environment magazine

Energy & theEnvironmentENERGY SAVING CASE STUDIES 5 customer applications highlightthe huge energy saving potentialof Variable Speed Drives

ALTERNATIVE ENERGY SOURCESControl Techniques drives featurein renewable energy applications

REVOLUTIONARY RECYCLINGCommander SK is critical to newcommingled separation machine

Intelligent AC & DC Drives, Servos and Motors2

Welcome to this Issue of Applied Collections highlightingcase studies where Control Techniques drives have beenused in applications to save energy, in renewable energyapplications or in recycling machinery.

Because energy saving and the environment is becomingmore and more important, Control Techniques hasdedicated a whole section of its website to helping andadvising where customers can save energy.(www.controltechniques.com/energysaving)

Included as a free-download is an Energy SavingsEstimator - Civil & Marine managed payback in months,with savings of £hundreds a week - every week (See CaseStudy on page 4). Their Control Techniques salesengineer worked out the potential savings using theestimator which proved to be remarkably close to thereal-world savings achieved.

Also keep an eye out for the "EnergySaving Technology" logo which will beappearing on every Commander SK andUnidrive SP to emphasise potentialsavings.

I hope you enjoy this issue of AppliedCollections and I welcome anycomments you may have.

Tel: 01686 612996Email:[email protected]

Katie Williams Editor

Focus on the Environment

Energy Saving Technology

Energy Saving

4 Payback in months for two large fan drives

6 Electronic system cuts crane fuel consumption by 20%

8 Drive provides cool energy saving solution at Henry Denny

10 Keeping up the pressure at German Aluminium plant

12 Major drives installation cuts operating costs at Swiss sawmill

Renewable Energy

14 Versatile drives chosen for wave energy project

16 Green drives crucial to green project

18 World-leading energy research centre specifies Control Techniques drives

20 Boiler company cuts costs and noise with Commander SK

21 Here comes the sun and new market opportunities

Recycling

22 Commander SK is at the heart of revolutionary recycling machine

Features inside this issue:

Introduction

E U R O P E A NINDUSTRY HAS TWOYEARS TO COMPLYWITH NEW MOTORR E G U L A T I O N S ,WARNS EU

New European energy efficiencyrules for electric motors andtheir use with electronic driveswill soon be saving theequivalent of Sweden's totalannual electricity consumptionNew, tighter regulations for

improved efficiency of electric motor designs andinstallations under Directive 2005/32/EC are due to comeinto force mid year 2009 and will start to deliver seriousenergy savings by 2011. This measure is a majorcontribution towards the EU's energy efficiency and climateprotection targets and will result in significant savings inelectricity consumption equivalent to Sweden's annualelectricity consumption.

The EU Commission estimates that there are 85 million largeelectrical motors in the Community Market. Theseconsume 70% of the energy used within industry amountingto 1067 TWh in 2005, corresponding to 427 Mt of CO2emissions. Without these regulations, it is predicted thatthis will increase to 1252 TWh by 2020. It has beenconcluded that the life-cycle energy consumption and theuse-phase electricity consumption can be improvedsignificantly - in particular if motors in variable speed / loadapplications are equipped with drives.

Directive 2005/32/EC is based around new IE efficiencyratings for electric motors. These are;

IE1 - Similar to the current Eff2 ratingIE2 - Similar to the current Eff1 ratingIE3 - New, better than Eff1IE4 - Even better, but not yet defined.

The directive, specifying eco-design requirements formotors and their drives will be introduced in three stages. By2011 all new motors will have to meet the IE2 (HighEfficiency) rating. By 2015, all industrial motors between7.5kW to 375kW must either meet the higher IE3 (premiumefficiency) rating or meet IE2 rating and utilise an electronicdrive. By 2017, these requirements will be extended to allelectric motors in the range of 0.75kW to 375kW.

It seems, at long last, that the well known energy savingbenefits of electronic variable speed drives in conjunctionwith electric motors have been recognised formally. Even anIE3 motor should not be seen as an alternative to a variablespeed drive. For themajority of variable-torquefan and pump applicationsthe use of a drive with an IE3motor gives the best

benefit for lifetime cost andenergy consumption.

"In most cases, the additionalinitial capital outlay of buyinghigher efficiency motors andvariable speed drives shouldbe recouped relativelyquickly through reducedenergy bills" comments Control Techniques' John Murphy, VPStrategic Planning. "We have considerable experience inimproving installed motor energy efficiency with variablespeed drives together with our sister company Leroy Somer,one of Europe's leading motor manufacturers. ControlTechniques can advise on the most cost-efficient route toDirective 2005/32/EC compliance."

Intelligent AC & DC Drives, Servos and Motors 3

Overview

Re-energise your business!

The drives manufactured by Control Techniques

have the potential to save energy

in many applications.

A Variable Speed Drive (drive) is an electronic

device that controls the characteristics of a

motor’s electrical supply allowing the speed and

torque of the motor to be matched with the

requirements of the machine it is driving.

Varying the speed of a motor with a drive can

reduce energy use substantially. Of all the

applications for variable speed control,

centrifugal fans and pumps offer the greatest

potential for energy savings. In addition to

saving money, drives can also improve process

control, whilst reducing waste, maintenance

costs and carbon emissions.

Control Techniques drives may be configured to,

in addition to varying the speed of a motor,

re-circulate stored energy back into the mains

supply. In some applications this significantly

reduces energy consumption and your energy

bills.

High and unpredictable energy costs are

leading to faster return on investment (ROI).

"We have considerableexperience in improvinginstalled motor energyefficiency with variablespeed drives togetherwith our sister companyLeroy Somer, one ofEurope's leading motormanufacturers."


A major upgrading of the control for two large fans has givenboth improved throughput and payback in under a yearthanks to substantial energy savings. Two modular UnidriveSPM AC drives from Control Techniques have producedimmediate energy-savings and paid for themselves in recordtime.

At Civil and Marine's Middlesbrough plant, situated on thecoast adjacent to the Corus steelworks, blast furnace slag,otherwise a waste product from iron production, is groundinto a fine powder called Ground Granulated Blast-furnaceSlag (GGBS). This is used to enhance the properties ofconcrete, replacing between 20 and 80% of the normalPortland cement.

