The customer’s request 

Terna, the largest independent electricity transmission grid operator in Europe, turned to Tamini for the engineering and realization of a 250 MVA Autotransformer with 400/135 kV voltages in vegetable ester for Martignone (BO) power station.

But an incident on the Electricity Grid forced a change of plan: Tamini was involved to urgently perform disassemble and transport the same autotransformer about 40 km away, at San Damaso (MO) power station, which had been affected by a fire that had caused inconvenience to the national grid.

Tamini’s solution

The urgency of the transportation to the new power station required challenging timelines for Tamini’s Service team, which had to organize activities in a short time, to limit the damage caused by the fire that had forced Terna to power down and decommission the existing machinery, which was insulated with mineral oil. The replacement of the old machinery with the Green autotransformer was carried out because of the sustainability features, as the vegetable ester is biodegradable, and also because of the lower flammability, given the extremely high flash point.

Project Stages

Tamini engineered and realized the 400/135 kV natural ester autotransformer almost 4 months ahead of the originally agreed contract date.

The autotransformer was transported to Martignone power station and was ready for installation, but the accident in San Damaso required its disassembly, transport and installation in the new electrical substation.

With a synergistic work between Terna’s Centre-North Transmission Department and Tamini’s Service team, the urgency was managed within a contingent time to restore the San Damaso station to full operating condition. The activity was challenging because of the difficulties related to logistics aspects and the rigorous scheduling of Service activities on two stations almost simultaneously.

Tamini’s scope of supply included, in addition to transportation, placement on the existing foundations, installation, and on-site testing of the autotransformer.

Technical Details