IPEC Ltd - Offshore windfarm array cable and switchgear Partial Discharge (PD) monitoring

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Partial Discharge (PD) is a pre-breakdown phenomenon that occurs in cables, switchgear andaccessories. IPEC have pioneered PD monitoring technology as a tool for use in assetmanagement over the last 8 years, largely in collaboration with EDF Energy on their Londonand South East based distribution network. As the technology has developed and marketsevolved it has become apparent that the most compelling business case for installation ofpermanent monitoring is on high criticality circuits where a failure would pose safetyconcerns or have a high financial impact. As a result IPEC’s strongest sales have been in theindustrial sector and in particular process plants for instance, chemical plants, steel plants andsemi-conductor fabs. In order to do this we have developed very sophisticated data acquisitionand analysis algorithms that can detect the small PD signals in very high background noise.Much of IPEC’s business has been overseas into regions investing in manufacturing soalthough gross margins on the technology are high so are the costs of sale. A typicalinstallation for a single substation may cost in the region of £25-35K.With the high and rapidly increasing investment in off-shore wind farms around the UK, IPEChave identified an opportunity to bring the benefits PD monitoring to offshore assetmanagement. The working environment of the high voltage network connecting wind turbinesis harsh, increasing the likelihood of defects and failure. In addition the cost of repairing afailed component and the consequential damages are very high.By permanently monitoring the network of subsea cables and switchgear that interconnect theturbines, the asset operators will be able to identify and very accurately locate defects before afailure occurs. In many cases this will allow preventative maintenance to be carried out thusavoiding failure altogether.Off-shore wind farms generally have a 20 year design lifetime and it is estimated that the costof this monitoring technology would be offset by avoiding just two failures over this period.