Harnessing wind power Norvento

Power transformer 100 MVA in testing laboratory

Peter Novak – Executive Director/Sales & Procurement assembly stage of production we provide a so called dry chamber, which means that our transformers are assembled in a room where we can keep the air humidity lower than 15 per cent.

“Currently our biggest market is Scandinavia, which represents around 50 per cent of our overall sales. Our key customers include the big utility companies such as Vattenfall, Fortum, Hafslund, Statnett, Statkraft and E.ON in Nordic countries. Other main customers are in Germany, Austria, the Netherlands and Switzerland. However, it is the UK, which is our fastest growing market outside Scandinavia. Today we are serving a much more diverse market since the demand has increased for renewable energy and here we produce tailor-made transformers for hydro-electric power plants and offshore and on-shore wind farms. The wind

Manufacturer of high voltage transformer casings. Guaranteed quality products built within an agreed time frame.

Zrinsko-Frankopanska 23, Čakovec Tel.: +385 040/395-644 | Fax.: +385 040/395-707 Email: primabiro@ck.t-com.hr | www.primabiro.hr

Power transformer 500 MVA-415kV, TS Storfinnforsen, E.ON Elnät Sweden 2013, ready for testing in KOLEKTOR ETRA high voltage laboratory

farm market is certainly a strong growth market for us and virtually all our products are made to our customers’ own individual specifications. The biggest product segment in this market is for transformers rated between 20MVA and 100MVA.”

Mr Novak added, “Unlike the giants of the power industry such as Siemens and General Electric, we are able to be very flexible and offer much shorter lead times. In fact we are able to achieve deliveries with lead times of only 3-4 months from the date of order if necessary. We are an independent company, who can cooperate as a subsupplier with engineering companies. What’s more we are in cooperation with our sister companies inside KOLEKTOR GROUP capable of handling complete turnkey projects, with everything produced and controlled in-house.

“We plan to continue to grow organically and are not considering joint ventures or acquisitions at the present time. Our marketing is done mainly through our attendance at congresses and seminars, many of which we sponsor ourselves. In addition, we attend trade fairs such as the ELFAK fair in Sweden. We are also very aware of our obligations towards the environment and since 2000 have been ISO 14001 certified, which made us among the first companies in Slovenia to achieve this. Besides we believe that the best promotion for Etra is the reference list of our products that is constantly growing and shows new customers and, most important, our “old” customers that are coming back to us with new orders and thus show their satisfaction with our products and services.

However, we are certainly not being complacent and our on-going programme of improvement and renewal will continue unabated, with our emphasis on innovation and the optimisation of our transformers for the benefit of our customers and for the community as a whole”.

The future for Kolektor Etra looks bright indeed, with few companies being able to match the quality of their innovative, tailormade transformers or their ability to meet such short lead times. n

For further details of Kolektor ETRA’s innovative power products and services visit: www.kolektor-etra.si

HARNESSING WIND POWER

Leading developer and manufacturer of new-generation wind turbines Norvento utilises its more than 30 years of experience to deliver sustainable energy solutions for a range of industrial applications. Emma-Jane Batey spoke to technical director Miguel Hoyos Irisarri to find out more.

Renewable energy specialist Norvento develops and manufactures new-generation wind turbines using state-ofthe-art technology. As part of the Spanish Norvento Enerxia group of companies, which is dedicated to the promotion, construction and operation of power plants that use renewable energy sources, Norvento Energía Distribuida (nED) is primarily concerned with innovative medium-sized wind turbines.

As a group, Norvento Enerxia designs, builds, owns and operates hydro, wind, biomass and solar energy installations worldwide. Owned by the Fernandez Castro family and active in the energy sector since 1981, the group comprises many highly experienced technical professionals focused on the key areas of energy, engineering and technology.

Technical director for Norvento Miguel Hoyos Irisarri spoke to Industry Europe to explain how the company has developed in recent years. He said, “We have always been a company dedicated to the development of our own renewable energy projects, also providing engineering services to our customers. Our most recent direction has been the development of new-generation wind turbines for distributed power generation and so Norvento is now also an industrial company. Our products are interesting for industrial companies as they are increasingly aware of the importance of sustainable policies.”

Fresh power

As a company that operates in a sector with dramatically evolving technology and rapidly shifting market trends, Norvento proudly maintains a strategic commitment to research, technological development and innovation by allocating significant resources to various areas of key performance. With a dynamic team at its R&D department that, since 2009, has been operating under the R&D Management System certification UNE-166.002:2006, Norvento is continually optimising its processes. Mr Hoyos continued, “We are focused on remaining true to our core principles of excellence, quality and innovation, and to continually develop a more sustainable business model. Our wind turbine nED100 has been developed by a highly skilled expert team of engineers with over 90 years of accumulated experience in the design and manufacturing of large-scale wind turbines. We have therefore applied the very same demanding standards that have made wind generation a fully mature technology.”

The company is experienced in creating wind turbine installations in environmentally sensitive areas as well as built-up industrial