Hitachi Energy supports stable and efficient operations at Europe’s largest onshore windfarm

Sweden is leading the green energy transition journey. It has set an ambitious goal of becoming a fossil-free country, directing the nation’s electricity to run on 100% renewable energy resources by 2040. To meet this target, wind energy generation needs to triple the current annual output of 30 terawatt-hours (TWh) to at least 90 TWh.¹

The Markbygden wind farm will play a key role in the Swedish energy transition and is envisioned to become Europe’s largest onshore windfarm with the capacity to produce electricity of up to 12 TWh per year. It will comprise of almost 1,000 wind turbines and is currently under construction in the Norrbotten county in northern Sweden. 

Renewable energy facilities such as wind farms face several power quality challenges. In particular, large and sudden fluctuations in power output are caused by unpredictable weather conditions and varying wind speeds, which can create significant disruptions in the grid. Additionally, excessive reactive power demand and harmonics can limit the actual energy output from wind turbines, causing power losses. Furthermore, penalties can be imposed to wind farms owners if they fail to comply with the grid codes requirements.

In order to integrate renewable resources at such a large scale, Hitachi Energy is deploying harmonic filters at the Råbäcken substation, an essential transmission hub in the Markbygden wind farm power infrastructure. This innovative solution will contribute to secure voltage stability, avoid network losses and improve power quality.

“Hitachi Energy’s harmonic filters will support full utilization of the renewable power generated from the wind turbines,” said Tobias Hannu, Chief Technical Officer, Markbygden Net. “The increase in power quality will also ensure that we meet the high-level requirements of the main grid. It will help us to avoid disturbances for stable operations, making us a reliable partner in balancing the reactive power from a national perspective.”

“We are proud to have been selected as the partner of choice for the Markbygden Wind Farm, a key-project in Sweden’s energy transition. Our Power Quality products will enable increased availability and reliability of the electrical power and equipment, therefore supporting another important step in advancing a sustainable energy future for all.” said Helena Garriga, Head of Global Product Group Power & Industry Components of the High Voltage Products business at Hitachi Energy.

As a pioneering technology leader, Hitachi Energy offers power quality products and solutions in low, medium and high-voltage applications for utility, industrial, infrastructure and transportation sectors.

_{1 Source: Swedish Wind Energy Association (SWEA)}