New transformers for sustainable energy
Spain: A new electric transformer for use in solar parks, designed to function with biodegradable fluids and produces lower CO2 emissions.
Image source: Enel Green Power
Spain: A new electric transformer for use in solar parks, designed to function with biodegradable fluids and produces lower CO2 emissions.
The transformer will be deployed for the first time in Spain as part of the VIDCO solar plant currently under construction. The deployment at the solar park of 21 MV/LV transformers, designed by WESTRAFO and EUROLAM in collaboration with Technology-DTV and the Engineering division at EGP, will result in a saving of more than 45 T of CO2 equivalent emissions, in addition to using almost 14 fewer tonnes of various materials (iron, aluminium and insulating paper) to build the transformers. The environmental risk from leakage will also be reduced, thanks to the fact that the liquid is biodegradable.
The new transformer uses natural ester fluid, a soy-based blend with additives that has been patented and certified as non-toxic and biodegradable.
From the outside, the machine is similar to a conventional transformer that uses mineral oil. The internal design, however, has some differences, as the components have had to be modified because of the different characteristics of the fluid. The main practical differences are the use of biodegradable fluid, the elimination of fire risks and the higher temperatures that the transformer is able to withstand.
Between 2020 and 2021, with the collaboration of manufacturers like WESTRAFO, EGP developed an advanced engineering method that makes it possible to achieve performance levels that match those of standard mineral oil transformers, but with a reduced use of materials.
The new transformers are in the production phase and will be factory tested and installed on site in the coming months. VIDCO is the first solar project where we are applying this new concept, and we fully expect to see this solution increasingly adopted at our new solar plants all over the world.
Source: Enel Green Power
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