Building a wind farm is a complex undertaking that requires teams of specialists to handle the many aspects of the project—from conception and planning to implementation.
Speak with one of our high voltage electrical engineering Wind Farm Specialists today.
The civil and electrical works are referred to as the Balance of Plant (BOP) and are designed and installed by a high voltage specialist contractor like Powersystems or contractors separate from the turbine supplier. The turbine supplier usually provides the SCADA system, apart from the cables which are normally supplied and installed by the electrical contractor.
Experience in the design and installation of high voltage electrical infrastructure has placed Powersystems in a position ideally suited to carry out wind farm electrical balance of plant contracts (eBoP), this is all the infrastructure and facilities of a wind turbine installation except for the turbine itself, encompassing all aspects of the wind energy project not covered in the turbine supply contract.
The wind is one of the Earth’s most sustainable natural resources when it comes to generating electrical power. To harness it, you need to construct a wind turbine that converts the movement of the air into kinetic energy. To do this on a large scale, however, you’ll need a wind farm, a collection of specially designed wind turbines positioned across the landscape or ocean, where the winds are steady and strong.
Since Powersystems first wind farm installation at Goonhilly Downs in 1992 Powersystems has been actively involved with wind farm projects ranging from single turbines to 70 plus turbine wind farm sites across the UK.
From the current largest in the North Sea, Dogger Bank Offshore Wind Farm to the largest onshore wind farm in wales at Pen Y Cymoedd, Powersystems high voltage specialists have helped connect 27% of all UK land-based wind farms.
Powersystems engineers are highly experienced in the design, specification, installation and commissioning of wind farm substations, switchgear, transformers, cable infrastructure, earthing systems and SCADA cabling, enabling the complete installation to be carried out.
Wind farm infrastructure consists of the below points to be considered in your wind farm project.
Civil works
Electrical works
The major influence on the economic success of a wind farm is the energy production, which is principally determined by the wind profile at the chosen site, the wind farm layout and the choice of wind turbine. However, the wind farm infrastructure is also significant, for the following reasons: –
Climate change is a topic that is high on the policy agenda and attracts substantial media and public interest. Renewable energies, like wind, are an important part of decarbonising our economy and slowing climate change. The share of renewable energy sources, including wind, in total energy consumption is also an indicator for the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (7.2.1), to help build a more sustainable future.
~ The UK government has set a legally binding target of “Net Zero by 2050” greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 ~
Wind power is one of the largest sources of renewable electricity in the UK and is expected to continue to grow, so will be important to meet “Net Zero”. The UK government included wind power in The Ten Point Plan for a Green Industrial Revolution and in the Energy White Paper.
Wind is caused by the uneven heating of the atmosphere by the sun, variations in the earth’s surface, and rotation of the earth. Mountains, bodies of water, and vegetation all influence wind flow patterns. During the day, air above the land heats up faster than air over water. Warm air over land expands and rises, and heavier, cooler air rushes in to takes its place, creating wind.
Wind turbines work on a simple principle instead of using electricity to make wind like a fan—wind turbines use wind to make electricity. Wind turns the propeller-like blades of a turbine around a rotor, which spins a generator, which creates electricity.
People used wind energy to propel boats along the Nile River as early as 5,000 BC. The first wind-powered water pumps were used in China as early as 200 BC. Between the 7th and 12th century windmills had been used mainly to grind valuable corn, flour and to pump water.
In 1887: The first known wind turbine used to produce electricity was built in Scotland. The wind turbine was created by Professor James Blyth of Anderson’s College, Glasgow. Blyth’s 10 m high, cloth-sailed wind turbine was installed in the garden of his holiday cottage and was used to charge accumulators developed by the Frenchman Camille Faure, to power the lighting in his home, making it the first house in the world to have its electricity supplied by wind power.
In 1891 Danish scientist, Poul la Cour, constructed a wind turbine to generate electricity, which was used to produce hydrogen by electrolysis.
With the development of electric power, wind power found new applications in lighting buildings remote from centrally-generated power. Throughout the 20th century parallel paths developed small wind plants suitable for farms or residences, and larger utility-scale wind generators that could be connected to electricity grids for remote use of power. Today wind-powered generators operate in every size range between tiny plants for battery charging at isolated residences, up to near-gigawatt sized offshore wind farms that provide electricity to the National Grid.
The big change for wind energy power came with the fuel crisis of the early 1970’s, as oil prices started rising, so did mass interest in renewable sources of energy. Governments were forced to consider other, more sustainable and efficient sources of energy. A giant change took place in 1978 when the world’s first multi-megawatt wind turbine was constructed.
As the 21st century began, fossil fuel was still relatively cheap, but rising concerns over energy security, global warming, and the eventual fossil fuel depletion has led to an expansion of interest in all available forms of renewable energy.
The fledgling commercial wind power industry began expanding at a robust growth rate of about 25% per year, driven by the ready availability of large wind resources, and falling costs due to improved technology and wind farm management.
Technological innovations continue to drive new developments in the application of wind power. By 2015, the largest wind turbines were 8 MW capacity Vestas V164 for offshore use. By 2014, over 240,000 commercial-sized wind turbines were operating in the world, producing 4% of the world’s electricity.
Wind power is one of the fastest growing renewable energy technologies, with electricity generation from wind power in the UK increasing by 715% between 2009 to 2020.
According to the National Grid, 2020 was the “greenest year on record” for Britain, with record high levels of wind energy generation.
In May 2021, the International Energy Agency published Read More: Net Zero by 2050: A Roadmap for the Global Energy Sector. The roadmap says that 90% of electricity generation globally will come from renewable sources in 2050, with solar and wind being responsible for 70%.
The International Energy Agency also produces a global forecast of growth in wind generation capacity (how much wind power can be produced). Increases in capacity are expected, the size of which depend on factors like the cost of wind, policy environment and public perceptions of wind.
Read the latest wind farm case studies from Powersystems in wind farms projects.
Powersystems were appointed as the wind farm Electrical Balance of Plant (EBoP) contractor with responsibility for the design, build, commissioning and energisation of the entire wind farm electrical infrastructure works from the 132 kV connection to the Distribution Network Operator through to the final electrical and fibre optic terminations to the Vestas V90 turbines.
Powersystems were appointed to design, supply install, test and commission a 132 kV grid connection.
Powersystems designed, installed and commissioned one of the first point-on-wave circuit breaker controllers to be used in the UK for controlled energisation of a 132 kV grid transformer to ensure voltage dips were kept within National Grid limits when energising the transformer.
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