Apr 26 2007
American Superconductor Corporation, a leading energy technologies company, announced another order for its D-VAR(R) reactive compensation product to meet grid interconnection standards for wind farms.
Delivery of the system is expected in the second half of calendar 2007 and will be the 27th wind farm worldwide to utilize AMSC's D-VAR solution.
AMSC will provide a four megaVAR (MVAR) D-VAR system for the new West Cape Wind Farm under construction on Prince Edward Island. This wind farm is being developed in two phases by Ventus Energy Inc. of Toronto, Ontario, one of Canada's leading independent wind energy companies. Phase I commenced construction in September 2006 and consists of eleven Vestas V80 1.8 MW wind turbine generators.
Construction of Phase 2 is set to begin in the summer of 2007 and will consist of forty-four Vestas V80 1.8MW generators. The total wind farm will consist of fifty-five generators with a total capacity of 99MW when phase 2 comes on-line in the fall of 2008.
AMSC's D-VAR solution will be used for Phase I of the project and will provide voltage regulation and power factor correction in accordance with the province's grid interconnection requirements.
Because of the wind farm's remote location, the D-VAR system can also be used to mitigate any voltage flicker that may be generated by the wind farm, thereby ensuring the quality of the power being delivered to the grid. This exemplifies the D-VAR systems ability to provide digital-grade power to customers - a substantial advantage in today's digital economy.
"This order is a prime example of our D-VAR product's versatility and flexibility," said Chuck Stankiewicz, senior vice president and general manager of AMSC Power Systems. "Our product was selected for the West Cape Wind Farm because it not only helps meet local grid interconnection standards, but also ensures the quality of the zero emission electricity being supplied to customers."
The West Cape Wind Farm is being constructed in part to help meet the Province of Prince Edward Island's Renewable Energy Act, passed in the fall 2004 session of the Legislative Assembly. This act requires utilities to generate at least 15% of their electrical energy from renewable resources by 2010. The majority of West Cape electricity is expected to be sold to customers in the New England Power Pool.