| Power plant products
Nearthlab and Eurus are revamping WTG O&M
Nearthlab, a South Korea–based provider of autonomous drone technology, has contracted to deploy its ‘plug-and-play’ solution NearthWIND Mobile across wind farms in Japan managed by Eurus Technical Service, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Eurus Energy Holdings Corporation. The inspection process is now underway. Almost half of the inspections have been carried out using off-the-shelf drones operated by newly trained staff members from Eurus
Energy, while licenced operators from Nearthlab’s own network are handling the balance. Nearthlab is an AI-powered autonomous inspection platform for infrastructure inspection facilities, launched in 2015. It’s primary role with wind farms around the world has been to automate and optimise blade inspections. Typically, the autonomous drone takes no more than fifteen minutes to carry out a thorough inspection. The data collected from
the inspection is then uploaded to ‘Zoomable’, Nearthlab’s cloud-based analytics platform, to be recast into the insights needed optimise O&M procedures.
Prysmian enters into cable maintenance agreement with TenneT
Prysmian Group has signed a Service Level Agreement with the German-Dutch transmission system operator TenneT to provide nearshore and offshore cable inspection, maintenance and repair services for TenneT’s HVDC and HVAC submarine power cables in the North Sea. The agreement will be fulfilled in partnership with N-Sea, a Dutch integrated subsea solutions service provider specialising in survey, IMR & construction, subsea cable repair & installation, and unexploded ordnance (UXO) identification & disposal.
Prysmian is steadily strengthening its portfolio to cover the entire project lifecycle, also through tailored solutions providing its customers with inspection, maintenance and repair services. IMR solutions are becoming a core element of its lifecycle management strategy with a view to reducing asset downtime, improving the reliability of the systems and optimising the total cost of ownership. This new agreement, which will apply to all the existing operational cable links, has a term of three years, with an option for an additional
extension. It will cover approximately 4000 km of TenneT’s submarine cable systems located in the German and Dutch North Sea.
This agreement is the latest of a series of contracts awarded by TenneT. Recently that has included the award to Prysmian of the two grid connection projects IJmuiden Ver Alpha and Nederwiek 1, designed to support the Dutch ‘Routekaart 2030’ plans to reduce net GHG emissions and achieve The Netherlands’ carbon neutrality targets.
Retrofit switchgear solution
Belgian firm Engie has engaged ABB Electrification Service to provide a retrofill solution to safeguard and extend the safe operating life of its switchgear systems across five of its combined heat and power plants.
Engie’s aim was to modernise its electrical infrastructure by extracting as much value as possible from those components of its existing equipment with high embedded carbon and material footprints – such as switchgear metal cabinets, plates and busbars.
The ABB OneFit Retrofill solution replaced conventional and ageing breaker components with modern VD4G vacuum circuit breakers. The upgrade protects mission critical assets, such as generators and transformers, against potential short-circuits by isolating power interruptions within milliseconds and preventing severe
damage and lengthy plant stoppages. Another advantage of the OneFit retrofill service is that upgrades can be implemented in stages and staggered to optimise capital expenditure, and also allow work to be completed in short production breaks and within normal planned maintenance downtime. Comprising an adaptation kit and standard withdraw-able equipment, the OneFit plug-in technology enables the new breakers and switchgear components to be simply and safely connected to a wide range of existing panels, including those of other manufacturers.
Providing remote substation connectivity
Westermo is to deliver remote substation connectivity for a major European power company as part of a project to integrate renewable energy into the grid and decarbonise the electricity network. A strategic long-term framework agreement will see Westermo provide its Merlin range of rugged cellular routers, implementation and commissioning support, and the use of its Activator automated provisioning software to prepare the new data
networks being implemented. Westermo has received an initial order worth approximately 28 million Swedish krona (€2.35 million), which corresponds to just under one third of the potential volume of Merlin routers covered by the framework agreement.
The power company aims to have an initial ten thousand monitoring devices operational, gathering real-time data from the remote substations within three years. This will be used
for smart grid applications, such as distribution automation, supporting the transformation to a low-carbon electricity system.
The Merlin series routers are said to be well suited to this kind of networking application as they meet the requirements of the IEC 61850-3 standard for medium voltage substations, offering the highest levels of galvanic isolation and security. The routers also have the tools for remote provisioning, management and control.
www.modernpowersystems.com | September 2023 | 39
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