{"id":13833,"date":"2025-07-17T15:13:22","date_gmt":"2025-07-17T13:13:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/onload.reinhausen.com\/de\/?p=13833"},"modified":"2025-07-21T09:23:53","modified_gmt":"2025-07-21T07:23:53","slug":"brazil-solar-boom-voltage-regulating-distribution-transformer","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/onload.reinhausen.com\/en\/07-2025\/brazil-solar-boom-voltage-regulating-distribution-transformer\/","title":{"rendered":"Regulating Brazil\u2019s solar boom"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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With around 21 mil\u00adlion inhab\u00adi\u00adtants, Minas Gerais is one of the largest states in Brazil. It is also home to Brazil\u2019s most impor\u00adtant indus\u00adtri\u00adal cen\u00adters. Min\u00ading, steel and auto\u00admo\u00adtive indus\u00adtries as well as food pro\u00adcess\u00ading and agri\u00adcul\u00adture have ensured steady eco\u00adnom\u00adic growth in recent years. The grid oper\u00ada\u00adtor CEMIG (Com\u00adpan\u00adhia Energ\u00e9ti\u00adca de Minas Gerais S.A.), one of the largest ener\u00adgy sup\u00adpli\u00aders in South Amer\u00adi\u00adca with more than nine mil\u00adlion cus\u00adtomers, not only has to cope with this growth, but also with geo\u00adgraph\u00adi\u00adcal and cli\u00admat\u00adic pecu\u00adliar\u00adi\u00adties such as rainy and dry sea\u00adsons and strong weath\u00ader fluc\u00adtu\u00ada\u00adtions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u201cMain\u00adtain\u00ading the pow\u00ader qual\u00adi\u00adty in our dis\u00adtri\u00adb\u00adu\u00adtion grids with the increas\u00ading PV feed-in is a top pri\u00ador\u00adi\u00adty for us.\u201d<\/p>\nWilliam Alves de Souza, CEMIG<\/cite><\/blockquote>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

In 2024, CEMIG also installed 4.2 GW of solar pow\u00ader, mak\u00ading it the mar\u00adket leader in decen\u00adtral\u00adized pow\u00ader gen\u00ader\u00ada\u00adtion in Brazil. William Alves de Souza, Engi\u00adneer\u00ading Man\u00adag\u00ader at CEMIG, says: \u201cThe increase in decen\u00adtral\u00adized pow\u00ader gen\u00ader\u00ada\u00adtion pos\u00ades major chal\u00adlenges for dis\u00adtri\u00adb\u00adu\u00adtion grids. Main\u00adtain\u00ading pow\u00ader qual\u00adi\u00adty with\u00adin the stan\u00addards has become a nation\u00adal chal\u00adlenge.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n

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The VRDT is installed in exact\u00adly the same way as an unreg\u00adu\u00adlat\u00aded trans\u00adformer.<\/p><\/div>\n

