Step-in to reinstate production on a solar farm
Balancing technical and commercial risk on behalf of solar farm owners and operators
See Full Project See Full Project
Step-in to reinstate production on a solar farm
Horan Power Engineering stepped in to support a solar farm owner with 1.5MW of offline inverter capacity on a UK solar farm. Four LV circuit breakers connecting the inverter bank to the power transformer had been condemned through a testing and inspection exercise. A long lead time for replacement components meant that the owner was facing over £70,000 of business interruption losses. The circuit breakers were cleaned and contacts dressed before they were were bench tested. The testing included insulation resistance, contact resistance and protection pickup/trip testing. Following the testing two circuit breakers were deemed not fit for service and...
High voltage cable testing
Assessing the remaining life of high voltage cables
See Full Project See Full Project
High voltage cable testing
We can run a full suite of tests including sheath testing, insulation resistance and tan delta on cables with operating voltages up to 33kV. Much of our work is in the solar sector where cables are critical, but high cost assets, and the aim must be to only replace them just before they fail. We have built up a database of cable 'fingerprints' that allows us to compare your cables against similar cables we have tested. We also compare the results of your testing with benchmark testing of cables by others across the electricity industry. A report for each cable...
Power transformer and cable testing
High voltage testing with our specialist equipment
See Full Project See Full Project
Power transformer and cable testing
We have recently purchased VLF and tan delta testing equipment to allow pressure testing and condition assessment of cables with operating voltages up to 33kV. The tan delta test facility is particularly useful to assess the remaining life of power cables that have been compromised by poor laying and resulting water ingress. The tan delta assessment provides a health index for the cables and the possibility of just-in-time replacement before the cables fail. This is particularly useful on renewable energy sites where the cable lengths are very significant and the cost of wholesale cable replacement can be prohibitive. Power transformers...
Solar farm repowering projects
Detailed design and project management of major solar farm rebuild works
See Full Project See Full Project
Solar farm repowering projects
We are currently working with a number of clients to develop asset management strategies for their solar portfolios. In the worst cases the assets are failing to the point that it is uneconomical to keep the sites running in their current form. In these cases we are developing detailed civil and electrical designs to replace the inverters and high voltage equipment, and working with inverter suppliers to ensure the new installation will provide at least 15 years of trouble-free installation. We are currently building a team to design and project manage approximately £30million of solar farm repowering work.
Investigating solar central inverter failures
Forensic investigation and managing the return to service
See Full Project See Full Project
Investigating solar central inverter failures
Through 2020 we have investigated inverter fires and failures on six different sites. Investigations have included central and string inverters. In many cases an electrical fault this is predictable and relatively common is allowed to spread into a major fire because of a lack of adequate electrical protection. As always with our company, the aim is not only to understand the failure mode, but to recommend ways to prevent further failures. We can also project manage the works to return the equipment back to service. We are currently developing strategies to extend the life of inverters that are susceptible to failures,...
New office locations
Horan Power Engineering expanding across the UK and Ireland!
See Full Project See Full Project
New office locations
We now have three main offices in Larne, North Manchester and Chester, plus satellite offices in Bath, Newport and Galway. Our head office is in Chester. Maintenance works are managed from Larne, as well as our HV spares and repair workshop. HV training and our HV control room are managed from our new North Manchester office. Staff at all our locations have a broad range of skills and the spread of locations allows us to respond quickly to the needs of our clients.
An innovative approach to solar farm earth testing
Touch and step potential measurements
See Full Project See Full Project
An innovative approach to solar farm earth testing
A lack of accurate as-built drawings can make it difficult to assess the safety of solar farm earth grids with the traditional method of computer modelling. We are using an innovative approach to avoid the need for computer modelling. An injection set is used to inject a low current fault into the grid whilst the site is still operating and a tuned voltmeter allows us to directly measure the touch and step potentials around the site. Measured values are compared against relevant British and European standards to produce a pass/fail result. In the past this methodology has been mainly used...
Solar Farm Inspections
We have been engaged by various clients to carry out in depth final acceptance inspections on over 200MW of solar farms across the UK. Our typical scope of work includes harmonic measurements, protection system review and testing, partial discharge monitoring, thermography, visual and operational checks. Operational and safety arrangements are reviewed on all sites to ensure they meet minimum UK requirements. On completion of the site visit a full technical report and punch list with budget repair costs is prepared to present all findings to the client.
HV and electrical safety training
Electrical training for power systems owners and operators
See Full Project See Full Project
HV and electrical safety training
Over the past 4 years Horan Power Engineering have been delivering training at a customer’s wind power HV training centre in Haslingden, North of Manchester. We now have access to this training centre, and have started to run our own training courses for private customers. The training network includes 33kV transformers and switchgear of various types installed so they can be made live for practical switching exercises. Courses we have run so far include HV authorisation and assessment courses, where we assess staff for HV switching on a live 33kV network and half day HV Competent Person courses for access...
Operating the HV network on our first offshore wind farm!
Offshore high voltage operations
See Full Project See Full Project
Operating the HV network on our first offshore wind farm!
Horan Power Engineering have delivered a package a of HV rules, authorised persons and HV training to the operator of an offshore wind farm. Our HV control room will provide the safety management systems needed to operate the onshore and offshore assets associated with the wind farm. All switching will be pre-approved or approved in real time by our control engineers and we will also take on responsibility for auditing and authorisation of the client’s staff. We can also supplement the client’s staff with our own SAP's who are available on 24/7 callout.
Failure investigations
Investigating voltage transformer failures at renewable energy sites across the UK
See Full Project See Full Project
Failure investigations
Horan Power Engineering are investigating VT (voltage transformer) failures at solar and wind sites for multiple clients across the UK. While the details of individual cases are confidential, our approach can be broken down into the following steps:- Investigate cause of fault Undertake risk assessment Provide recommendations on how best to manage VTs already deployed within portfolio Inspect and monitor VTs considered 'at risk' within portfolio Provide operational advice on maintaining employee safety while operating in the vicinity of 'at risk' VTs