Discover our innovative monitoring and management solutions that help energy operators secure better customer outcomes and realise greater returns from their network infrastructures.
At Camlin we’re engineering better futures. We want tomorrow to be better than today. For our customers. For their customers. For our own people. And for the wider world around us.
Discover our innovative monitoring and management solutions that help energy operators secure better customer outcomes and realise greater returns from their network infrastructures.
At Camlin we’re engineering better futures. We want tomorrow to be better than today. For our customers. For their customers. For our own people. And for the wider world around us.
Transformers are the unsung heroes of modern electricity infrastructure, especially within the context of renewable energy sources like wind farms. These assets play a crucial role in converting electrical energy to levels suitable for transmission and distribution. However, despite their significance, transformers also represent a potential single point of failure within wind farms. Compounding this issue is the scarcity of transformer experts and the overwhelming amount of operational data they can generate, making it challenging to decipher and act upon. This blog explores how leveraging data can revolutionise transformer management and optimise performance.
Understanding the Power of Data in Transformer Management
Traditionally, managing transformers has been a labour-intensive, manual process. However, with advancements in technology, particularly in the realm of automated transformer monitoring solutions, a paradigm shift has occurred. These automated monitoring solutions provide a treasure trove of data essential for asset managers and O&M suppliers. By harnessing this data, you can gain insights that enable proactive decision-making rather than reactive firefighting. Analysing this data not only provides a comprehensive understanding of transformer performance but also facilitates informed actions to enhance efficiency and longevity.
As mentioned earlier, transformer monitoring solutions are automated, meaning users do not need to actively scrutinise the data. Instead, they receive automated reports tailored to parameters established by our experts and customer policies. These reports and alerts, signal when action is necessary often with a confidence rating and time horizon for action. For instance, users may receive alerts for abnormalities in temperature or gas levels, prompting proactive measures to prevent potential failures or mitigate risks, or they may receive a periodic asset health report that advises them to take action to renew the main tank oil. Following our discussion on the automation of transformer monitoring solutions, let's delve into a real-world scenario illustrating the critical importance of such automated insights in the energy sector. Kelvatek recently partnered with a prominent UK wind generation company following a major setback at one of their primary onshore wind farm projects. An unmonitored substation transformer failure led to a five-month unplanned outage, resulting in substantial lost revenues. The failure, caused by a bushing failure, went undetected due to the lack of online monitoring, making it impossible to take preventative measures. The financial implications were significant, with the five-month outage potentially costing over £10 million in lost revenues for a 100MW project, this excludes replacement costs and liabilities for unprovided power to the grid, unexpected outages, and lost generation.
Kelvatek have now deployed a comprehensive online transformer monitoring system at the affected wind farm project, constituting a fundamental component of their asset management strategy. Leveraging predictive analytics, our monitoring solutions proactively identify potential equipment failures by analysing key parameters such as oil quality, dissolved gas analysis (DGA), temperature fluctuations, load variations, and other critical metrics. Through continuous monitoring and automated reporting, we detect emerging issues before they escalate, thereby averting costly downtime which can lead to revenue losses, and infrastructure damage. Our systems generate real-time alerts and reports on anomalous DGA patterns indicative of developing faults, enabling timely intervention to prevent transformer failures and maintain grid connectivity. In this way, Kelvatek facilitates proactive maintenance strategies that optimise asset performance, mitigate risks, and safeguard revenue streams for our partners in the renewable energy sector.
In conclusion, leveraging data to optimise transformer performance is crucial. By utilising data-driven insights and collaborating with trusted transformer experts, wind farm operators can enhance efficiency, minimise downtime, and maximise returns on investment (ROI). The time to harness the power of data is now, helping wind energy utilities future-proof the grid and facilitate a smooth transition to a net zero future.
Case Study: Transformer monitoring for wind farms
A major UK wind farm could have avoided £10 million in lost revenues with online bushing monitoring.