Excessive wear and tear on dampers inparticular prompted an examination ofalternative means of control of the air flowthat extracts the highly abrasive fine powderfrom the ball mill and Sepol separator at Civiland Marine's GGBS grinding plant. "Asneither fan operated at full speed, we alsosaw an opportunity for energy-savings",explains Electrical Engineer and AssistantWorks Manager Rob Thwaites. "We broughtin Control Techniques who calculated likelysavings and predicted that the drive for theSepol separator would have a payback of justseven months, whilst the ball mill would payfor itself in nine. The calculations haveproved to be very accurate and we havemade precisely the savings that ControlTechniques predicted."

The Sepol separator is driven by a 200 kWmotor running at 71 to 75% of full speed.With the damper, its energy consumptionwas 146 kWh. Now, under Inverter drivecontrol, this has been reduced to 61 kWh,giving a saving of 85 kWh. The roll millextract has a 160 kW motor.

The air flow was restricted to 50%, with anenergy usage of 105 kWh. This has beenreduced to 45kWh, saving 60 kWh on thismachine. The total savings of 145 kWhr, overa 100 hour production time per week,represent a reduction on the power bill ofover £700 per week - every week!

The drives recommended by ControlTechniques were 200 kW and 132 kWmodular Unidrive SPM drives, retrofitted intoexisting cubicles by Rob Thwaites' own team.The modular nature of the drives' power

circuits help with fitting into non-standard enclosures, yetprovide the full standard and optional features of the well-proven and popular Undrive SP range, and are integratedusing the same software tools for commissioning andprogramming. The UnidriveSPM is extremely versatile,configurable into open andclosed loop modes, paralleledand load sharing, with activeinput and regeneration, inmulti-pulse configuration (12,18, 24 etc.) or fitted on acommon bus for circulation ofenergy between drives.

Both drives are under speedcontrol from a controlling PLC.

"A further benefit we hadn't anticipated is the reduction innoise," comments Rob Thwaite, "which makes the plantmuch more comfortable for operators. We also anticipatethat fan motors and bearings will last longer and require lessmaintenance."

PAYBACK IN MONTHSFOR TWO LARGE FAN DRIVES "A further

benefit wehadn't anticipated isthe reduction in noise,"

Energy Saving


Further Control Techniques Unidrive SP AC drives have beeninstalled on two 450 kW pre-grinders, with four drives oneach working in load-sharing mode. The effect on this newsection, that takes a mixture of the coarse pelletised andgranulated GGBS, has been an overall increase inthroughput from 50 to 70 tonnes of GGBS per hour. Thisfurther enhances the energy efficiency of the plant byreducing the energy consumed per ton of output produced.

Civil and Marine specialises, primarily, in the production ofground granulated blast-furnace slag over six sites and twodistribution depots in the UK and a works in the CzechRepublic. GGBS is one of the most environmentally-friendlyof construction materials, using less than one fifth of theenergy and one fifteenth of the carbon dioxide emissions ofPortand cement, attributed to producing some 5% of allglobal carbon dioxide emissions. Concrete containing GGBSis less permeable and chemically more stable than normalconcrete, giving superior resistance to sulphate attack,reducing 'concrete-cancer' and reducing cracking caused byalkali-silica reaction. Besides GGBS, the company produces a raw material forglass-making and also abrasives and aggregates. Civil andMarine is a Hanson company and a member of theHeidelberg Cement Group.

Energy Saving

KEY BENEFITS• 7 - 9 MONTH PAYBACK PERIOD• IMPROVED THROUGHPUT• SIGNIFICANT ENERGY SAVING• ACCURATE PREDICTIONS OF COST PAYBACK• NOISE REDUCTION• REDUCED MAINTENANCE DEMANDS


Energy Saving

A new product, now availablefrom Control Techniques, hasbeen proven to cut overall fuelcosts on diesel-electric cranes byas much as 50% during standbygiving an overall fuel saving ofaround 20%!

The CT.RIS.GA is a compact staticelectronic system that can beeasily installed on new orretrofitted to existing RubberTyre Gantry (RTG) cranes andMobile Harbour Cranes (MHC).This innovative and intelligentsystem monitors the crane'soperation and reduces the speedof the diesel generator during thecrane's standby mode to cut fuelconsumption dramatically.

Diesel generators on-board RTGand MH cranes are usually run ata constant speed to supply thedrive system and auxiliaries,regardless of whether the craneis in operation or in standbymode. This means that, duringstandby, the system is highlyinefficient with a high fuel topower ratio. The result isexcessive costs and anunnecessary environmentalimpact.

Now, with the CT.RIS.GA system,the total cost of ownership forboth new and existing RTG cranesand MHCs can be substantiallyreduced. As well as reducing fuelcosts, crane productivity isincreased, since the number offuel stoppages are fewer and thewear and stress on the dieselengine, generator and auxiliariesis also reduced, cutting maintenancecosts and extending their life. What'smore, emissions are cut, reducing theenvironmental impact.

Return on investment

Field tests have shown that theterminal operator can save 20% ormore on fuel consumption for eachcrane on which CT.RIS.GA is fitted -cutting fuel consumption by 50%

during standby. A series of six RTGcranes were monitored over a periodof one month, demonstrating thattotal fuel costs were cut from 20 litresper hour to 15 litres per hour, withmassive savings from 15 litres perhour down to just 7 litres per hourduring standby mode.

Typically, this gives a payback ofbetween one and two years,depending on local diesel fuelprices and, of course, savings goon and on thereafter!

Space within both RTG and MHcranes is limited and the size ofthe system is critical. TheCT.RIS.GA is very compact,allowing easy integration andconnection into the controlsystem of either new or existingcranes. Retrofitting takes amatter of hours, minimisingcrane downtime.

The system has already beensuccessfully installed in portsaround the globe and can beseen, for instance, on RTG cranesmanufactured by ZPMC, Kalmar,MGM-OMG, Doosan and FantuzziReggiane. It is fully supported bythe worldwide network ofControl Techniques Drive Centresand distributors.

Control Techniques is part ofEmerson Industrial Automationand is the world leader inintelligent drive systems. Thecompany has over 30 years'experience in the design,manufacture and installation ofcomplete automation systemsfor port cranes around the globe.

