Photo: Hitachi Energy
SWEDEN — The shell of Hitachi Energy’s 1,100 kV power transformer is now the heart of Sweden's first solar-powered reserve power grid for crisis preparedness.
About six years ago, a client from China ordered two 1,100 kV power transformers from Hitachi Energy. During the manufacturing process, it became clear that the transformer boxes of approximately 80 tonnes and 65 m2 (699 ft2) each would not be shipped to China.
“Quite quickly, we realized that the idea of a landmark and the idea of a microgrid for crisis preparedness could be reconciled,” said Wilhelm Jacobsson, Area Sales Manager and Technical Sales Support, Hitachi Energy.
The project was realized in collaboration with many stakeholders from, among others, Hitachi Energy, the Ludvika municipality, VB Energi and the University of Dalarna.
Krafttanken houses a specially developed energy warehouse that secures the municipality's socially important functions in the event of a crisis. It is also a landmark that shows Ludvika’s cultural heritage as an important industrial city for 120 years. “The project as such is also an example of the spirit of a working-class society, where industry and society live in symbiosis with each other,” said Leif Pettersson, chairman of the municipal board in Ludvika.
The energy storage in Krafttanken is constantly charged with locally produced energy from solar, wind and water. This is the hub of Ludvika's microgrid to secure socially critical functions in the event of prolonged power outages. In case of an outage, the energy warehouse, the City Hall's liaison center and a few other priority functions constitute a micro-network that makes it possible for the municipality to coordinate its crisis preparedness.
The municipality has installed several charging posts for electric cars that get their energy from Krafttanken.
The other transformer box is in Ludvika's Japanese garden. So far it is empty, but a technical museum for children is a possible alternative for a village developed around the transformer technology, Hitachi Energy said in a press release.
Source: Hitachi Energy
