Orion and Valen: Engineering a Better Solution Together   

Project Overview 

Orion is an electricity distribution business operating in the Canterbury and Central Otago regions of New Zealand’s South Island. As a provider of critical infrastructure Orion plays an important role in supporting the local community, keeping substations, overhead power lines and underground lines operational.  

Orion was looking for a custom-engineered energy storage solution that supported their 110vDC secondary protection assets at substations throughout the region. Engineers from Valen and Orion worked together to co-create a new solution that delivered significantly better performance and efficiency than the old system.  

The end result is a flexible, modular, easy-to-maintain system that is suitable for high seismic areas, and this jointly designed package is now being rolled out in all upgraded and new substations across NZ. 

The Challenge 

Orion needed a reliable energy storage solution to power 110VDC secondary protection systems at their substations, with the project calling for a single, flexible solution that would be suitable for all sites. Our challenge was to provide a solution that was easy to install, test, and swap out batteries if necessary, while also being modular and scalable to accommodate different capacities and protection loads.  

Additionally, the solution needed to comply with IEEE693:2018 High Seismic standards to ensure safety and stability in case of seismic events. 

The team at Orion had previously spent countless hours with engineers and consultants who had recommended very customised, niche – and hard to procure – battery systems. Because of this negative experience, the Orion engineering team specified that any new design must include:

• Easy to install, test and maintain with all terminals forward-facing and easy to access
• Meet the limited size-constraints for retrofitting in existying sustations
• Be able to install two tiers of racking for dual-redundant systems
• Easy-to-source, off-the-shelf part codes
• Deployable for 48V and 24V communications systems
• Meet the following standards: IEEE693:2018 High Seismic standards and AS2676 and AS3011 Electrical Standards.
• Mechanical battery hold-downs were specified rather than the existing straps.  
• Batteries used in racking needed to have a 10+ year design life

The client had also reported that their existing systems were difficult to access and maintain, so a design that provided safe, simple and straightforward access for technicians in the field was a must.   

Co-creating a Solution 

Valen’s engineers worked together with Orion to co-create a solution that surpassed the client’s expectations. Beginning with a thorough discovery process to understand how the systems would be installed, used and maintained, our engineering team then provided preliminary designs to Orion that met the project brief.  

The proposed system needed to tick many boxes in order to be a success in the field, and by designing the energy storage system in tandem with Orion’s engineers, we were able to jointly solve problems and deliver the best fit-for-purpose result.  

Critical specifications for the project included a design that had all battery terminals facing forwards for safety, ease of maintenance, and simple testing. All terminals needed to be insulated, and mechanical battery hold-downs were specified rather than the existing straps.  

Battery racks that were stackable and easy to assemble meant less time for techs in the field, and a modular system was determined to be the best option as it allowed Orion to use the same rack for both 100Ah and 155Ah installations. This meant that if a capacity upgrade was required, they could reuse the existing racks.

The final two-tier design is compact, creating a very small footprint at sites with limited space – something that installation crews have appreciated. The terminals on all systems are forward facing with insulation and terminal covers, providing safety for technicians and easy access for battery testing.  

Outcome 

The front terminal battery packages are providing a highly reliable power supply to the secondary protection system, reducing downtime, improving efficiency and improving Orion’s SAIDI and SAIFI index. The racks were also designed to comply with all three seismic categories, providing a highly stable and secure solution in case of seismic events. 

Orion has begun rolling out these off-the-shelf engineered energy storage units in all upgraded and new substations, with the project team reporting that the process has been incredibly easy so far. Furthermore, other ETB/DNSP’s have seen the benefits and are now installing these systems in new substations and retrofitting old substations. The modular system allows for easy expansion and maintenance, further improving reliability.  

Critically, every system can be kitted quickly from in-stock components, heavily reducing the time to engineer and ship each new package to site.  

Orion provides essential power services that support the local community and facilitate economic growth, and the business now has a highly flexible and scalable energy storage design that can adapt to their changing needs.  

Contact Us to find out more or to discuss your next project.