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The only extra: the con\u00adtrol cab\u00adi\u00adnet must also be installed on the pole \u2014 and at a height that is out of reach of passers-by.<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Grid stability vs. decentralized generation<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Souza is not the only one fac\u00ading these chal\u00adlenges. In recent years, Brazil has cre\u00adat\u00aded strong incen\u00adtives for the expan\u00adsion of pho\u00adto\u00advolta\u00adic (PV) sys\u00adtems, par\u00adtic\u00adu\u00adlar\u00adly through the net-meter\u00ading pro\u00adgram \u201cGer\u00ada\u00e7\u00e3o Dis\u00adtribu\u00ed\u00adda\u201d. This pro\u00adgram enables house\u00adholds and com\u00adpa\u00adnies to feed the ener\u00adgy they gen\u00ader\u00adate into the local pow\u00ader grid. In return, they receive cred\u00adits on their elec\u00adtric\u00adi\u00adty bill. Thanks to these sup\u00adport mea\u00adsures and falling pho\u00adto\u00advolta\u00adic costs, decen\u00adtral\u00adized solar ener\u00adgy has devel\u00adoped rapid\u00adly in South America\u2019s largest econ\u00ado\u00admy and, accord\u00ading to cal\u00adcu\u00adla\u00adtions by Abso\u00adlar, the Brazil\u00adian asso\u00adci\u00ada\u00adtion for pho\u00adto\u00advolta\u00adic solar ener\u00adgy, has already reached more than 36 gigawatts of installed capac\u00adi\u00adty in the decen\u00adtral\u00adized sec\u00adtor.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As in many oth\u00ader coun\u00adtries, Brazil\u2019s dis\u00adtri\u00adb\u00adu\u00adtion grids are uni\u00addi\u00adrec\u00adtion\u00adal and there\u00adfore not designed to absorb large amounts of volatile solar ener\u00adgy. The results of an increas\u00ading num\u00adber of decen\u00adtral\u00adized gen\u00ader\u00ada\u00adtion feed-ins: Volt\u00adage fluc\u00adtu\u00ada\u00adtions, over\u00adloads and vio\u00adla\u00adtions of the volt\u00adage band.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u201cUnder cer\u00adtain con\u00addi\u00adtions, the VRDT can increase the absorp\u00adtion capac\u00adi\u00adty of dis\u00adtri\u00adb\u00adu\u00adtion grids by up to 50 per\u00adcent.\u201d<\/p>\nRena\u00adto Tanaso\u00advi\u00adci, Head of Sales South & Cen\u00adtral Amer\u00adi\u00adca<\/cite><\/blockquote>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Rena\u00adto Tanaso\u00advi\u00adci, Head of Sales South & Cen\u00adtral Amer\u00adi\u00adca, is famil\u00adiar with these prob\u00adlems and also knows a solu\u00adtion: \u201cDespite the high solar poten\u00adtial, weath\u00ader fluc\u00adtu\u00ada\u00adtions and inter\u00admit\u00adtent cloud cov\u00ader affect the con\u00adsis\u00adten\u00adcy of pow\u00ader gen\u00ader\u00ada\u00adtion. This is why dis\u00adtri\u00adb\u00adu\u00adtion grids in par\u00adtic\u00adu\u00adlar need to become more adapt\u00adable, and their con\u00adtrol mech\u00ada\u00adnisms more robust. There is a great need for con\u00adtrol sys\u00adtems that are capa\u00adble of man\u00adag\u00ading bidi\u00adrec\u00adtion\u00adal ener\u00adgy flows. The VRDT (Volt\u00adage Reg\u00adu\u00adlat\u00ading Dis\u00adtri\u00adb\u00adu\u00adtion Trans\u00adformer) is an effi\u00adcient way to solve these prob\u00adlems.\u201d The VRDT is designed to auto\u00admat\u00adi\u00adcal\u00adly reg\u00adu\u00adlate fluc\u00adtu\u00ada\u00adtions in gen\u00ader\u00ada\u00adtion and load, and stud\u00adies and field analy\u00adses have also shown that, under cer\u00adtain con\u00addi\u00adtions, the grid absorp\u00adtion capac\u00adi\u00adty can be increased by up to 50 per\u00adcent.<\/p>\n\n\n

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The trans\u00adformer oper\u00adat\u00aded by CEMIG is equipped with an ECOTAP\u00ae VPD\u00ae III 30D-24. It can per\u00adform 500,000 oper\u00ada\u00adtions in grid ser\u00advice with\u00adout main\u00adte\u00adnance.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

