ABB gets transformers order for 950 MW offshore wind in UK

Swiss group ABB Ltd has been awarded a contract by MHI Vestas Offshore Wind to supply power transformers for the  950 MW Moray East offshore wind farm in the North Sea off the Aberdeenshire coast of Scotland.

Under the project, 100 transformers manufactured in ABB’s transformer factory in Vaasa, Finland, will be supplied for Moray Offshore Renewable Power’s Moray East offshore wind project. The wind farm will have a capacity to generate 950 megawatts (MW) of renewable wind power in Moray Firth (an inlet of the North Sea), 22 kilometers off the coast of Scotland. The farm will be capable of providing enough clean energy to power up to a million households and could save up to 3.3 million tons of carbon dioxide every year, compared to coal generation. The project will use offshore transformer modules which transform the output of the wind turbines from 66 kilovolts (kV) to the transmission voltage of 220 kV, as well as the onshore station which transforms the electricity into 275 kV for feeding it into the national transmission grid.

The 295 square kilometer windfarm will contain wind turbines – up to 204 meters tall to the turbine’s blade-tip, each with the capacity to generate 9.5 MW of electricity at 66 kilovolts. The installation will be coupled with  ABB’s WindSTAR transformers that are compact enough to be placed inside the wind turbine. They will increase the voltage of the turbine-generated electricity to enable efficient transmission with reduced losses.

ABB’s WindSTAR power transformers are designed to fit inside the wind turbine and can withstand strong vibrations, sudden movements and variable electrical loading, typical of wind power. This lightweight transformer is energy efficient and made with biodegradable and safe ester insulation fluid.

The Moray East project won a 15-year contract for difference (CfD) at GBP57.50 (US$72.9)per MWh with UK energy company Centrica PLC.