Environmental safety andelectrical conformance

IP20 NEMA rating, IP54 (NEMA12) through panel mountOperating temperature 0-50°C,and enclosed panel mounted

max. RH 95%Tested IEC 60068-2-34 (vibration), IEC60068-2-27 (mechanical shock)Electromagnetic immunity complieswith EN 61800-3 & EN 61000-6-2Electromagnetic emissions complieswith EN 61800-3

ELECTRONIC SYSTEM CUTS CRANE FUELCONSUMPTION BY 20%

Total Fuel Consumption (litres/hr)

Total Fuel Consumption (litres/hr)in StandbyMode

RTG Crane

RTG Crane fitted with RIS.GA


KEY BENEFITS• OVERALL FUEL SAVING OF 20%

• FUEL CONSUMPTION AT STANDBY CUT BY 50%

• CRANE PRODUCTIVITY INCREASED

• REDUCED WEAR & STRESS ON ENGINES

• MAINTENANCE COSTS CUT

Energy Saving


The installation of a large freestandingvariable speed AC drive from ControlTechniques has produced improvedtemperature control in a foodcompany's chilled rooms - and is well onthe way to delivering a massive savingof around £23,400 in their annualelectricity bill - a cut of 50% of theplant's total power usage!

Henry Denny & Co manufactures a widerange of pies, sausage rolls, pasties,cottage pies and so on. At itsPortadown plant in Northern Ireland, acomplex of 20 chilled rooms stores ahuge amount of not only the company'sown production output it also holdsmany £thousands of cheeses, butter,hams and bacon from other companiesin the Kerry Group too.

"We have a large ammonia compressorto keep the cold rooms within verycarefully controlled temperatures,"explains Henry Denny's ElectricalEngineer, Ciaran McSherry, "and,previously this was soft-started and runup to full speed on demand."

When the company had to replace thesoft starter for the compressor, MrMcSherry recommended a change to avariable speed AC drive. "Thecompressor is a major contributor tothe plant's total base load," he says, "andI felt that there were savings to be madeby providing more precise control of thecompressor. But even I was surprised

when the payback turned out to be justsix months!"

They chose their preferred drivessupplier Control Techniques, a majorsupplier to the Kerry Group throughoutIreland. The Dublin Drive Centrerecommended a freestanding UnidriveSP for the task, it met with the spaceconstraints for the drive's requiredlocation and, subsequently supplied acompact 315 kW unit just 400-mmwide in October 2006.

"All of our engineers have been trainedon Control Techniques drives, and we'veused them for over five years" says MrMcSherry. "We find them easy toprogramme, install and maintain. PlusControl Techniques'support and service isvery good."`

Following installation byHenry Denny's own staffand commissioning byControl Techniques, theimprovements becameclear from the outset.The drive is set up togive a pulse for eachkWh feedback to thefactory managementsystem, so that thecompany can monitorenergy usage. Thesavings proved to bebetter than the

conservative estimate given by ControlTechniques, giving savings in the regionof 7,500 kWh (@ 6p per kWh) per week.Combined with other factory energysavings initiatives, the installation ofthis drive is generating 75% of the totalsavings of £600 per week.

The free standing drive is part of theUnidrive SP AC drive range and comescomplete and ready for easyconnection, in a small footprint,standard size and colour cubicle thatallows ease of integration with existingequipment, as at Henry Denny.

The compressor controller calls formore or less compression of ammoniacoolant with immediate response fromthe drive. "We used to have a slowreaction time to temperature swingswith the soft starter," says CiaranMcSherry, "but now it is easy to hold thetemperature pretty well bang on ourtarget of -10°C as well as cutting ourenergy bill by around 50%."

"The project has been enormously successful andhas really reinforced theenergy-saving benefits thatcan come from variable speeddrives."

DRIVE PROVIDES COOL ENERGY SAVINGSOLUTION AT HENRY DENNY

KEY BENEFITS• 50% ENERGY SAVING• SIX MONTHS PAYBACK PERIOD• IMPROVED TEMPERATURE CONTROL• EASY INSTALLATION AND USE• COMPACT SIZE

Energy Saving


Three of three massive aluminiumextrusion presses, at Alcoa inHannover, now depend on variablespeed drives from Control Techniquesand, as well as dramatically increasingproduction time availability,increasing throughput by 10% anddecreasing maintenance costs, the

installations have cut energyconsumption by a huge 40%, savingthousands of kilowatt hours of energyevery year!

These two biggest extrusion lines,both using the indirect extrusionprocess accept billets of aluminium

alloy at around 265-mm and 412-mmdiameter and lengths between 400and 1350-mm, pre-heated tobetween 300 and 550°C. These billetsare then extruded through two highpressure extruding presses at 56 MNand 33 MN respectively. Bothextruders are hydraulically-powered,with the oil pressure being generatedby pumps controlled by ControlTechniques AC drives.

The big press line was upgraded in1998, a big project requiring theinstallation of 12 off 132 kW Unidrives(for 12 pumps), to produce therequired maximum pressure of 315Bar. In January this year, the 33 MNline was similarly upgraded withvariable speed drives, this time thedrives chosen were six 160 kWUnidrive SPM modular drives,producing an oil pressure of 250 Bar.

The operation runs around the clock,365 days a year and so the latestinstallation was carried out with theline in full operation.

"In both cases, the savings areconsiderable," explains Herr StefanHeine, who has responsibility fortechnical operations and purchasingat the Alcoa plant.

"The original hydraulic plant wasdesigned to give the required thrustwith additional oil being sent througha by-pass - so effectively the pumpswere running at full speed all the time.Now Control Techniques variablespeed drives integrate with thehydraulic controller using Profibusand give exactly the required powerat every stage of the operation. Notonly does this save some 40% of thepower, but also gives better control,giving improved quality of extrusions.But this is just part of the story.Because the plant (the valves, pumps,pipes and seals) is less stressed,equipment is less susceptible tobreakdown and I believe that ourthroughput has increased by around10% because of reduced downtime.The oil lasts longer too - a notinconsiderable saving when youconsider that the machineincorporates some 15,000 litres of oiland 6,000 litres passes through thesystem during each extrusion (this isthen cleaned and returned)."

Energy Saving

KEEPING UP THE PRESSURE ATGERMAN ALUMINIUM PLANTAlcoa Germany depends on ControlTechniques modular drives


Energy Saving

The savings run to €thousands peryear and have given Alcoa a paybackof less than 18 months.The Unidrive SPM range spans 90 kWto 1.9 MW and comprises verycompact and innovative input andoutput modules that enable flexiblepower configurationsto be achieved.Multiple systemssuch as at Alcoa aremounted on aninterconnected DCbus that allowscirculation of energybetween drives thatare motoring andregenerating and alsoallows regenerated energy to bereturned to the mains. Drives canshare braking duty and the wholeinstallation requires a single AC powersupply, simplifying installation.

