Making Power Systems Sustainable with Natural Ester Transformers

With the pressing need of having to meet continuous rising demand for electricity and having to cope with the rapid deployment of distributed renewable energy sources, utilities are striving to explore ways to drive economic and environmental sustainability in their operations. As one of the most critical equipment in power systems, transformers are key to delivering an agile and robust power supply against overloading and against the intermittent nature of renewable energy [1]. Due to the possibility of having additional loading capacity beyond the rated load at normal temperature rise limit using natural ester dielectric fluid to replace mineral oil in the insulation systems, the paradigm of having to match the transformer's rated capacity to the expected peak demand can be shifted. Drawing on proven industrial practices and key findings from extensive case studies, this paper reviews different ways of utilizing the higher loading capacity and flexibility in natural ester-filled transformers. It also discusses how end users can select the most viable option based on their applications to deliver tangible sustainability and total cost of ownership benefits through prolonged equipment life and improved energy and material efficiency.