These are argu\u00adments that con\u00advinced CEMIG Engi\u00adneer\u00ading Man\u00adag\u00ader Souza, who man\u00adages a grid with over 970,000 dis\u00adtri\u00adb\u00adu\u00adtion trans\u00adform\u00aders: \u201cWe need to pre\u00adpare our grid for decen\u00adtral\u00adized gen\u00ader\u00ada\u00adtion and have looked at var\u00adi\u00adous options, such as volt\u00adage reg\u00adu\u00adla\u00adtors. We are now test\u00ading a promis\u00ading device: the VRDT with ECOTAP\u00ae VPD\u00ae. In 2024, we start\u00aded direct\u00adly with two pilot projects.\u201d When select\u00ading the two loca\u00adtions for the reg\u00adu\u00adlat\u00aded trans\u00adform\u00aders in which the man\u00adu\u00adfac\u00adtur\u00ader Trael installed the Rein\u00adhausen tap-chang\u00aders, the grid spe\u00adcial\u00adists chose two com\u00adplete\u00adly dif\u00adfer\u00adent sup\u00adply areas where there were repeat\u00aded vio\u00adla\u00adtions of the volt\u00adage band due to new PV feed\u00aders. The first trans\u00adformer sup\u00adplies 92 cus\u00adtomers in the urban area of Uber\u00ada\u00adba, a town in the min\u00ading tri\u00adan\u00adgle in the south\u00adwest of Minas Gerais. The sec\u00adond trans\u00adformer is locat\u00aded in the more rur\u00adal town of Bocai\u00fa\u00adva and sup\u00adplies only one com\u00admer\u00adcial cus\u00adtomer, who feeds the elec\u00adtric\u00adi\u00adty from his installed PV sys\u00adtem into the dis\u00adtri\u00adb\u00adu\u00adtion grid.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Mount\u00ading the con\u00adtrol unit at a height of four meters: the on-load tap-changer\u2019s motor-dri\u00adve unit draws its volt\u00adage and receives the switch\u00ading com\u00admands from this unit, which weighs just under 18 kg. The weath\u00ader\u00adproof steel hous\u00ading has an elec\u00adtro\u00adsta\u00adt\u00adic coat\u00ading and is there\u00adfore well pro\u00adtect\u00aded against exter\u00adnal influ\u00adences.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n
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In order to smooth out the volt\u00adage fluc\u00adtu\u00ada\u00adtions caused by a com\u00admer\u00adcial con\u00adsumer feed\u00ading in solar pow\u00ader at the end of the medi\u00adum-volt\u00adage line in Bocai\u00fa\u00adva, the grid spe\u00adcial\u00adists from CEMIG installed a 75kVA trans\u00adformer with ECOTAP\u00ae<\/sup> VPD\u00ae<\/sup> III.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

CEMIG Engi\u00adneer\u00ading Man\u00adag\u00ader Souza com\u00adments: \u201cWe replaced both unreg\u00adu\u00adlat\u00aded trans\u00adform\u00aders with VRDTs with ECOTAP\u00ae VPD\u00ae III. The instal\u00adla\u00adtion was as straight\u00adfor\u00adward as that of a con\u00adven\u00adtion\u00adal trans\u00adformer. As imbal\u00adances can occur in the sys\u00adtem, it is impor\u00adtant to select the cor\u00adrect volt\u00adage. We there\u00adfore rec\u00adom\u00admend that you first study the volt\u00adage pro\u00adfile so that you can then set the device accord\u00ading\u00adly.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Operating equipment with great potential<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

For Rein\u00adhausen man\u00adag\u00ader Tanaso\u00advi\u00adci, the sup\u00adport pro\u00advid\u00aded by the sup\u00adpli\u00aders dur\u00ading the intro\u00adduc\u00adtion of this new oper\u00adat\u00ading equip\u00adment plays an impor\u00adtant role: \u201cMR pro\u00advid\u00aded sup\u00adport in select\u00ading the para\u00adme\u00adters and also dur\u00ading the ini\u00adtial com\u00admis\u00adsion\u00ading on site. There was also train\u00ading for the grid operator\u2019s tech\u00adni\u00adcians.\u201d In addi\u00adtion, grid oper\u00ada\u00adtors can ben\u00ade\u00adfit from work\u00ading with man\u00adu\u00adfac\u00adtur\u00aders, research cen\u00adters and aca\u00add\u00ade\u00adm\u00adic insti\u00adtu\u00adtions to gain the nec\u00ades\u00adsary exper\u00adtise for imple\u00adment\u00ading, mon\u00adi\u00adtor\u00ading and opti\u00admiz\u00ading VRDT solu\u00adtions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