The 38 MN extrusion press producessome 800-900 tonnes of aluminiumextrusions per month, in a wide rangeof profiles including stars and tubedown to less than10-mm with wallthicknesses down to 2-mm. Singleextrusions can be as long as 45-metres in length and the fastestextrusion rate is 15-metres perminute.

Each billet is ultra-sonic tested andcarefully heated to a point just belowits 'plastic' state, this depending onthe exact composition of the alloy, so

that, during the high pressureextrusion process, the pressure takesthe material up to the required plasticstate, but no further, in order tomaintain the structural integrity ofthe material. Every extrusion isstretched, cut-to-size, 'aged' in an

aging Furness, thentested for hardness,tensile strength andconductivity as wellas passing throught h r e e - co - o rd i natemeasurement testingbefore being passedfor delivery.The Alcoa plant isnow using 100% of

Control Techniques drives - including

conveyors, fans, pumps, pullers, cut-to-length machines, run-out tablesand many more.

"We particularly like the new modularUnidrive SPM drives", comments HerrHeine. "They are extremely compactand easily fitted into our plant room.We like the Unidrive SP rangegenerally and routinely useSmartCards to speed up the setting ofparameters when we install a newdrive. Most of the drives in our plantare connected by Profibus to thefactory management system. Overthe 12 years that we have usedControl Techniques drives, we have

found them to be extremely stableand reliable and we get excellentservice from the Drive Centre inHennef."

Alcoa Hannover produces mediumand high strength alloys primarily forthe aerospace and automotivemarkets. Alcoa high-strength alloysare playing a key role in the future ofaircraft construction and the plantalso produces safety parts forautomotive brakes and chassis' andsections for engine components usingmaterials with high temperaturestability.

"We particularly likethe new modularUnidrive SPM drives",comments Herr Heine."They are extremelycompact and easilyfitted into our plant room.

KEY BENEFITS• THROUGHPUT INCREASED BY 10%• 40% ENERGY SAVING• REDUCED MAINTENANCE COSTS• IMPROVED CONTROL & QUALITY• EXCELLENT RELIABILITY & SERVICE

The savings run to€thousands per yearand have givenAlcoa a payback ofless than 18 months.


Energy Saving

A major upgrade at a Swiss sawmillhas seen the installation of 1.2 MW ofAC drives from Control Techniques -and this will rise to over 2 MW oncethe company's improvement planshave been completed.

Control Techniques’ Zurich DriveCentre has master-minded theelectrical project at Scierie Zahnd SA,based in Rueyres, a village halfwaybetween Lausanne and Berne. Theproject to date has included asubstantial reorganisation of thedrives for the saws and milling cuttersover a total of seven DC buses, eachwith just one breaker per group,shared feed, lower operatingtemperatures in the cubicles (withless braking capacity being used) anda saving in power consumption.

When the project is complete, outputof the plant will be doubled to200,000 cu metres of cut timber, forapproximately the same operatingcosts, enabling the company tocompete more effectively in a veryaggressive European marketplace.Present power consumption is in theregion of 280,000 kWh per year andearly estimates indicate that theelectrical power consumption per

cubic metre of cut timber has almosthalved!

The project is one of the first majorinstallations in Europe featuring fourof the new Control TechniquesUnidrive SPM large module drives, inthis instance rated at 160 kW each,and being used for driving the 1800rpm milling cutters, two pairs ofwhich mill the logs from a circularshape to square profile, prior to themgoing through the circular saws.

The Unidrive SPM range of IP20 inputand output modules enable thecreation of a comprehensive range ofpower systems. Encompassing therange from 90 kW to 1.9MW, theunits are extremely compact and aredesigned for interconnection on acommon DC bus supply to reducerunning costs by regenerating brakingenergy to the AC mains and tocirculate energy between drives toprovide efficient motor-to-motorbraking.

In this instance, the Unidrive SPMunits are on four separate buses, eachwith a power supply, rectification, RFIsuppression and braking resistors,with 15 smaller Unidrive SP drivesarranged on three further DC buses.These drives, all in open-loop modeand ranging from 5.5 to 30 kW, coverduties including line speed, rotationof wood lengths, selection left/rightand cut-to-length machines along the

line. Each of the 14 circular saws isfitted with a Control Techniques softstarter, and then runs at constantspeed throughout the shift, unless ablade needs to be changed.Unidrive SP is the world's mostadvanced 'solutions platform' ACdrive, with multiple operating modes,connectivity and feedback protocols.With a range of plug-in moduleoptions, its on-board PLC can besupplemented with sophisticated,customer-programmable applicationmodules.

Commander SK is a very highspecification general purpose ACdrive, packed with features into acompact size. Featuring integraldynamic braking as standard, thedrive has the ability to absorb theenergy created by fast stops, whilstgiving very smooth, precise control ofstandard off-the-shelf motors.

Each of the Control Techniques drivesis fitted with a Profibus-DP fieldbusoption module to provideconnectivity to the controlling PLC.

The rresult? The line-speed has beenincreased from 60 to 80 metres perminute, with a current output of 500cu metres per day and this will doubleonce the upgrade on the rest of theplant has been completed. Even so,cost per cubic metre has reducedfrom 52-53 to 48 Swiss Francs, with atarget within three years of 43 SwissFrancs.

"We investigated a number of drivesbefore embarking on this projectsays," Scierie Zahnds' TechnicalManager, Laurent Zahnd. "In all thetests, Control Techniques drives gavethe best performance and we havebeen very pleased with the supportfrom their Drive Centre in Zurich. Wehave a good relationship with themand have now standardised onControl Techniques products acrossthe plant."

MAJOR DRIVES INSTALLATION CUTS OPERATING COSTS AT SWISS SAWMILLEnergy costs slashed!

"In all the tests,Control Techniquesdrives gave thebest performance"

KEY BENEFITS• PLANT OUTPUT TO DOUBLE• ENERGY CONSUMPTION PER M

VIRTUALLY HALVED• LINE SPEED INCREASED BY 33%• APPROXIMATELY 20%

COST REDUCTION

3


Renewable Energy

A project for the testing anddevelopment of wave energy for thegeneration of electricity features ACdrives from Control Techniques. Thedrives are a key feature in thedevelopment of wave-powerbreakwater projects around Europe.

