In October 2024, Hitachi Energy hit a significant milestone by producing the 1,000th WindSTAR unit at the transformer factory in Vaasa, Finland. These transformers are crucial in the journey toward a carbon-neutral future, resulting in a proven solution to integrate renewable energy and provide clean electricity from the world’s largest offshore wind farms.

In 2016, as power generation from offshore wind farms began to gain prominence, Hitachi Energy launched WindSTAR™ Transformers, which today represents a fundamental pillar in its OceaniQ™ portfolio¹.

WindSTAR™ units are perfectly suited for offshore wind turbines. They are tailor-made to meet the needs of both fixed and floating applications, including the latest turbine developments with higher power ratings. These transformers are carefully designed following wind energy standards such as APQP4Wind², utilizing an optimization process that involves prototyping and type-testing for each new design based on the specific application and customer requirements. With more than 20 different models engineered to withstand the challenging conditions of operating in offshore environments, the compact and lightweight design is well-suited to endure the vibrations, sudden movements, and fluctuating electrical loads typical in wind power generation.

As a result of the success and trust gained over the years since the prototype, Hitachi Energy’s transformer factory in Vaasa now celebrates the milestone of the 1,000^th unit ready for delivery to customers.

“This is a great joint success story where customer co-creation is key. We work closely with our customers to understand and meet their needs. We also collaborate on a global scale to develop technical standards and protocols. When the experience and know-how from all our factories and teams around the globe are combined, the result is that we are capable of replicating great achievements and innovation across all our power transformer factories worldwide, enabling our global customers to pursue their sustainability journey,” commented Pietro Cester, Power Transformers Manager, HUB Europe at Hitachi Energy.

A recent example from this cross-region collaboration is the milestone celebrated in Hitachi Energy’s transformer factory in Zhongshan, China, which delivered several WindSTAR transformers to various offshore wind projects in China, including the company’s first 66 kV WindSTAR transformer with natural ester as insulation fluid. This pilot represents the company’s continuous commitment to elevate the overall sustainability of the transformers further. This solution, manufactured for the first time in China, is now an additional option that complements the choices available to all our customers worldwide.