Cable requirements for wind power applications

Generally speaking, wind fields are located in harsh environments with special climatic conditions, such as strong winds, strong ultraviolet rays, and air with high salinity. For this reason, the cable performance in wind power applications is undoubtedly higher than that in other applications. The moving parts in the fan further increase the importance of choosing the right cable.
The maintenance of existing wind farms and the development of new large-scale wind farms need to consider the use of high-grade power cables, data and control cables and communication cables, which determine the interconnection quality of power grids and communication systems. More cables are needed for a single wind turbine than people think. For example, a 1.25MW 90m wind turbine requires about 1km of power cable. In this way, the wind field of 50MW installed capacity will need 40km of cables.


(1) wires
To maximize flexibility, it is recommended that the design engineer use only multiple strands of annealed soft copper wire. The short concentric strand structure is used in bending applications. In torsional winding applications, long concentric strand structures are used. Conductors with an area of more than 6mm2(10AWG) are required to use a composite stranded structure.
(2) the insulation
To increase low temperature flexibility, thermoplastic rubber (TPE), ethylene propylene rubber (EPR, an EPM or EPDM) or silicone rubber (SiR) are usually selected as insulating materials to resist ozone corrosion and heat-induced aging. PVC/ nylon insulation is also widely used due to its high dielectric strength.
(3) the sheath
The cable sheath can be a thermosetting compound such as polyvinyl chloride (CPE), polychloroprene (chloroprene rubber), chlorosulfonated polyethylene (CSPE) synthetic rubber; Similar thermoplastic compounds such as TPE, TPE-PVC alloys, and polyurethane. These materials are resistant to oil, fuel, solvent corrosion, and excellent flexibility at low temperatures. This characteristic makes it an ideal sheath material for wind power cables.
It should be noted that cable structure is also a decisive factor in cable flexibility. Symmetrical conductor designs with balanced structures are usually highly flexible.
Even if these general rules are followed when cables are manufactured, it is highly recommended that a complete test be performed to simulate a “real” application.