As wind power is an increasingly accepted and significant source of renewable energy, production now happens on an ever-growing scale. However, regardless of a wind farm’s production potential, safeguards are always required to ensure safety and monitoring functions continue even with a lack of wind or an unforeseen fault on the public grid. In these scenarios, the operation requires a secure power supply to manage its own requirements as all of the system’s key functions must operate without interruption, right up to the point of transfer to the public grid.
For example, the wind turbines’ aviation obstruction markers, as well as substation monitoring and control, are critical systems that cannot risk a loss of power. They require rectifiers with battery backup, and in some applications, inverter systems and DC/DC converters or UPS systems to power all emergency systems and functions.
In this article David Bond, Managing Director at Benning Power Electronics UK, uses recent case studies examples to take a closer look at the aforementioned challenges and describe the products, flexibility and qualities to expect in a power protection equipment supplier to ensure a wind farm power protection system is a success.