From Souza\u2019s point of view, the deci\u00adsion in favor of VRDT with ECOTAP\u00ae VPD\u00ae was a good option: \u201cWe see the great\u00adest poten\u00adtial at grid points where there are strong volt\u00adage fluc\u00adtu\u00ada\u00adtions due to PV feed-ins.\u201d And this poten\u00adtial exists far beyond CEMIG\u2019s dis\u00adtri\u00adb\u00adu\u00adtion grids through\u00adout Brazil and ulti\u00admate\u00adly all of Latin Amer\u00adi\u00adca.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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This graph shows how the VRDT keeps the volt\u00adage sta\u00adble for com\u00admer\u00adcial cus\u00adtomers. It dis\u00adplays aver\u00adage volt\u00adage val\u00adues over two weeks. Despite the injec\u00adtions due to the installed PV sys\u00adtem, the volt\u00adage remains in the desired band between 124 V and 130 V.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n
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Reinhausen in Latin America<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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Rein\u00adhausen has branch\u00ades all over the con\u00adti\u00adnent and man\u00adages a large num\u00adber of projects from there.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Click on the <\/i>-sym\u00adbols for more infor\u00adma\u00adtion on the areas.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Residential solar<\/h4>
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A reg\u00adu\u00adlat\u00aded dis\u00adtri\u00adb\u00adu\u00adtion trans\u00adformer can increase the absorp\u00adtion capac\u00adi\u00adty of local grids deci\u00adsive\u00adly, allow\u00ading many small-scale pro\u00adduc\u00aders with pho\u00adto\u00advolta\u00adic sys\u00adtems to feed into the grid, with\u00adout the volt\u00adage band being vio\u00adlat\u00aded. By decou\u00adpling medi\u00adum and low volt\u00adage, there is no need for cost\u00adly grid expan\u00adsion (new cables or new dis\u00adtri\u00adb\u00adu\u00adtion trans\u00adform\u00aders). Many grid oper\u00ada\u00adtors, such as the Brazil\u00adian CPFL Ener\u00adgia<\/a> or CEMIG, rely on this solu\u00adtion.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t <\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t <\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t <\/div><\/span><\/a>

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Large scale renewables<\/h4>
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In north-east\u00adern Brazil, reg\u00adu\u00adlat\u00aded trans\u00adform\u00aders are used in the nacelles of wind tur\u00adbines in two large wind farms. This allows the oper\u00ada\u00adtor to opti\u00admize the ener\u00adgy yield and the eco\u00adnom\u00adic effi\u00adcien\u00adcy of the sys\u00adtems because by decou\u00adpling the sec\u00adondary volt\u00adage from the grid volt\u00adage at the gen\u00ader\u00ada\u00adtor, the full reac\u00adtive pow\u00ader capac\u00adi\u00adty can be uti\u00adlized. For use in nacelles, a main\u00adte\u00adnance-free on-load tap-chang\u00ader is required that can imple\u00adment volt\u00adage changes in just a few sec\u00adonds.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t <\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t <\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t <\/div><\/span><\/a>

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Power quality<\/h4>
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Indus\u00adtri\u00adal oper\u00ada\u00adtions, farms or hotels at the end of long medi\u00adum-volt\u00adage lines often suf\u00adfer from load drops or volt\u00adage fluc\u00adtu\u00ada\u00adtions which result in machine dam\u00adage or increased pow\u00ader con\u00adsump\u00adtion. Reg\u00adu\u00adlat\u00aded trans\u00adformer points ensure a sta\u00adble volt\u00adage. For exam\u00adple, for the \u201cGrupo Bios<\/a>\u201d in Colom\u00adbia where a 2,000 kVA, 34.5 kV trans\u00adformer with ECOTAP\u00ae<\/sup> VPD\u00ae<\/sup> was installed for an ani\u00admal feed pro\u00adduc\u00ader.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t <\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t <\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t <\/div><\/span><\/a><\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

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YOUR CONTACT PERSON<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Do you have any ques\u00adtions about the project?<\/strong>
Breno San\u00adtos Mar\u00adtins is there for you:
<\/i>\u2009 b.martins@br.reinhausen.com<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Brazil has expe\u00adri\u00adenced enor\u00admous growth in pho\u00adto\u00advolta\u00adic pow\u00ader gen\u00ader\u00ada\u00adtion over the last four years, which presents a major chal\u00adlenge for util\u00adi\u00adties.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":33,"featured_media":13846,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"template-cover.php","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"wp_typography_post_enhancements_disabled":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[44,1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-13833","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-07-2025","category-onload"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/onload.reinhausen.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13833","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/onload.reinhausen.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/onload.reinhausen.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/onload.reinhausen.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/33"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/onload.reinhausen.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=13833"}],"version-history":[{"count":13,"href":"https:\/\/onload.reinhausen.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13833\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":14692,"href":"https:\/\/onload.reinhausen.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13833\/revisions\/14692"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/onload.reinhausen.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/13846"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/onload.reinhausen.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=13833"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/onload.reinhausen.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=13833"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/onload.reinhausen.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=13833"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}