NISKAYUNA, NY — GE Research, Prolec GE and Cooperative Energy have developed and installed a new generation flexible power transformer at a substation in Columbia, Mississippi.
Cooperative Energy's Columbia substation is an important part of a service network delivering electricity to nearly half a million homes and businesses across Mississippi. The development and installation of the new flexible transformer is considered a crucial step toward modernizing the foundation of the US grid, GE said in a press release.
According to the company, the 165kV, 60/80/100 MVA transformer was developed as part of an ongoing project funded through the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Office of Electricity. It has now been sent for six months of field validation, which will assess its performance and help the project developers understand how this new technology could help transform grid management in the future.
While the existing infrastructure has performed reliably well, GE said that as higher percentages of renewables, like wind and solar power, come online, new transformers, with much greater flexibility and resiliency would be required to support the grid. This, according to the company, was the idea behind the development of the new large flexible transformer technology.
“The Department of Energy’s $2.4 million investment to develop this first-of-its-kind flexible transformer will help make the grid more resilient to severe weather events, more secure from cyberattacks, and handle more clean energy sources to power the places we live and work,” said Secretary of Energy Jennifer M. Granholm. “It’s yet another example of the innovation that’s possible when the public and private sectors collaborate to build new technologies here at home that improve the well-being of the American people,” Granholm went on to say.
“Cooperative Energy, as a member-focused electric cooperative, is continually working to update and maintain our transmission system, thus ensuring its resilience and reliability,” said Jeff C. Bowman, president and CEO of Cooperative Energy. “Advanced hardware and grid components such as the flexible large power transformer will help us meet many of the challenges our industry faces, now and in the future, and ensure reliable service. It is an exciting opportunity for Cooperative Energy to aid in advancing the modernization of the nation’s electric grid.”
Today, more than 70% of the U.S installed large transformer base is 25-years or older, with around 15% already being past their average life expectancy of 40 years. According to the company, a gradual replacement of these aging gird elements with more flexible power transformer solutions would greatly expand the grid capacity and accommodate more renewable resources and highly variable loads.
Source: GE