Roxtec helps combat humidity and leakage on onshore windfarms

Roxtec seals the cables in the cable trench that connects the windfarm array cables to the substation.

Cable seal manufacturer Roxtec has been selected to supply four onshore windfarm projects for ScottishPower Renewables (SPR). Roxtec seals the cables in the cable trench that connects the windfarm array cables to the substation. Graham O’Hare, Managing Director of Greater Manchester-based Roxtec UK, said the latest agreement reinforced Roxtec’s position as one of the key components in the wind-farm sector. The deal will see the Swedish-owned company supply a wind-farm upgrade in Arecleoch, in South Ayrshire, Scotland. It will also supply three, new-build wind farms in Middleton, near Newton Mearns, Harestanes, near Moffat and Carland Cross, Cornwall.

“For Carland Cross, Arecleogh, and Middleton we are supplying our H3 trefoil seals which are specialist substation seals. They are meticulously designed to seal 150mm ducts and tested to be strong enough to carry the weight of the high voltage single core cables at the point they enter the substation – which transports power to the national grid,” says O’Hare.

He adds the effective sealing 33 kV substations was important to protect them from leakage and humidity. Humidity is a big issue in substations, and can be a disruptive and expensive problem. The seals work by sealing several cables at one point of the substation wall. “This immediately reduces the risk of water leakage because by reducing the number of entry points required for the cables you also reduce the potential leak points,” he says.

Roxtec’s retrofit sealing solutions also cut costs for the operator by reducing the man hours required to manage the cables, he says. “The watertight substation seals provide plenty of spare capacity for upgrades.  The beauty of this is there is no need to cut more holes to install new cables which saves money in engineering time and prevents costly disruptions. Roxtec’s seals also cater for triplex formation power cables.”

Roxtec
www.roxtec.com