Areva's Transmission and Distribution (T&D) division has won a contract to provide static synchronous compensator (STATCOM) technology which will enable Ireland-based renewable energy provider Airtricity to determine the feasibility of Dunneill wind farm project in Sligo, Ireland.
The project is an 11MW (13 turbine) wind farm and is an extension of King’s Mountain 25MW (10 turbine) wind farm. Both wind farms are set to be connected to the transmission service operator (TSO) Eirgrid transmission system at the Cunghill 110kV substation.
Areva said that in partnership with Mantle Power Quality Design (PQD) it will utilize its bespoke STATCOM SVC MaxSine solution to ensure wind farm grid code compliance, as implemented by national grid last year.
Performance tests on the solution will be are carried out by a custom-made real time digital simulation (RTDS) system. The STATCOM has the capability to respond in less than one millisecond to any voltage change to ensure grid code compliance, the company claims.
The company said that since the compensation current of the SVC MaxSine is regulated, the compensation quality is independent of both network impedance and of the mains voltage distortion that could be caused by voltage harmonics, dips or flicker. The operation of other loads connected to the network is not influenced by the shunt active filter, MaxSine unit.
The project includes a comprehensive service from Areva T&D comprising supervision of assembly and installation; commissioning, factory and on-site acceptance testing and full staff training.
Mark Wetton, regional vice president for North West Europe at Areva, said: “Utilities and TSOs are increasing the Grid Code demands for wind farms connected to their grids and full compliance is vital.
“The STATCOM SVC MaxSine has been designed with this need in mind. By leveraging our strong customer relationship with Mantle PQD, we were able to deliver world class expertise and cutting edge technology.”