New transformer returns Holland to full production

August 18, 2011

In early February, the failure of a major 345 kv to 13.8 kv transformer at the Holland plant cut the facility’s generating capacity by roughly half, and put Wabash Valley’s staff into a hunt for a replacement.
 
“This is a huge power transformer,” explained Vice President Power Production Keith Thompson. “It has a 232 MVA (megavolt-amperes) rating, while the transformers our member systems use are typically rated at 10 MVA.”
 
With the help of a broker, we located a suitable replacement in a storage yard about 35 miles north of New York City. The next step was transporting the unit to Illinois. “We hired a company that specializes in moving transformers,” Keith added. “That company used special railcars that required them to get permits along the entire route. They took it by a special crawler to the nearest rail siding, and then delivered the transformer directly to the rail line next to the plant.”
 
The transformer itself cost approximately $1.1 million, but once costs associated with testing, transportation, and installation are factored in, the total is expected to be just under $2 million.
 
At the same time the transformer was being replaced, new steam turbine control software was being installed in the Holland plant’s operating system. The software will reduce the time it takes the plant to start up by as much as two hours, allowing the plant to respond more quickly to requests for generation.