Inverness based Wavegen, part ofVoith Siemens Hydro PowerGeneration, is a wave energycompany dedicated to thedevelopment of marine renewableenergy technology. In 2000,Wavegen became the first companyto connect a commercial scale waveenergy plant to the grid. On the Isle ofIslay, off the west coast of Scotland,Wavegen has an inclined oscillatingwater column (OWC) generatingfacility that is used both forgenerating power and for testing newdesigns of Wells turbine generators.

Two 250 kW counter-rotatingturbines have been generating powerfor several years at this 'Limpet' (landinstalled marine powered energytransformer) unit, which utilises thepower of a surge-dominated wavefield adjacent to the shore. The waterdepth at the entrance to the OWC istypically seven metres and the airchamber is designed to maximise thecapture of wave energy to maximisepower output.

Now, one of the turbines has beenremoved to provide Wavegen with atest-bed for a new design of smallturbo-generator that can beincorporated into breakwaters,coastal defences, land reclamation,port walls and community powerschemes. These are a fifth generation

of Wells generators and incorporateall of the learning and cost-reductiongained from development andpractical operation of the Limpetplant.

"It was crucial that we selected theright drive system toaccommodate both ourchanging needs duringthe developmentprocess and therequirements of futurecustomers of thesebreakwater generators,"explained Dr. TomHeath, EngineeringManager at Wavegen."We considered fivedrives suppliers andControl Techniquesproved to be a clearchoice for severalreasons. The over-ridingfactor was the facility to program thedrives in a high level language, ratherthan an inflexible block diagramsystem. It proved to be very easy toadapt the SyptPro control languageused by Control Techniques - and theirwillingness to give us total access tothe drive functions proved crucial. Ihad experience of dealing withControl Techniques previously andagain received exceptional supportand service throughout this project."

This was reiterated by Wavegenengineer, Janet Lees, who isresponsible for running the projectand developing a SCADA front-end forthe end-users. "We access the driveremotely via Ethernet from ourInverness office and are developing aSCADA package using the SM

Ethernet option module within thedrive" she says. "We frequently adjustthe programming to accommodatespecific test routines - to monitornoise and efficiency under differentconditions, for example, changingspeeds, butterfly valve modulationand so on. We simply couldn't havedone this with another make of drive."

Two 32 kW Unidrive SP drives arefitted; one to control the turbinespeed, the second running in

regenerative mode to feedAC power to the grid. Bothare fitted with SM-Applications modules toprovide powerful on-boardprogramming of the systemand the first, additionally,has an Ethernetcommunications module.Because of the high-level ofI/O required, as this is adevelopment project, withmore intensive monitoringthan an operational turbinegenerator installation -some 20 channels,monitoring temperature,

speed, chamber pressure andpressure drop across the butterflyvalve etc - additional I/O is providedlocally with a Beckhoff unit.

As waves roll into the collector, air isdriven up the inclined water column -this can be seen in diagrams 1 and 2.In turn, this drives the bi-directionalflow, uni-directional Wells turbinethat runs at up to 4,000 rpm andwhich is connected to an inductiongenerator.

Pressure transducers in the chamberfeed the RMS pressure back to a SM -Applications module via the Beckhoffunit. The program calculates theoptimum speed for the turbine andthe unit can be started. The UnidriveSP motors up the turbine to the

VERSATILE DRIVES CHOSENFOR WAVE ENERGY PROJECT

"We simplycouldn'thave donethis withanothermake ofdrive."

optimum speed and switches frommotoring to generating mode,allowing the low-inertia turbine todrive free, with the air pressure, butlimiting its maximum speed. Then,using a five-minute moving averageof the chamber air-pressure, themaximum turbine speed is adjustedevery 30 seconds to give an optimumoutput from the Wells turbineinstallation.

Normally, the Wells turbine runs 24hours a day in fully automatic mode,except when very high sea statesrequire throttling back by using thebutterfly valve.

"We are up with the most advancedwave generating companies in theworld," concludes Dr Tom Heath."Nevertheless, we have a lot more tolearn about getting the best out ofdifferent sea states. The Unidrive SPAC drives, with their Ethernetconnectivity, have proved idealduring our development phase. In thefuture, this will be equally importantso that we can provide our clients withtechnical support via the internet.

"We've received tremendoussupport throughout, both fromControl Techniques and TomDonohue of Dalepark MotionControls who has been involvedwith the installation andprogramming."


Renewable Energy

Diagram 1 Diagram 2

KEY BENEFITS• HIGH LEVEL PROGAMMABILITY• REMOTE ACCESS VIA ETHERNET• ZERO HARMONICS ENERGY

EFFICIENT REGENERATIVE SYSTEM


Renewable Energy

GREEN DRIVESCRUCIAL TO GREENPROJECT

Variable speed ACdrives from ControlTechniques are at theheart of one of theworld's best examplesof sustainable energyutilisation at WestBeacon Farmnear Loughborough.

Beacon Energy, a non-profit making company, was establishedwith the objective of promoting public awareness of globalwarming and to encourage the reduction of CO2 emissions. WestBeacon Farm features many different interlinked renewable energytechnologies and enables Beacon Energy to be virtuallyindependent from the national grid and fossil fuels. Eachtechnology feeds its energy into a common DC bus via Unidrive SPAC drives from Control Techniques and further Unidrives feed onsite single and three-phase electricity needs.

"We chose Unidrives because of their versatility," explainsLoughborough University PHD research student Matthew Little,who has been heavily involved in the development of theintegrated system. "We needed drives with a particular mix offeatures - on-board programming, high speed communications,four-quadrant control - and a supplier who would provide us withexceptional support throughout the project. Control Techniquesloaned us drives and other equipment, helped us with design andprogramming and have been on hand to help at each stage."

Whittle Hill Farm Buildings, the home of Beacon Energy, and WestBeacon Farm, the family home of Professor Tony and AngelaMarmont, together form the test-bed for renewable energy inalmost all its forms - wind turbines, photo-voltaic panels, aground-source heat-pump system, a hydrogen energy storagesystem incorporating an electrolyser, storage tanks and two fuelcells , a combined heat and power unit powered by propane, solarwater heating and two water-powered generators (not yetconnected into the DC bus).

