Saft Groupe S.A., Paris, France, has delivered Uptimax maintenance-free nickel batteries to provide essential backup power for electronic monitoring, mechanical braking, pitch control and grease supply systems at the Badamsha wind farm in the remote and exposed steppe of the Aktobe region of western Kazakhstan.
In 2021, the Badamsha wind farm will generate 396 GWh of energy for local industry and save 344,000 tonnes of CO2 annually – equivalent to the emissions from 74,000 cars. The site is contributing to environmental sustainability and is an important step in Kazakhstan’s goal of meeting 50 percent of its demand from renewables by 2050.
The project is Saft’s first contract with APS Energia SA, Warsaw, Poland, which specified the batteries for their proven reliability in harsh winter conditions. Alexey Kredin, Chief Executive of APS Energia Kazakhstan, said: “Saft’s long track record of providing industrial nickel battery solutions in cold climates gave us confidence that our backup power system will provide reliable performance to support continuity of generation for the wind farm.”
Reliable and maintenance-free backup power is essential to ensure continuous generation of wind turbines, particularly for remote sites in extreme climates, which are hard for maintenance technicians to access.
Winter temperatures at Badamsha can drop as low as -35 °C. This is inside the operating range of Saft’s Uptimax nickel batteries, which tolerate a wide temperature range of -40 to +70 °C and typically provide a long service life of more than 20 years.
Saft’s batteries were manufactured in its factory in Oskarshamn – Sweden, and supplied via its base in Moscow, from which it offers technical support and advice to customers across the CIS region.
About Saft
Saft specializes in advanced technology battery solutions for industry, from the design and development to the production, customization and service provision. For 100 years, Saft’s longer-lasting batteries and systems have provided critical safety applications, back-up power and propulsion for our customers. Our innovative, safe and reliable technology delivers high performance on land, at sea, in the air and in space. Saft is powering industry and smarter cities, while providing critical back-up functionality in remote and harsh environments from the Arctic Circle to the Sahara Desert. Saft is a wholly owned subsidiary of Total, a leading international oil and gas company and a major player in renewables and electricity.
