Availon has signed a contract with the Japanese firm EOS Engineering & Service Co., Ltd. (a subsidiary of Japan Wind Development Co) for the supply of 80 grid coupling contactors.
The framework agreement for the supply of grid coupling contactors for 80 WTGs with 1.5 MW each was signed by EOS Engineering & Service in mid-October 2012. Availon designed the contactor as an upgrade for 1.5 MW WTGs with double-fed asynchronous generators four years ago. Built to last for up to 250,000 switching cycles, the contactor takes over the regular switching processes that are normally handled by the main circuit breaker of a WTG. The latter consequently only serves as a protection device. Maintenance intervals for the main circuit breaker can be extended as well, since installing a grip coupling contactor reduces wear on the component. Moreover, the added switching component reduces the risk of expensive damage to the frequency converter if the main switch does not cut out correctly.
The framework agreement for the supply of grid coupling contactors for 80 WTGs with 1.5 MW each was signed by EOS Engineering & Service in mid-October 2012. Availon designed the contactor as an upgrade for 1.5 MW WTGs with double-fed asynchronous generators four years ago. Built to last for up to 250,000 switching cycles, the contactor takes over the regular switching processes that are normally handled by the main circuit breaker of a WTG. The latter consequently only serves as a protection device. Maintenance intervals for the main circuit breaker can be extended as well, since installing a grip coupling contactor reduces wear on the component. Moreover, the added switching component reduces the risk of expensive damage to the frequency converter if the main switch does not cut out correctly.
