ABB wins $20 million order of ocean-based wind power transformers

ABB has won an order worth more than $20 million from MHI Vestas Offshore Wind for the delivery of innovative, energy efficient and compact WindSTAR transformers, specifically designed for wind turbine installation.

Borssele III and IV constitute phase two of the Borssele wind farm. This phase consists of a 731 megawatts windmill (MW) wind farm in the North Sea, 22 kilometres from the Dutch coast, with the capacity to supply enough clean energy for electricity supply to approximately 800,000 households.

ABB will supply the company’s new power transformer WindSTAR, which is specially designed to fit in wind turbines. This transformer allows the next generation of powerful offshore wind turbines to be used at the world’s 66 kilovolt (KV) maximum voltage, which significantly reduces losses and increases efficiency. Additionally, it brings life-cycle benefits and cost optimisation.

“These innovative transformers make it easier to integrate offshore-based wind power to deliver clean energy to consumers and strengthen our important role as a partner to customers who want a stronger, smarter and greener power grid,” commented Markus Heimbach, CEO of ABB’s Transform Business Unit. , within the Power Grids division. “ABB has a leading position in the wind power industry by delivering components to turbine manufacturers and enabling wind power plants to be connected to the grid.”

As turbine sizes increase at sea (and achieves 9.5 MW in this project, which is a world record for power levels in commercial offshore wind power), the transformers must remain compact and lightweight with minimal size. At the same time, they shall meet requirements regarding specific applications, mechanical constraints and costs.

As the largest transformer manufacturer and service provider in the world, ABB has an unrivalled global installed base and a broad portfolio of power transformers, distribution transformers and transformers for specific applications.