Every aspect of the site looks towards conservation, from the useof spring and rain water, septic tanks and composting toilets, highlevels of insulation and creative use of natural light and passivecooling in summer. Not surprising that the site provides researchopportunities for the renewable energy centres at Loughborough,De Montfort and Nottingham Universities and there is a heavyprogramme of educational visits for schoolchildren of all ages.

Control Techniques has supplied a total of 14 drives to WestBeacon Farm, nearly all being Unidrive SP AC drives, all fitted witha programmable application module to give on-boardprogramming and CT-Net high-speed networking for datacollection and diagnostics. Data is fed into a PC running LabView,which interfaces with CT-Net and monitors every aspect of thesystem helping to analyse the effectiveness of the differenttechnologies. "We've used Control Techniques' toolkit, SyptPro,for programming all of the drives and found it to be verystraightforward," adds Matthew Little.

A 37kW Unidrive works in four-quadrant mode and is the only linkto the mains electricity supply. This has two main functions; tomaintain the DC voltage in the grid and to export excessgenerated power back to the grid. "In practice, we use virtually nomains power at all," says Matthew Little, "but it is there just in case."

Two wind turbines drive 25 kW / 415 V three phase inductiongenerators that feed power to the DC bus via 30 kW Unidrive ACdrives. The system is set up so that, at a pre-determined generatorspeed, the drives synchronise and connect (catching a spinningmotor/generator), set the motoring current to zero and start togenerate at 50 Hz, feeding DC power to the DC bus. If, after a settime, the turbines are not generating power, the drives close downagain. The turbines have been installed for nearly 25 years andhave generated power for around 20% of the plated capacity ofthe units over that period.


Renewable Energy

Four solar arrays contribute a further6 kW at 120 volts and the Totemcombined heat and power rig, whichoperates on heat demand, addsanother 15 kW via a Unidrive SP, aswell as providing 38 kW of heating forthe Marmonts' house.

The energy storage system comprisesa high energy density 20 kWh nickelsodium chloride battery at 620 voltsand an alkaline electrolyser thatproduces clean hydrogen that isstored in 48 high pressure (137 Bar)tanks, giving a further 4MWh ofenergy storage. This hydrogen isused, when required in two protonexchange membrane fuel cells that,together produce 7 kW of power viapower converters to the DC bus.

A reverse osmosis (RO) rig filtersrainwater for supply to the house andelectrolyser and is supplied by pumpdriven by a 1.5 kW Unidrive SP. A 5 kW Unidrive SP drive controls thecompressor pump that steps up thehydrogen pressure from 25 to 137 Barfor storage. Two 12 kW Unidrive SPdrives supply both the single phasesupply to the Marmonts' house andthe three-phase supply to thehelicopter hangar and farmmachinery, whilst a 4.5 kW UnidriveSP drives the pump for the heatpump, which extracts heat from thenearby lake to supply the heatingsystem for the house (the 4 kW pumpgenerates 10 kW of heat). Unidrivesalso control pumps for the watersupplies to the house, the hanger and

the fire prevention system and furtherdrives provide power for the winchand general amenities local to thewind turbines.

Unidrive SP is the world's mostadvanced 'solutions platform' ACdrive, configurable into five operatingmodes, connectivity to most industrystandard networks and accepting 14position feedback protocols. With arange of plug-in module options, itson-board PLC can be supplementedwith high-end PLC processors,customer programmable applicationmodules are also offered with a libraryof software solutions.

West Beacon Farm has now becomeone of the world's best examples ofrenewable energy in practice. West

Beacon Farm demonstrates howintegrated renewable energy systemscombined with other sustainablepractices can form an effective andreliable independent network.

KEY BENEFITS• ON-BOARD PROGRAMMING• HIGH SPEED COMMUNICATIONS • FOUR-QUADRANT CONTROL• EXCEPTIONAL SUPPLIER SUPPORT• HIGH POWER CONVERSION EFFICIENCY


Renewable Energy

NaREC, the New and RenewableEnergy Centre at Blyth inNorthumberland, is the world'sforemost authority in thedevelopment in alternative energysources and is a key element in theUK's strategy to meet renewabletargets agreed at the Kyoto OzoneWorld Congress.

So, when it came toselecting drives toprovide high accuracycontrol of a number oftest rigs - includingwinches for turbineblade testing andnumerous applicationsin the EnergyLINKlaboratory - factorssuch as energyefficiency, versatility,communications androbust dynamicperformance all playeda part in the selection.After comprehensiveevaluation and testing, ControlTechniques' drives were chosen as thesite standard for all current and futuredrives requirements."Control Techniques' Unidrive SPdrives easily surpassed ourrequirements, at a competitive price"says NaREC's Engineering Specialist,Dave Slee. "As well as giving us the

dynamic performance and localisedprogramming that we were lookingfor, their open communicationsability means that we are free to useany automation equipment that wewish - Unidrive SP will network withthem all."

NaREC was established recently tobring substantial benefits to the UK's

new and renewableenergy industry. It is a world centre ofexcellence, fast-tracking conceptevaluation andfeasibility studies,e v a l u a t i n gprototypes andtesting through tocommercial models.The centre providesa high level ofresearch, workingclosely with leadingE u r o p e a nuniversities and

manufacturing industry, as well asproviding a source of expertise forgovernmental energy policies.

The EnergyLINK laboratoryincorporates a bespoke array of lowvoltage electrical sub-systems thatcan be configured in a variety of waysto meet customer test requirements.

Newcastle University has engineeredsome unique components andDurham University have designed andbuilt the linear generator test rig. Thelaboratory is designed to investigatethree main areas - power take-offoptimisation, network evolution andrenewable integration. It links realenergy sources (wind, solar, gas etc.)to real generators and to bothsimulated output and physicaldevices.

Six Control Techniques Unidrive SP'solutions platform' drives areinstalled in the EnergyLINK laboratoryin two main areas. To simulate andcompare the compatibility ofdifferent types of generation andfuels, a bank of five drives, with a fullyregenerative front end, are in use inthe unique LPN rig, which providescomprehensive testing of a range ofboth motors and generators coupledin different configurations, to validatemachine responses compared withtheir mathematical models. The set-up can introduce faults / shortcircuits to monitor system responseand can simulate common conditionssuch as an offshore DC generatorcoupled to an on-shore converter, forinstance.

