Austin, Texas – October 2024 – A 500MW wind farm in West Texas has increased its grid-connected energy output by 12% after installing ABB’s GFD563A101 3BHE046836R0101 power modules in its wind turbine converters. The upgrade, completed in August 2024, solved the farm’s longstanding issue of “curtailment”—when wind power is wasted because it can’t meet the grid’s strict voltage and frequency requirements.
The Frustration: Wasted Wind Power Cost Millions
West Texas has some of the strongest wind resources in the U.S., but the region’s rural power grid is less stable than urban grids. For years, the wind farm faced two major curtailment challenges:
- Grid Frequency Mismatches: The farm’s old converters couldn’t adjust power output fast enough to match the grid’s 60Hz frequency—if wind speeds spiked, excess power had to be dumped, wasting 8–10% of potential energy.
- Voltage Fluctuation Rejections: The grid operator often rejected the farm’s power during low-demand periods, as the old modules couldn’t stabilize voltage below 0.95 pu (per unit), a key grid requirement.
“In 2023, we wasted 42 GWh of wind power—enough to power 3,800 Texas homes for a year—because our converters couldn’t keep up with the grid,” said Juan Martinez, the farm’s operations manager. “With wind energy prices rising, that waste was costing us $2.5 million annually.”
The farm’s owner, a renewable energy firm, partnered with ABB after seeing the GFD563A101’s performance at a neighboring solar farm.
The GFD563A101’s advanced converter technology is designed to meet the strictest grid codes, with features that addressed the farm’s curtailment issues:
- Fast Frequency Response: The module adjusts power output within 50ms of grid frequency changes, keeping output aligned with 60Hz ±0.1Hz—faster than the old modules’ 200ms response time. This eliminates the need to dump excess power during wind spikes.
- Low-Voltage Ride-Through (LVRT): It maintains grid connection even when voltage drops to 0.8 pu, a requirement the old modules failed to meet. This means the farm’s power is rarely rejected during low-demand periods.
- Weather-Resistant Design: Built to withstand Texas’s extreme weather—from 40°C (104°F) summers to -10°C (14°F) winters—the module’s IP54-rated enclosure and corrosion-resistant components ensure year-round reliability.
- Grid Code Compliance: It meets all North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC) and Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) standards, simplifying approval from the grid operator.
“We installed 60 GFD563A101 modules across 30 wind turbines—one module per converter—in just 10 days,” Martinez said. “ABB’s team worked with ERCOT to test the modules on-site, so we got grid approval immediately after installation.”
Results: More Power to the Grid, Less Waste
Three months after deployment, the farm’s metrics are transformative:
- 12% Higher Grid-Connected Energy: The farm now feeds 504 GWh of energy to the grid, up from 450 GWh in the same period last year—enough to power an additional 4,900 homes.
- Curtailment Cut by 75%: Waste has dropped from 8–10% to 2–3%, saving $1.9 million annually.
- Grid Approval Rate at 99%: The GFD563A101’s LVRT and frequency control have made the farm’s power nearly indistinguishable from traditional power plants, leading to almost no rejections.
“The GFD563A101 turned our wasted wind into revenue,” Martinez added. “We’re now one of ERCOT’s most reliable wind providers, and we’re looking to upgrade our other Texas farms with the same module.”
Chris Evans, ABB’s renewable energy product manager for North America, highlighted the module’s role in wind energy growth. “As grids become more congested, wind farms need converters that can integrate seamlessly,” he said. “The GFD563A101 3BHE046836R0101 does that—this Texas project shows it can turn curtailment into profits for renewable operators.”
The farm’s owner plans to install the GFD563A101 in its 600MW Oklahoma wind farm in 2025, with the goal of reducing curtailment there by 80%.
