Unnecessary energy losses and high costs due to reactive power were blocking the sustainability ambitions of Slibverwerking Noord-Brabant (SNB). We transformed this technical challenge into a commercial success: more capacity on the existing plant and a payback period of less than 12 months.
At SNB, the largest sludge processor in the Netherlands, downtime is not an option and sustainability is key. The organisation converts biogas from sludge processing into energy and invested in a 5MW solar farm to fully meet its own energy needs. However, this sustainable ambition was threatened by an invisible but costly problem: reactive power. Despite their own generation, SNB was struggling with sky-high monthly costs on energy bills. They bought too few active kilowatts, but heavily loaded the grid with reactive power.
This technical phenomenon not only resulted in unnecessary financial losses but also placed an unnecessarily heavy burden on the grid operator’s transmission capacity. The person responsible for the installation faced a dilemma: how can we get more out of the existing infrastructure without costly grid upgrades? The fear of fines and the inefficient use of their green investments called for a specialist diagnosis. As the situation at SNB demonstrated: sustainable generation serves little purpose if internal power quality issues consume the capacity.
To precisely pinpoint the cause of reactive power, our engineers did not start with assumptions, but with hard data. We position ourselves as an authority in Power Quality by thoroughly measuring before advising. Using sophisticated Power Quality Analyzers, we performed measurements on the descending fields to map the power flows within the installation in detail. In addition, a duration measurement was performed on the incoming power supply at the 10kV distribution station.
These measurements were not snapshots. We analysed the data over a representative period to get a full picture of load profiles and Cos φ. Our analysis showed conclusively where the losses occurred. By modelling this data, we could predict exactly what the impact of different solutions would be. This provided SNB with the technical certainty that the proposed intervention would address the problem at source, without risk to process continuity.
Based on the analysis, our engineers implemented the most technically effective solution: the installation of five correctly sized capacitor banks. We deliberately opted for an ‘internal upgrade’ approach. Rather than upgrading the infrastructure, we optimised the existing installation from within. Our engineers installed the capacitor banks strategically to compensate for reactive power immediately. This instantly improved the Cos φ of the incoming power supply to the desired level.
The impact of this intervention was immediately measurable. The plant became more stable and energy losses on the transformers decreased dramatically. HyTEPS took responsibility from design to completion, completely relieving the plant manager. With this decisive approach, we not only realised a technically sound installation, but also created the space for SNB to make optimal use of their sustainable energy sources without fear of grid congestion or fines.
SNB's case proves that capacity problems can often be solved without expensive grid reinforcements. Are you facing penalties for reactive power or want to optimise your installation? See how we also realised this for other partners.
HyTEPS
Beemdstraat 3
5653 MA Eindhoven
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