At the end of 2015 ABB was awarded a major contract to supply the medium voltage (MV) switchgear that will connect the wind turbines to the grid at ScottishPower Renewables’ new Kilgallioch Windfarm in south-west Scotland.
Once the programme is completed, in 2017 this will be the UK’s third largest onshore wind farm, with 96 wind turbines with a generating capacity of up to 239 MW (megawatts), the capacity of the wind farm will be enough to power the equivalent of 130,000 households per year.
ABB will supply, deliver, install and commission the 33 kilovolt (kV) switchgear for each of the 96 turbines as well as the site substation, with deliveries planned to start in March 2016 and final handover anticipated by the end of October 2016.
“This is a significant project for ABB that demonstrates that not only does our well proven switchgear meet ScottishPower Renewables’ stringent technical requirements but it also represents good value for money in the demanding onshore wind market,”said Steve Blanche, ABB account manager for ScottishPower.
For the turbines, ABB will supply its Safeplus secondary switchgear, a compact and reliable design that is manufactured in Norway and is well suited for renewable energy applications. The Safeplus switchgear will be supplied in Compact Secondary Substations (CSSs), which are factory-assembled units that contain all of the equipment required for a secondary substation in a single type tested, plug and play container. ABB’s CSSs are engineered and manufactured in the UK.
The substation serving the site will be equipped with ABB’s ZX0.2 primary switchgear, which is manufactured in Germany for high reliability and flexibility within a compact footprint and which integrates ABB’s Relion protection and control devices. Both types of ABB switchgear to be deployed at Kilgallioch are ENA (Energy Networks Association) assessed.