In the same laboratory, a unique testrig provides comprehensive testinformation on the characteristics oflinear generators used in wave powergeneration schemes. This £250,000research project employs a 15kWservo motor driven by a 20 kWUnidrive SP AC drive that isprogrammed to simulate any type ofwave motion. The project is underthe control of Durham University'sSchool of Engineering, New andRenewable Energy Group.

"The Unidrive SP drives are the onlydrives which could give us theflexibility we need," says NaRECEngineering Specialist, Dave Slee."We use them as bi-directional energy

WORLD-LEADING ENERGY RESEARCH CENTRE SPECIFIES CONTROL TECHNIQUES DRIVES

Control Techniques'drives were chosen asthe site standard for

all current and futuredrives requirements."Control Techniques'

Unidrive SP driveseasily surpassed ourrequirements, at acompetitive price"

AC Transformer (2 Million Volts)


Renewable Energy

converters, in many cases, and each ofthem is fitted with plug-in modules togive both DeviceNet networking andEthernet for data acquisition and,potentially, remote control fromanywhere in the world, should that berequired," he says.

The turbine blade testing facility atNaREC is not only world class, butworld-leading, being the only facilityin Europe equipped to providecomprehensive two-axis testing ofblades - up to 70 metres in length!Here, seven winches, each again underthe control of Unidrive SP drives (five11 kW, three 7.5 kW) providesimultaneous bending, distributedalong the length of the blade, each atpre-determined loads, ranging from10 to 40 tonnes line pull. Precision of line pull is crucial, andeach drive has to reach its targetposition and torque simultaneously -achieved through software on boardeach drive communicating with a highlevel PLC controller. The blade can be

rotated through 360° on the rig to givebend testing in four planes. "This isone of the few test rigs in the world toprovide this type of testing - and, Ibelieve, the only one that can take thevery largest blades that are in use andon the drawing board," says Dave Slee.

"The Unidrive SPdrives are the

only drives whichcould give us the flexibility

we need," saysNaREC Engineering

Specialist, Dave Slee.

"We feel that the Unidrive SP fitsinto our research environmentparticularly well," he adds. "Itcan run in different operatingmodes, including regenerativemode, which cuts our ownenergy bills, is programmable asa PLC and has universalconnection to all types offeedback and networks. Thismakes it a tool which can betailored to whatever we need atthe time - and that's invaluable!"

KEY BENEFITS• ON-BOARD PROGRAMMING• HIGH SPEED COMMUNICATIONS• FOUR-QUADRANT CONTROL• EXCEPTIONAL SUPPLIER SUPPORT

Renewable Energy

One of Europe's leading suppliers of boilers, for use withwooden pellets as fuel, has upgraded its products, savingcosts and cutting operating noise, with the introduction ofvariable speed AC drives from Control Techniques.

SIA GRANDEG, based in Latvia, manufactures arange of wood pellet fuel boilers with heat outputsbetween 15 and 500 kW, for both domestic andcommercial installations. The biggest growthpotential for this successful and rapidly expandingcompany is seen to be in the domestic sector innorthern Europe, Russia and other (CIS) countries,where a sophisticated product is required.

As part of its drive to develop its product range forthese export markets, GRANDEG brought in ControlTechniques' representatives in the area, EMT of Riga, whoproposed a new system of control of the screw feeders toimprove performance and reduce energy and maintenancecosts. Now, 0.25 and 0.5 kW Commander SK AC drives arebeing provided to give smooth and accurate control of thescrew-feed motors to give a supply of wood pellets.

This system replaces a logic-controller, contactor andthermal relay. Now, as the boiler demands more fuel, thedrive is accelerated up to the required speed and rampeddown as demand falls. Control Techniques also providesdrive programming on a LogicStick.

The result has been a product with much betterperformance and with greater reliability. "It is also muchquieter in operation," says Mr. Andris Lubins, owner ofcompany GRANDEG.

"The relay was proving to be too noisy for a domestic settingand now the whole system starts, and runs, almost silently,"he says. "Because of the reduced stresses on the bearingsand other components, the general reliability is improvedand lifetime costs are much reduced. What's more, becausethe drive has comprehensive diagnostics on its screen, mostoften problems can be resolved with a telephone call,eliminating the costs and resources required for a call-out."

The introduction of the Commander SK has even reducedthe size of the control cabinet by some 30% and panelbuilding costs are less too.

As standard, the Commander SK is simple to fit and can beprogrammed for most tasks in a matter of minutes,inputting just 10 basic parameters on the front-mountedkeypad. This is one of many unusual, if not unique, practicalfeatures that have been designed into the Commander SK tomeet customer demands of ease-of-use and versatility.Copying parameters from one unit to another was never

simpler with the SK's SmartStickplug-in option.

For OEMs, the Commander SKdimensioning allows highinstallation density, savingsignificantly on control cubicle sizeand installed cost and is packed withfeatures that reflect its benchmark

status in the general purpose drives market - dynamicbraking, ModBus, PID control, EMC filter, fieldbus options,

extensive memory, basic closed-loop and positioning control -even task scheduling!

The technological partnershipbetween EMT / ControlTechniques and GRANDEG is thekey to the success of this newline of products in the worldmarket. GRANDEG confidentlypredicts the production of some800 domestic systems of thistype, primarily for export, in thisnext year. Its range, with an

energy coefficient of 93%, offers low heating costs, lowmaintenance costs, a 5-year guarantee and anenvironmentally friendly, zero-carbon space heatingsolution.

BOILER COMPANY CUTSCOSTS AND NOISE WITHCOMMANDER SK

"Because of thereduced stresses onthe bearings andother components,the general reliabilityand lifetime costs aremuch reduced”


KEY BENEFITS• REDUCED CONTROL, CABINET SIZE & COST• REDUCED ENERGY & MAINTENANCE COSTS • IMPROVED PERFORMANCE & RELIABILITY• SMOOTH & ACCURATE CONTROL• LOWER OPERATING NOISE


Renewable Energy

For 35 years, Control Techniques hasbeen the go-to source for intelligent AC,DC and Servo drives for commercial andindustrial motor controls. Now, thesame drives have found an entirely new,fast-growing world market -photovoltaic (PV) solar energy.

