Siemens is also supplying 75 3.6MW turbines for the wind farm. Construction is scheduled to start in late summer this year, with first generation planned for 2012. When operational, the Lincs wind farm is expected to provide green power for approximately 200,000 homes in the east of England.
Siemens will supply an offshore substation platform, which will bundle the power generated by the wind turbines before it is transported via high-voltage cable to the mainland.
The substation will be equipped with two 240 MVA transformers as well as 132kV high-voltage and 33kV medium-voltage switchgear. The requisite protection and instrumentation and control equipment will also be installed on the platform.
The transformers on the substation platform will step up the 33kV voltage from the wind turbines to a transmission voltage of 132kV. High-voltage subsea cables will transport the power to the grid feed-in point, which is located at the Walpole 400kV substation near King’s Lynn.
In addition to the offshore substation, an onshore substation is to be supplied, which will be equipped with two 300 MVA power transformers (400/132/13.9kV). Siemens will install two filters, 132kV and 400kV switchgear, and a reactive-power compensation system in order to meet the requirements of the UK power supply network on the quality of the power infeed, the company said.
Siemens will use its new SVC Plus system for this purpose. SVC Plus operates with Siemens’ voltage-sourced converter technology and can be continuously controlled with the aid of insulated-gate bipolar transistors.
The company will also prepare the requisite design studies for all of the wind farm’s electrical components and the grid studies to provide evidence of fulfillment with grid connection requirements.
