Hitachi Energy and Qair team up to optimise Brazilian renewable portfolio

Tech giant Hitachi Energy and energy company Qair have teamed up to build an advanced digital and control backbone, connecting and optimising a portfolio of Brazilian renewable energy projects to deliver a near real-time view of operational performance.

For the partnership, Qair worked with Hitachi Energy to implement a MicroSCADA system to automate the flow of power and to monitor and control multiple sites. This included Relion 670 protection and control Intelligent Electronic Devices (IED) that help to safely connect renewable energy projects to the main grid.

The portfolio consists of Qair’s 593MW renewable projects in Brazil and an additional 13.4MW under development.

Three sites are now managed and monitored to show a comprehensive and complete view of assets within Qair’s control center.

This is demonstrated in a project where operational data is captured from across an entire wind fleet and substation within the MicroSCADA solution.

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On the substation side, feeder and autorecloser IEDs perform important disturbance analysis and ensure compliance with local grid code requirements.

Operators use the data to understand what is happening within the fleet, the sites and the individual turbines and then respond with the right actions to optimise performance.

According to Hitachi Energy in a release, the technology is interoperable with solutions supplied by other OEMs and can be applied worldwide on Qair projects. In addition, system checks can be conducted remotely instead of onsite, solving an acute maintenance challenge.

To make the most of these investments, Qair is also actively engaged with Hitachi Energy’s Collaborative Operations Center (COC) and its new service hub in Guarulhos, Brazil.

Commenting in a release was Madson Campos, operations and maintenance operations coordinator at Qair, Brazil: “Our confidence in the supervision system comes from years of successful collaboration between Qair and Hitachi Energy, reinforcing our partnership and excellence in the services provided.”

Added Philipp Lehner, head of service for automation and communication for Business Unit Grid Automation at Hitachi Energy: “Digital and services are core to how this industry will transform. Hitachi Energy’s experience and track record in renewables integration will help customers like Qair lead transformative projects in Brazil and beyond.

“Our goal is to keep building and delivering a differentiated, world-class customer experience through innovative solutions and advanced services to help our customers achieve the outcomes that matter to their customers.”

According to Hitachi Energy, on average Brazil sees about six hours of sun per day and at 39.4GW of installed capacity, solar power contributes 15.8% of Brazil’s energy mix.

The country was also recently ranked 6th globally for installed wind power.

Originally published on powerengineeringint.com