Deployment of Treetech IEDs in Wind Turbine Park

In the last decades, there has been a huge evolution in the technology for transforming Wind Energy into Electric Energy. Countries like Denmark, Germany, Holland, Belgium and Spain already have bold programs to generate energy using wind power in the make up of their power matrixes. In South America, Brazil is one of the countries with high Wind energy potential which begins to be explored.

Ventos do Sul – a partnership between the Brazilian concern CIP Brasil, the Spanish Enerfin do Brasil (of Elecnor Group) and the German Wobben Windpower (of the Enercon Group), built three wind energy generation parks in the city of Osório, on the coast of the state of Rio Grande do Sul, about 100 km from the capital, Porto Alegre. This was the first instance that BNDES (National Bank for Social and Economic Development) funded a venture in alternative power generation. The fact was seen with enthusiasm in the sector and may be indicative of the possibility for new investments. Total investment should be of R$ 662 million and expected financial payback term is between 10 and 12 years, according to the executives of the company.

The three parks have a maximum capacity of 150 MW of energy – enough to power one third of the capital, with an approximate population is 1.5 million inhabitants. Each wind park has 25 2,000kW generation turbines.

Each of the parks is linked to a transmission substation belonging to Trafo Equipamentos Elétricos S.A.. This Project has 4 three-phase 50 MVA transformers in parallel and one back up transformer. The transformers are equipped with TM1 Temperature Monitors, to monitor oil and winding temperature and control of forced ventilation. Transformers are linked in parallel using the Master-Slave philosophy, through the Treetech parallelism system, based on IED controlled Synchronous Parallelism Supervisors – SPS. Voltage regulation in these transformers is carried out via the AVR – Voltage Regulation Relay, installed on each transformer.

An optical fiber network was created to capture the data from the Treetech equipment, delivering all the information to a Computer in the Control Room. Because the equipment is equipped with RS485 serial communication outlets and using an open protocol, there was no additional spending with concentrating elements in setting up this communication network.

This substation is linked to the transmission network of CEEE, The State Power Utility Company. The energy generated by the wind generation park has assured purchase for 20 years, since this project is linked to the PROINFA, Program for Promotion of Alternative Energy sources of the Brazilian government.

The three wind generation farms are located inside a cattle farm, without any impact on the local fauna and flora.

F.O – Optical Fiber | CV – Optical Fiber Converter | Sala de Comando – Control Room

Scope of delivery to Ventos do Sul, through the manufacturer TRAFO:

– Sensors (IEDs) installed on the transformer and in the control room:

• TM1 Temperature Monitor (oil and winding temperatures).
• AVR Voltage Regulation Relays (voltage regulation, command of CDC).
• SPS Synchronous Parallelism Supervisor (transformer parallelism system).