Striving for a renewable energy future: Hitachi Energy celebrates production of 1,000 WindSTAR™ Transformers in Vaasa, Finland

In October 2024, Hitachi Energy hit a significant milestone by producing the 1,000th WindSTAR unit at the transformer factory in Vaasa, Finland. These transformers are crucial in the journey toward a carbon-neutral future, resulting in a proven solution to integrate renewable energy and provide clean electricity from the world’s largest offshore wind farms.

In 2016, as power generation from offshore wind farms began to gain prominence, Hitachi Energy launched WindSTAR™ Transformers, which today represents a fundamental pillar in its OceaniQ™ portfolio¹.

WindSTAR™ units are perfectly suited for offshore wind turbines. They are tailor-made to meet the needs of both fixed and floating applications, including the latest turbine developments with higher power ratings. These transformers are carefully designed following wind energy standards such as APQP4Wind², utilizing an optimization process that involves prototyping and type-testing for each new design based on the specific application and customer requirements. With more than 20 different models engineered to withstand the challenging conditions of operating in offshore environments, the compact and lightweight design is well-suited to endure the vibrations, sudden movements, and fluctuating electrical loads typical in wind power generation.

As a result of the success and trust gained over the years since the prototype, Hitachi Energy’s transformer factory in Vaasa now celebrates the milestone of the 1,000^th unit ready for delivery to customers.

"This is a great joint success story where customer co-creation is key. We work closely with our customers to understand and meet their needs. We also collaborate on a global scale to develop technical standards and protocols. When the experience and know-how from all our factories and teams around the globe are combined, the result is that we are capable of replicating great achievements and innovation across all our power transformer factories worldwide, enabling our global customers to pursue their sustainability journey,” commented Pietro Cester, Power Transformers Manager, HUB Europe at Hitachi Energy.

A recent example from this cross-region collaboration is the milestone celebrated in Hitachi Energy’s transformer factory in Zhongshan, China, which delivered several WindSTAR transformers to various offshore wind projects in China, including the company’s first 66 kV WindSTAR transformer with natural ester as insulation fluid. This pilot represents the company’s continuous commitment to elevate the overall sustainability of the transformers further. This solution, manufactured for the first time in China, is now an additional option that complements the choices available to all our customers worldwide.

At the time of its launch in 2016, WindSTAR transformers were produced with a voltage level of up to 33 kilovolts (kV). Today, these transformers have doubled their voltage capability to 66 kV, allowing deployment in larger, more powerful wind turbines, resulting in lower electricity losses and more cost-effective wind farms.

“As these transformers have developed and increased in power, at Hitachi Energy, we have continued to challenge ourselves to give our customers an ever-improving product that can further support the dynamic requirements of the future sustainable power grid. It’s crucial for us to be at the forefront of the energy industry’s development and to use our wind turbine expertise to support our customers in this historic transformation of the energy system. We are making pioneering products that efficiently integrate renewable energy – enabling a stronger, smarter, and cleaner grid," says Toni Koskinen, Hitachi Energy Factory Manager in Vaasa, Finland.

Close to 1,000 units of WindSTAR transformers were produced to be installed in wind turbine nacelles of the largest offshore wind farms in Europe and outside the continent, proving to be a reliable and evolving solution to serve the diverse needs of the industry , representing a significant milestone for the Vaasa factory in Finland.

"As part of the clean energy transition, offshore wind power is growing worldwide. Several projects are in the preparatory phase across Europe. So, there will be ongoing demand and need for our expertise in wind power-related transformers in the future. A thousand WindSTAR transformers produced at our HUB Europe factory is an outstanding achievement and a testimony to our pioneering spirit and efficient production. Recognition should be given to the people in the Vaasa factory for the remarkable achievement and passion they devote daily to make this commitment a reality,” concludes Pietro Cester.

Hitachi Energy recently announced an investment of EUR 170 million into a new Hitachi Energy Park production and technology center in the Vaasa region. The investment will enable the doubling of transformer production and testing capacity in Finland to support the clean energy transition.

Vaasa factory also celebrates its 110^th anniversary of industrial transformer production in Finland this year.