Zest WEG produces new mobile substation for Guinea
Zest WEG has custom designed and manufactured one of the largest mobile substations ever built in South Africa.
The 50 MVA mobile substation – destined for Guinea – includes a dual voltage rated mobile transformer produced by WEG in Brazil, according to Bernard Mitton, engineering team leader for integrated solutions at Zest WEG. The substation will be commissioned early in 2022.
“This is a full turnkey project procured by Robustrade in Dubai for the Utility Company of Guinea, called Electricité De Guinée,” says Mitton. “Our in-house team co-ordinated the electrical, civil and mechanical designs, as well as the engineering solutions for the customer.”
The full project includes three trailers of equipment and allows the end-user to step down power from the main national grid at various geographic points as required. High voltage power is tapped from existing overhead line with a specifically designed and manufactured tee-off solution connecting the supply into the mobile substation, where it is stepped down from 110 kV or 60 kV to 20 kV or 30 kV depending on requirements.
“From the 50 MVA mobile substation, the supply is then distributed to a 30-20 kV mobile switching station, containing an incomer and five feeders,” he says. “Mini-substations can be fed directly, or a cable can feed to a junction box in the field, usually where there is an existing cable in the ground.”
As part of the project, Zest WEG designed and supplied a cable reel trailer with all power and control cabling needed for the mobile transformer and mobile switching station. Included on this trailer are 30 kV field junction boxes to assist with the cable connection between exiting cables already installed and the supply cables from the mobile switching station.
These boxes allow for up to three feeder cable connections. The advantage of this design, he notes, is that the junction box becomes a termination point. The termination ends of the on-site cable do not need to be redone, and all that is necessary is a bolt-on connection.
“This mobile substation solution is suitable for both temporary and permanent installations, so it can be used in a range of applications,” Mitton says. “For emergencies, it can replace an existing substation transformer in the event of failure, and for standby applications it can handle temporary overloads at substations.”
Source: Mining Review
Photo (for illustrative purposes): Substation / Kiernan McCloskey / Flickr / CC BY-SA 2.0
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