Page 54 - North American Clean Energy May June 2015

wind power

Left: A typical renewable pad-mounted transformer at a wind farm

Above: A typical renewable power transformer at a solar farm site
Don’t Take Transformers for Granted

By Balram Ramamurthy

MANY BUSINESS MODELS INVARIABLY FAIL due to something that’s taken for granted. For It’s important to understand that the unique nature of the power characteristics with
clean energy in North America, growth can be stalled by a critical piece of equipment that’s wind turbines and solar panels can lead to high failure rates among transformers as
sometimes overlooked and often under-appreciated: the transformer.
evidenced by actual ield data which range as much as 20 percent. Between constantly

As wind and solar projects scale up both in both size and investments, ratings for varying and extreme conditions, and the unpredictable start-and-stop nature of wind and
equipment like transformers and generators also climb up, with increasing pressure to sun actions, transformers are plagued by internal gassing as a result of dynamic loads, as
perform under demanding conditions.
well as associated harmonics, thereby reducing their lifespan by accelerating deterioration.
With each windmill and solar array

needing a transformer, plus a collector
transformer that steps up the power
to share to the grid, that kind of
unreliability can get expensive in a hurry,

making clean energy less competitive.
Here are some things to consider
to ensure transformers are up to the
task, and are contributing to return on
TRUSTED LEADER IN
investment (ROI):
OPERATIONS & MAINTENANCE
• Opt for transformers that address the

power characteristics of clean energy
distribution. Not all transformers
it this bill. A standard distribution
transformer is more likely to fail over

time because it’s not built for the
unique parameters of the clean-energy hie
environment. Questions must be asked Sop
about how a transformer handles m
stro
internal gassing, about performance and
levels speciically for wind and solar, / Br
and about longevity and maintenance DF
needs. All of these factors need to be it: E
red
considered when creating a capital
to C
and maintenance plan for growth or Pho
replacement.

• Choose custom designers who also
EDF Renewable Services understands renewable energy facilities build transformers to suit the harmonic
represent a substantial investment. With over 25 years of experience levels that the facility will experience.
in Operations and Maintenance, and 9,300+ MW under contract, he relatively high failure rate of

we are the trusted leader to optimize your plant performance, transformers in the ield indicates that
maximize availability, and ensure ongoing proitability for project distribution transformers have some
owners and investors.
challenges in dealing with harmonics.
A transformer custom-suited to handle
EDF Renewable Services
858.521.3575 | [email protected] this helps operations deal with this
www.edf-renewable-services.com
issue.
EXPERTISE | COMMITMENT | INNOVATION

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MAY/JUNE 2015