Hitachi Energy scales up variable shunt reactor to 500 kV for wind power applications

Uzbekistan is shifting to a higher penetration of renewable energy to advance the clean energy transition.

With the need to shift to more sustainable energy sources, the country is focusing on its solar and wind power potential. The goal of the Uzbek government is to increase the share of renewable energy sources from 10 percent in 2022 to 25 percent by 2030, increasing the capacity targets from 5 gigawatt (GW) to 7 GW for solar photo-voltaic (PV) and from 3 GW to 5 GW for wind.

To implement this plan, the country is facilitating the integration of renewable energy sources into an expanding infrastructure, with the support of strategic partners who can help them on their decarbonization journey.

ACWA Power and the Dzhankeldy 500 megawatt (MW) onshore wind farm: scaling up the application of variable shunt reactors to 500 kilovolt (kV)

ACWA Power is one of the key players in this development. One of these projects, the Dzhankeldy 500 MW onshore wind farm, is expected to generate 1,650,000 megawatt-hour annually (MWh) of electricity while reducing 750 tons of carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions per year.

This project will help transform the local energy infrastructure to support an increased share of renewable sources in the energy mix. However, the variability of renewables brings technology challenges, such as voltage fluctuations and reactive power imbalances, and effective solutions like variable shunt reactors are required to allow flexibility and control the network voltage stability in a very cost-effective way.

Hitachi Energy manufactured a 500 kV variable shunt reactor at its transformer factory in Chongqing, fully customized for the Dzhankeldy wind farm, making it the highest voltage reactor of its kind produced by Hitachi Energy worldwide.

Advantages and value of variable shunt reactors, available now for 500 kV applications

This variable shunt reactor can improve the stability and reliability of the grid system by dynamically regulating the reactive power consumed along the transmission lines and supporting the power quality management of renewable energy sources.

Compared to fixed power-rated reactors, the variable shunt reactor can regulate the consumption of reactive power in response to load variations of transmission lines, ensuring the reliable operation of the power system. At the same time, the three-phase integrated product can reduce the number of fixed reactors and frequent switching operations of circuit breakers, decreasing the infrastructure footprint and costs.

Technology leadership with a common platform to leverage scale and a global footprint

All of Hitachi Energy's power transformer factories worldwide use the TrafoStar common design platform that acts as a unifying force to ensure that each transformer meets the highest standards of quality, reliability, and performance, regardless of geographic location.

This global approach enables Hitachi Energy to deliver high quality transformers that meet the diverse needs of customers worldwide, ensuring the best manufacturing experience, consistency and repeatability for our reactors to meet even the most demanding requirements.

With this new voltage range of up to 500 kV, Hitachi Energy’s variable shunt reactors now meet the highest voltage requirements for wind power applications.

First introduced in China, these variable shunt reactors can now be produced in any of its power transformer factories around the world using the TrafoStar platform, enabling customers to use this innovative technology in wind farms in Uzbekistan and around the world.