According to ABB, the project entails installation of new medium-voltage switchgear doors as well as ABB’s Relion protection and control relays. The relays include communications capabilities, enabling SDI Heartland to monitor their main relays and understand what each of their feeders is doing, ABB said. 

“These compact and versatile devices offer protection, control, monitoring and supervision all in one relay. In addition, for increased safety, the relays include arc flash protection, based on optical arc flash detection with fiber-optic light sensors, tripping at arc faults in milliseconds,” the company said. 

ABB business development manager Tim Gentry said the project builds on a long-standing relationship. 

“We’ve been fortunate to have a great working relationship with the team at SDI Heartland over the years, and as they’ve grown, we’ve been able to work alongside them to help ensure the plant had a reliable supply of power,” he said. 

“Servicing their aging relays has been an important part of our work at the Heartland operation. So, when it came time to modernize their gear, we were fully aware of the challenges they faced and the importance of delivering a safe, on-time installation.”