Project description
Fast on-load tap changer technology for wind turbines
The cost of electricity generated from wind continues to decrease. At the same time, grid conditions are becoming harsher. As such, innovative solutions that will help the sector to comply with worldwide environmental policies are urgently needed. The EU-funded FASTAP project will develop a wind turbine application that enhances standard wind turbine generator (WTG) transformers with very fast on-load tap changer capabilities. This solution uses thyristors specifically connected to multi-tap transformer windings. The technology will increase WTG electric capabilities in weak grid conditions and increase their low and high voltage ride-through potential.
Objective
The energy market in general, and the wind energy market in particular, are experiencing constant decrease of prices, together with harsher and harsher grid conditions. In order to comply with worldwide environmental policies, revolutionary solutions, such as FASTAP, need to reach the market as soon as possible.
The FASTAP project aims at scaling from TRL6 to TRL8 the wind turbine application of a very fast on-load tap changer transformer technology. This solution uses thyristors specially connected to multi-tap transformer windings to provide On-Load Tap Changer capability to a standard wind turbine (WTG) transformer. This technology allows to choose the optimum voltage at which the WTG operates in, not only in steady-state conditions but also for dynamic and transient events.
This technology will increase WTGs' electric capabilities in weak grid conditions, enlarge WTGs' Low and High Voltage Ride Through capabilities and allow reducing electrical components oversizing. As an overall, the FASTAP will be able to reduce wind's Leverage Cost of Energy up to 5.5% and will be able to connect to worldwide grids an additional 71.64GW wind capacity.
The consortium partners have been working together for the last three years to bring the technology up to TRL6. They cover the whole value chain, which guarantees that the product will reach the market 33 months after the project kicks-off:
- INF, the market leader in bipolar high-performance semiconductors, brings the technical know-how and commercial capacity for thyristors-based semiconductors.
-SGB, number one medium-sized manufacturer of transformers in Europe, brings the technical know-how and commercial capacity for transformers.
-SG, WTG market leader, will be the integrator and validator of the FASTAP product into <5MW and >5MW platforms.
-MU, the most industrially-oriented University in Spain, was the first originator of the FASTAP concept and will bring FASTAP transformer for Wind Turbines.
Fields of science
Programme(s)
Funding Scheme
IA - Innovation actionCoordinator
7330 Brande
Denmark