Mar 23, 2010 | Amsterdam TenneT selects Nuon for ‘black start’ facility
TenneT and Nuon concluded a contract for the construction of a ‘black start’ facility in Utrecht. The facility will ensure that if the high-voltage grid suffers a power failure that blacks out the whole of the Netherlands, power can be restored quickly.
In other words, the facility provides for even greater security of supply in the Netherlands. Nuon will build this facility at its existing power plants in Utrecht - Lage Weide and Merwedekanaal.
Security of supply
A black-out situation is very unlikely to occur, because the TenneT grid has a redundant setup and is in very good condition. Nevertheless, TenneT wants to be prepared for such a situation. A tender was therefore issued for a black start facility; Nuon was selected on the basis of its price and the security of timely delivery that it offers. The facility will supplement the two existing facilities – one in the north, one in the south.
Blackout
The black start facility is needed in order to get the grid supplying again after a blackout. The power plants will have to be started up again for this purpose. Normally the plants are started up by electricity from the grid. The new black start facility makes it possible to start up the Nuon power plants without the grid having to be live.
The black start facility comprises a diesel emergency generating set and a gas turbine generator. The diesel emergency generating set is the first to be started up in the event of a black start. This generating set starts the gas turbine generator, which powers up the electricity grid to which the power plants are connected spanning. The production units of these plants can then be started up 'normally' and supply electricity. Subsequently, these power plants will power up more parts of the grid, the other production units can be started and power can be restored to electricity customers. Finally, power can be restored to the whole of the Netherlands.
The civil engineering work starts in April, after which the construction can begin. The black start facility is expected to be ready at the end of 2010.