Wärtsilä announced the release of GEMS 6 (Greensmith Energy Management System, version 6), the latest generation of its software platform serving grid-scale deployments globally. GEMS 6 o ers a set of capabilities used to integrate a broad array of generation assets including solar, wind, hydro, storage, and thermal. GEMS 6 is component-neutral to provide maximum exible and has integrated 16 di erent batteries to date, each according to the application needs of each project. GEMS 6 can
be used independent of energy storage. Using software-based intelligence and machine learning to enhance grid systems and networks, GEMS 6 o ers a wide library of algorithms and applications. With GEMS, renewable energy sources and engine systems can now
be equally modeled and simulated in a virtual environment using real-time data, which allows GEMS to be lab-tested, rather than on-site, and o ers signi cant cost e ciencies
in testing time, outages, and time-to-market. GEMS also integrates weather and load forecast data to optimize an entire grid system. GEMS can operate autonomously and automatically, based on either a rule-based engine or machine-learning, to act and function according to di erent or speci c conditions sensed within integrated systems such as solar and/or the grid itself. GEMS is capable of processing more than 100,000 points of data per second in default mode and uses data analytics to improve the way in which it optimizes energy storage and the overall grid system into which it is integrated.
Wärtsilä Energy Solutions /// www.wartsila.com/energy
Industrial wireless family
Antaira Technologies announces the expansion of its industrial networking infrastructure family with the introduction of the ARS/X/Y-7234-AC series. Antaira Technologies’ ARS- 7234-AC-T is designed for industrial
and enterprise indoor wireless access applications and also allows the user
to position the wireless antenna in a better signal-broadcasting location for improved wireless coverage and signal strength or simply in a more convenient location. While both ARX-7234-AC-PD-T and ARY-7234-AC-PD are designed for outdoor wireless access applications
and are IEEE 802.3af/at compliant. e di erence between ARX and ARY is that one is made of IP67 rated metal housing and the other is made of IP67 rated plastic housing. All three wireless units are embedded with Qualcomm IPQ4029 Quad-Core chipset and supports high-speed data transmission of up to 867Mbps. All three industrial wireless units are capable of operating in di erent modes, which makes them suitable for
a wide variety of wireless applications including long-distance deployments.
Antaira Technologies
/// www.antaira.com
High pressure hydraulic gantry
Enerpac’s new SL100 and SL200 Hydraulic Gantries o er customers a high capacity gantry on a narrow two-foot track gage. Enerpac’s Super Lift gantries are easy to mobilize and demobilize with high-lifting capacity and accurate load positioning. ey also have the ability to operate in con ned or limited-access spaces. SL100 and SL200 Hydraulic Gantry key features include: self- contained hydraulics; range from 100 to
200 ton; self-propelled wheels; 2 stage lift cylinders; Intellilift synchronized control system; lifting height up to 15ft (SL100) and 22ft (SL200); and ASME B30.1 compliant. Additional components and accessories
are available such as header beams, lifting anchors, side shifts, and skid tracks. ere are also tarpaulin covers, transport frames for side shift units, slings, and shackles. e SL100 and SL200 Hydraulic Gantries include the Intellilift control system, providing wireless control, unrestricted operator position, and automatic synchronization
for lifting/lowering and traveling. All of Enerpac’s gantries are tested at maximum capacity at maximum extension and tested under witness of Lloyd’s Register.
Enerpac /// www.enerpac.com North American Clean Energy
25