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Sollatek Stabilises Power for Substation LVAC at Beatrice Windfarm

PRODUCT: AVR3Ex1200
HISTORY: November 2018

Beatrice Windfarm Ltd, became operational in 2019and is one of the largest private investments in Scottish infrastructure with a capital expenditure of around £2.5 billion. As the second largest offshore windfarm it remains a leading source of renewable energy, enough to generate power for up to 450,000 homes.

Operated by SSE Renewables and contracted by Siemens to build the 84 turbine windfarm with a capacity of 588MW, Sollatek was to supply two AVR3PE1200 units for this project, which, at the time, set new industry standards with their very wide input range. These advanced Automatic Voltage Regulators (AVR) operate with
microprocessor-controlled systems that function with transformer taps using thyristors. The system incorporates self-check mechanisms, system integrity monitoring and diagnostic indicators to enhance performance and overall reliability.

The site’s intricate operations involve a multitude of switching activities, potentially subjecting the auxiliary power supply to fluctuations beyond acceptable limits. Due to these demanding conditions, Sollatek designed and manufactured an 828kVA regulator, capable of accommodating a very wide input tolerance range of -34% to + 19% (151 – 274V) of the nominal voltage. This wide-ranging capability ranks it among the largest solid-state, thyristor-based regulators as well as an ultrafast correction time. The site is located more than 13km from the mainland, in the rugged North Sea.