Electricity and Control May 2023

DRIVES, MOTORS + SWITCHGEAR : PRODUCTS + SERVICES

Medium voltage switchgear for mine solar plant

Last year ACTOM’s MV Switchgear Division was awarded a contract for the manufacture, supply, installation and cold commissioning of all the MV switchgear equipment for a 40 MW photovoltaic solar power generation plant being constructed at a gold mine in Gauteng. The solar plant, covering an area of over 100 ha, will generate over 20% of the average electrical energy con sumption of the mine. The fast-track contract awarded to MV Switchgear comprised three parts. ƒ An extension to an existing 11 kV substation switchboard to accommodate the additional load coming in from the solar plant. For this extension MV Switchgear produced, supplied and installed 18 double-busbar panels of its premier switchgear product AMV12. ƒ Two containerised collector substations, each con taining 12 x 11 kV GELPAG solid insulated switchgear (SIS) units. GELPAG SIS features high operational ef ficiency, low maintenance, compactness and built-in immunity to pollution and humidity. It is one of only a few MV switchgear products in the world capable of using solid dielectric insulation without forced cooling for continuous current ratings up to 3 150 A. ƒ Ten 17.5 kV solar circuit breakers, each housed in an outdoor kiosk. The circuit-breaker kiosks are

installed at various points throughout the solar plant site to feed the solar-generated power from transformers via cables to the collector substations, These panels in turn transfer the collected power to the extended 11 kV substation. Due to the advantages of GELPAG solid insu lated switchgear the customer did not hesitate in accepting it as an alternative solution to gas insulated switchgear (GIS) for the collector substations. Caroline Baptista, Senior Sales Engineer at MV Switchgear said, “An additional noteworthy feature of the GELPAG SIS switchgear is that it can reach a higher continuous current (up to 4 000 A) and short-circuit current (40 kA) ratings, compared to alternative products of similar technology on the market.” A separate contract was awarded to MV Switchgear After-Sales to refurbish the existing protection schemes for the 11 kV substation’s main switchboard. Both the substation extension and the collector sub stations have been supplied with battery tripping units from ACTOM’s Static Power business unit. For more information contact ACTOM MV Switchgear. Tel: +27 (0)11 820 5111 Visit: www.actomswitchgear.co.za

One of two 12-panel GELPAG SIS switchboards

installed in the containerised collector substations.

MAY 2023 Electricity + Control

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