After the successful execution of four previous projects, Crescent Power Systems was awarded two more projects for a customer’s cryogenic processing facilities in the Permian Basin. The main goal was to provide medium voltage (MV) variable frequency drives (VFDs) to feed the facilities’ thirteen MV motors.
To accomplish this, CPS supplied three single-piece electrical building enclosures, each housing a lineup of 5kV switchgear and a motor control center (MCC) designated to feed an adjacent MV VFD within the same building. The enclosures were also equipped with an uninterruptible power system (UPS) to provide backup power for all critical control circuits within them.
Utilizing a programmable logic controller (PLC) with sync-transfer logic, CPS gave the end user the capability to operate their 13 motors using only 3 VFDs. The larger of the two sites utilized 2 VFDs that shared the operational responsibilities for 10 MV motors.
Should the customer have any issues with a single VFD, all active loads could remain online with this redundant design while issues are resolved. A full factory acceptance test (FAT) was held for each of the 3 lineups in an effort to show the customer the basic functionality of their gear, as well as how to bring on or take off multiple loads individually using the PLC/VFD configuration. The design passed with flying colors!
Upon completion of this project, the savings of not having to utilize an individual drive per motor was clear and calculable to the end user. The invaluable savings are captured in the theoretical costs and real estate to house and maintain this additional unnecessary gear. CPS hopes to reuse this same design in future endeavors with this customer.