Test of the most powerful underwater transformer
Finland: Hitachi Energy announced that it has begun testing the world’s most powerful 24 MVA subsea transformer in the port of Vaasa, Finland.
Source: Energynews
Finland: Hitachi Energy announced that it has begun testing the world’s most powerful 24 MVA subsea transformer in the port of Vaasa, Finland.
This subsea transformer will allow the electrification of subsea equipment using renewable hydraulic energy, thus reducing energy consumption and carbon emissions.
The tests consist in immersing the 55 T underwater transformer in the harbour basin, in order to check its thermal behaviour and its pressure compensation system. The goal is to guarantee its reliability in underwater conditions.
The transformers are part of a major contract awarded to Hitachi Energy to supply two OceaniQTM subsea transformers, two step-up transformers and two step-down transformers.
Once tested, they will be immersed off the Norwegian coast, in waters about 850 m. Ultimately, they will feed the OneSubsea compression system for Shell’s Ormen Lange field in the Norwegian Sea.
“An underwater transformer is an advanced technology because of its ability to operate in waters up to 3,000 meters deep and under extremely demanding conditions,” explains Hitachi Energy’s Transformer Business Manager, Bruno Melles.
Ormen Lange is a fully underwater treatment system powered by hydroelectric energy from the Norwegian grid. It is one of the lowest carbon and most energy efficient recovery enhancement projects in the industry.
In addition, this project will produce natural gas from the depths of the Norwegian Sea. The gas will then be transported onshore to a refinery located in Nyhamna. The plant supplies about 20 % of the UK’s total gas consumption.
Source: Energynews