It started at a trade show in Hanover,Germany, in mid-2007. ControlTechniques people attending the showwere approached by representativesfrom Meridian, a German renewableenergy company. Meridian people were"interested in fresh thinking," recalledAndy Green, industry developmentmanager for solar inverters. They wentto the right people.

Control Techniques engineers took off-the-shelf products designed for

industrial automationand solved

problems for the radically differentapplication of photovoltaic power.Within six months of meeting withMeridian, Control Techniques haddeveloped grid tie inverters and solartracker systems and subsequentlydelivered equipment to convert manymegawatts of clean solar energy intoelectricity. (For perspective, onemegawatt is the power consumed byabout 750 homes.)

Meridian was "very happy" with the endresult, Green said. "They liked theflexibility of our product and ControlTechniques' approach to meeting theirrequirements. Product reliability andefficiency also were key drivers.Efficiency is critical because one percentoutput of a one megawatt systemequals about 7,000 Euros in annualrevenue."

Recognising that the sun doesn't shinewith the same intensity all the

time, Control Techniquesmodular design

includes a low power stage whichoperates when light conditions are lessfavorable. A larger inverter switches onabove a certain light threshold. In short,Control Techniques PV solutionsdynamically change capacity as lightintensity changes. So, efficiency isoptimised.

Many competitive systems use a singlemodule. So, they lack the ability tomatch capacity to light intensity, andtheir efficiency suffers accordingly.

Today, photovoltaic power is notcommercially attractive withoutgovernment subsidies. Still, growth insolar installations exceeded 50 percentin 2007 and 2008 and is forecast toincrease at double-digit rates for theforeseeable future.

"Industry commentators suggest thatby 2020 the price of PV-derivedelectricity will match peak-demandrates for carbon-based generation andby 2030 will achieve parity with base-load generation costs," said JohnMurphy, vice president strategicplanning. "That will lead to another stepchange in the market.

"In 10 to 15 years, we're supposed to bezipping around in electric cars. Wherewill all that power come from? We pointout that PV capacity can be built veryquickly - one year versus up to10 yearsfor a conventional power plant."

Here comes the sun and new marketopportunities


Recycling

A new, commingled separation machine, designed and builtby air technology specialists Tek-Dry of Bolton, offers asolution to a national shortage of good quality glass cullet,by eliminating glass pulverisation during the separationprocess. The 'Comsort' system uses new, patented, airtechnology to offer a revolutionary low impact separationsystem for commingled recyclables.

At the heart of the Comsort system, providing flexible, costeffective control of the eight AC motors used throughout

the machine, are Commander SK AC drives from ControlTechniques, each communicating with each other and thePLC controller using Profibus.

As the total amount of recycling grows, and with the UKlikely to hit next year's 60% EU target; it is worrying that theamount of glass being recycled by the glass containermanufacturers is falling. In the first half of 2007, glassrecycling fell by about 30% from the previous year - and it isthought that this is a direct result of declining quantitiesfrom bottle banks being replaced by local authoritycommingled collections.

For glass to be sent for remelt, particle sizes must be at least10mm². Conventional separators pulverise the glass,rendering it fit only for aggregate or landfill, and in manycases contaminating the remaining recyclables whichreduces their quality and possible re-use.

COMMANDER SK IS AT THE HEART OFREVOLUTIONARYRECYCLING MACHINE


Recycling

The Comsort system takes a different approach. Acommingled stream, containing steel and aluminium cans,plastic bottles/containers and glass bottles/jars, is not onlyseparated, but delivers glass in the same condition aspresented - and at a quality equivalent to that from a bottlebank. What's more, the separated plastic stream is freefrom compressed or 'impressed' glass fragments, and istherefore in optimal condition for recycling.

Mixed recyclables, entering the process via a feed hopper,travel up an elevated feed conveyor onto the apronconveyor, where operators manually remove large pieces ofunrecyclable waste (masonry, toys, prams etc). Thereafter,initial separation of steel is facilitated using an overbandmagnet, and aluminium, using a high-performance eddycurrent separator. All this is well-proven technology.

However, the next section is unique. Tek-Dry uses its ownpatented air system to separate out all of the remainingplastic from the plastic / glass stream, leaving the glassuntouched and in the best possible condition for recycling.

Control Techniques' Commander SK drives control thespeed of the five conveyors and the three 15 kW process airsupply fans. Each Commander SK AC drive is fitted with aProfibus-DP communications module to provide drive-to-drive communication and communications with the PLCcontroller and HMI.

The Commander SK is very compact, simple to fit and can beprogrammed for most tasks in a matter of minutes,inputting just 10 basic parameters on the front-mountedkeypad. Parameters may be copied from one unit toanother very simply with the SK's SmartStick plug-in option.It has a full range of fieldbus options using SM plug-inmodules (interchangeable with Unidrive SP) and theCommander SK also includes an internal EMC filter asstandard - meeting EN61800-3 regulations.

"We chose the Commander SK because of the completepackage offered," says Tek-Dry Systems' electricalengineer, Ben Hallam. "The drives gave us the flexibilityand performance we needed in a compact footprint andat the right price!"

The first of the Comsort machines, a mobile version with acapacity of 10 t/hr, has been designed for maximumflexibility to allow full evaluation of its capabilities. Thecontrolling PLC controller has several 'recipes' whichcomprise varying conveyor and fan speeds to suit differentcompositions of material - e.g. airport recycling wouldtypically contain very low levels of glass. Normal, domesticrecycling contains some 63% (by weight) of glass, 16.5%plastic, 14% steel, 1.5% aluminium with 5% going for landfill,some of which would be removed in the manual pickingarea.

"We are confident Comsort brings a new dimension to theindustry," says Scott Thompson, Tek-Dry Systems' ProjectEngineer. "No process that we are aware of can producesuch high quality glass cullet - and at a fraction of the cost ofmany other technologies. We feel Comsort has a role to playin changing the face of recycling - and is a machine capableof meeting today's more demanding recyclingrequirements. Glass that should be recycled as cullet issimply being wasted, and we aim to reverse that trend!"

To see this machine in action visitwww.youtube.com and typeCOMSORT into the search field

KEY BENEFITS• COST EFFECTIVE CONTROL OF 8 AC MOTORS• FLEXIBILITY & PERFORMANCE • COMPACT FOOTPRINT• DRIVE TO DRIVE COMMUNICATION• EASY PROGRAMMING

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