27 www.drivesncontrols.com January 2025 DRIVES n Scottish wood products processor cuts bills by £209,000 using MV drives AScottish wood products company is saving more than £209,000 a year by applying three medium-voltage VSDs (variable-speed drives) and an MV MCC (motor control centre) to three energy-intensive fan applications at its site in Cowie. The fans are used to dry raw materials, extract end-products, and perform material-condition-based rejection. West Fraser, which operates in North America as well as in Europe, has ambitious sustainability targets across all of its operations, which range from forestry management to final products. The Cowie plant, a major site for processing medium-density fibre board (MDF) and particleboard, was an ideal opportunity for carbon reduction measures. The fans were well-suited for smart motor control technologies. The Cowie installation has helped West Fraser to get closer to its tough carbon-reduction and energysaving targets, as well as enhancing operator insights, and making its assets more resilient. “We are now exactly where we need to be in terms of optimising the speeds of our large process fans," says Gordon McArthur, engineering manager at the Cowie plant. “Not only are we seeing improved process control, but we are also gaining better reliability, with the VSDs adjusting the fans’ speeds quickly and more precisely, in line with optimum application set-points.” The equipment installed at the Cowie site is an intelligent packaged power (IPP) system from Rockwell Automation, comprising a Centerline 1500 MV MCC and three Allen-Bradley PowerFlex 6000T MV VSDs. Additional site installation and supervision services were provided by HF Controls. “When you consider the energy consumed globally by industry in motor and fan applications, it's clear variable-speed drives can have a profound positive impact in reducing energy consumption and cutting carbon levels,” says Asa Arvidsson, regional vice-president for Rockwell Automation’s central, East and North region. “As well as saving energy, this application highlights other benefits of a smart MCC solution.” n A Scottish wood-processing plant has slashed its energy bills by more than £209,000 by applying medium-voltage drives to three of its large fans. Medium-voltage fan drives are helping to trim energy costs at West Fraser’s Cowie site in Scotland
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