Sabine Bowers
Because the Cargill international renewable power chief for bioindustrial energy programs, Sabine Bowers is on the forefront of the world’s power transition. Whereas her data of sustainable power spans all areas of renewables, she has a specific concentrate on using pure ester dielectric fluids, such because the Cargill FR3® fluid utilized in energy era and distribution transformers of all voltage courses. Within the following dialog, she explains the benefits that this pure ester — derived from renewable vegetable oil —has over mineral oil options for photo voltaic power farms.
Why are transformers so essential to the photo voltaic power business worldwide and what engineering design considerations do transformer engineers search to deal with?
In response to the IEA, photo voltaic makes up 75% of all renewable power development globally and is the quickest rising phase. Transformers have all the time been key elements in photo voltaic era, facilitating power transmission, energy regulation, grid integration, and voltage regulation. Hearth security, reliability, working prices, loading capacities, and harmonics are perennial engineering challenges. However as immediately’s photo voltaic farms scale to 100MW or extra, boosting the facility density of transformers has turn out to be an increasing number of essential.
What worth does a transformer’s energy density present builders and their solar energy clients and the way does FR3 pure ester fluid contribute to that?
One purpose is just that FR3 fluid permits designers to get extra energy out of the identical dimension gear. As much as 30% extra, the truth is. Conversely, they’ll develop transformers with the identical peak load capability however with smaller dimensions and about 10% much less weight on account of a 20% materials financial savings. One more reason is that transformers are sometimes constructed as modular elements on skids or in delivery containers, so smaller module sizes and weights cut back vacation spot delivery and set up prices whereas additionally shrinking the dimensions of the required fireplace security system.
How does FR3 pure ester dielectric fluid evaluate with mineral oil when it comes to transformer design traits and efficiency in photo voltaic farm deployments?
Hearth security is a giant one. FR3 fluid’s flash and fireplace factors are greater than twice that of mineral oil and, for comparability, about 12% larger than artificial esters. This reduces the danger, price, and upkeep of fire-mitigation programs. Actually, we’ve had no reported fires in additional than 25 years throughout a world put in base of greater than 3 million transformers. The upper fireplace level additionally lessens the prospect of expensive manufacturing disruptions.
Reliability is one other benefit. FR3 fluid consumes moisture within the transformer, protecting it away from degrading stable insulation. Its superior thermal capability can prolong the lifetime of paper insulation by as a lot as 8 occasions. It’s additionally so oxidatively secure that its lifespan exceeds that of the transformer. And, with larger temperature efficiency, transformers with FR3 fluid can higher deal with extremely variable load fluctuations, offering photo voltaic producers extra versatile loading capabilities.
Lastly, FR3 fluid can mitigate photo voltaic farm gassing points attributable to high-frequency harmonics that may generate primarily hydrogen and methane. It might face up to these harmonics on account of its larger Partial Discharge Inception Voltage (PDIV) that minimizes these discharges.
As a biodegradable pure ester, FR3 fluid might be thought of a greater biobased various to mineral oil. What are the related advantages of that distinction?
Since FR3 fluid is 95% biobased, it’s non-toxic in water, soil, animals, and people, which reduces environmental considerations round leakage. Our analysis has proven that it’s 100% biodegradable in 10 days.
Can present transformers be retrofilled with FR3 fluid? Is it miscible with mineral oil?
Sure, they’ll. Many photo voltaic farms have efficiently retrofilled transformers that initially used mineral oil, to allow them to reap the benefits of improved reliability, diminished upkeep and unplanned disruptions, and prolong the fluid lifecycle past even that of the transformer. FR3 fluid is absolutely miscible and appropriate with mineral oil, though we advocate that the residual mineral oil not exceed 7% to take care of a 300°C fireplace level.
Filed Beneath: Sponsored Content material
