SCADA International wins hybrid project in Finland

VSB Group is one of the leading full-service providers in the field of renewable energies. For their first industrial scale hybrid project, they have chosen SCADA International to deliver a control unit for multiple parks; the OneView® Energy Control Unit. This will be the third OneView® Energy Control Unit to be delivered from SCADA International to VSB Group and the first to be placed in Finland.

The project named Juurakko is located in the Northern Ostrobothnia regions on the west coast of Finland with a total combined capacity of 53 MW. It consists of a 13 MW solar PV park as well as 7 Nordex N163/5.X wind turbines, each with a rated capacity of 5.7 MW.

SCADA International is happy to announce the new project and corporation with the Finish division of VSB Group, VSB Uusiutuva Energia Suomi Oy, and is looking forward to finalizing more hybrid control concepts in the future: "We are very pleased with our continued cooperation with VSB Group and to extend the partnership with their Finish division," says CEO at SCADA International, Thomas Bagger.

Control is the key

For this project, the control unit will regulate the power output at the grid connection point and ensure it doesn’t exceed 40 MW, which is the maximum grid capacity. To control the power output, SCADA International will implement a customized curtailment function as a part of the OneView® Energy Control Unit.

The control solution makes sure that the produced power is not limited by individual set-points but regulated continuously depending on the wind speed and solar irradiance. Wind turbines and solar PV modules seldom produce maximum rated power simultaneously, so there is a possibility of missing out on power production with individual set-points. Thus, the control unit will help to noticeably increase the capacity factor of the project and give a higher total energy yield compared to a non-hybrid project.

Hybrid projects call for flexible control solutions

The OneView® Energy Control Unit solution from SCADA International is the certified pendant to the OneView® Hybrid Control Unit. The control unit is ideal for controlling hybrid parks as it combines different energy sources – such as solar PV and wind energy – at a network connection point. This setup also opens the possibility of connecting to battery storage and load management, increasing the opportunities for power control.

"I believe we will see more projects combining wind and solar PV looking forward, so it is great to be able to deliver flexible control solutions that fit many different setups," concludes CEO at SCADA International, Thomas Bagger.