Australian companies have ordered smart grid devices from American Superconductor Corporation to help two wind farms meet grid connection requirements.

Called Dynamic-VAR, the device is made up of power converters that can instantly increase or decrease electricity generated by wind farms in response to voltage fluctuations to make the power grid more stable.

The devices will be installed at the 132-megawatt AGL Hallett 4 wind farm being built by Suzlon Energy Australia, a subsidiary of India-based Suzlon, and at Roaring 40s Renewable Energy’s 111-MW Waterloo wind farm constructed by Consolidated Power Projects Australia. Both D-VAR systems will be delivered within the next six months.

American Superconductor’s devices support more than 700 MW out of the country’s total installed wind power capacity of 1.9 gigawatts. Emerging Energy Research estimates Australia’s total installed capacity will rise to 10 GW by 2020.

The government recently enacted a law requiring that 20 percent of Australia’s electricity be derived from renewable sources such as solar and wind by 2020, more than twice the present level. Emerging Energy Research also estimates that 50 percent of this total will be wind-generated.

-   Oliver M. Bayani