GE’s Power Conversion business has signed a turnkey contract with the Lindoe Offshore Renewables Center (LORC), a Danish center for testing renewable energy technology, for the construction, commissioning, and handover of one of the world’s most advanced facilities to test wind turbine nacelles with an output power of up to 10 MW. The Lindoe Nacelle Testing project (LNT) will be located in the Lindø Industrial Park on Funen, Denmark’s fourth-largest island. It will be ready for first tests in 2014.
The function tester will incorporate GE’s drivetrain, grid simulation, control systems and foundation work. It is comprised of medium-voltage switchgear, transformers, inverter system DDPM (direct drive permanent magnet) motor, HMI (human-machine interface) and foundation. GE will carry out the installation, commissioning and remote service for the project. The medium-voltage inverter system is a further development of GE’s existing MV7000 series and is one of the most compact medium-voltage inverters on the market. The MV7000 is based on tried-and-tested GE technology using dynamic control properties and low grid interference.
“GE is extremely pleased and proud to be a partner for LORC in building an outstanding test bench that will lead the wind industry into the future of a safer supply of renewable power,” says Franz Hubl, global business leader—test systems, at GE Power Conversion. “As a world leader in this field, we have significant experience to contribute.”
The new nacelle tester will let LORC test the functionality and performance of wind turbine nacelles by using a specially designed adapter that enables the turbine hub and all field operational software and hardware—including pitch control—to be included in the test. It will open up a wide range of opportunities to test wind turbine controllers inside the nacelle, using highly realistic test conditions at 33 kV level, which is unique in the test system business.
The test bench has a modular design that will let it be adapted to future needs. For example, its grid simulator power can be increased at a later date and thereby increase its functionality to carry out extended FRT (Fault Ride Through) tests—simulations of wind turbine systems to remain connected to the supply during grid malfunctions and to help stabilize it.
LNT will be able to meet the demands for testing of tomorrow’s offshore wind turbines in a facility where national grid codes can be tested in combination with loads caused by rapidly changing wind speed conditions. Electrical malfunctions and turbine protection systems have historically led to unforeseen excessive loadings of mechanical components and thereby reduced expected lifetime. At LNT, it will be possible to verify the stress levels under numerous different load cases, thereby helping to improve long-term reliability.
GE was helped in winning the contract by the fact that it already has worldwide references in test systems for the wind power industry and that it was able to offer LORC a technical solution that best fits its requirement. It is alone in producing direct drive permanent magnet motors in the double-digit megawatt range suitable for wind turbines. It offers a flexible automation and visualization system, and it owns important intellectual property rights on grid simulation.
GE Power Conversion
www.gepowerconversion.com
Filed Under: Generators, Nacelle, News
