ABB Australia have won a $10-million contract from United Group Resources to help provide reliable power for Incitec Pivot’s new ammonium nitrate plant at Moranbah in Queensland, Australia.
The plant will produce 330,000 tonnes of ammonium nitrate each year for fertilisers and explosives for the mining industry.
ABB Australia will be providing a customised packaged ‘powerhouse’ switchgear solution which includes designing switchboards for installation into transportable switchrooms which is important to ensure a safe, reliable and secure solution.
According to Rakesh Khandelwal, ABB Sales Manager in WA, by adopting ABB’s electrification packaging approach, the customer benefits from significantly shorter on-site installation times, lower associated site costs and lower risk in achieving plant startup to schedule.
He adds that efficiency gains are also realised with a reduction in the number of equipment suppliers to be managed during the project execution phase.
The trend to portable switchrooms is being driven by a number of factors including the difficulties of engaging skilled labour in remote locations says Rakesh Khandelwal.
Tuan Tran, UGL Resources Lead Electrical Engineer said “Whilst transportable buildings provide some tremendous advantages, they are not without their technical challenges. When using medium voltage switchgear at high fault levels in confined spaces; switchgear needs to be selected carefully to avoid internal arcing.
"We found that ABB offered a reliable solution that uses type tested arc ducting to direct hazardous arc products to a safe area outside the switchroom. The switchgear can also be operated remotely for maximum operator safety.”
ABB’s scope of supply consists of transformers, medium voltage and low voltage switchgear, variable speed drives, power factor correction panels, active filter and transportable switchroom buildings.
All equipment with the exception of the transformers will be installed within the two 28-metre portable switchrooms at ABB’s Moorebank factory in Sydney, Australia. The switchrooms will then be transported to site for expedite onsite installation and commissioning in July 2009.