Monticello – WBCQ Radio
WBCQ Radio is an international shortwave broadcasting station located in Monticello, Maine. This state-of-the-art transmitting station utilizes an Ampegon rotatable array antenna that is 260′ tall, with a 500kW Continental transmitter. All of this broadcasting power requires reliable power, especially in the northern Maine winter conditions.
Newtility provided electrical engineering and systems automation services, as well as all relay protection and automated controls for the medium voltage switchgear and 2MW diesel backup generator.
Project Highlights
- Electrical Engineering
- Automated MV Switchgear (4160VAC)
- Relay Protection & Control Panel Fabrication
- Startup & Commissioning
The Challenge
The design and construction of the Superstation presented a variety of unique problems, including:
- Peak loads of nearly 1.4MW for the transmitter, antenna, and related auxiliaries
- Non-standard service voltages for various globally sourced equipment
- Rural location with frequent anticipated power outages
- Caterpillar 2MW diesel genset, previously containerized and repurposed for this application
- Need for both automatic and “semi-automatic” transfers between utility and generator, depending on broadcasting needs
The transmitter and control room are housed in a beautiful octagon-shaped building located a distance away from the antenna, further complicating the design of the utility interconnect and power system.
Our Solution
Newtility designed a 4160VAC switchgear lineup consisting of 4 feeder sections and three incoming sources: utility, diesel genset, and future renewables or energy storage. All feeders and source breakers utilize modern Schweitzer SEL-751 and SEL-700G relay protection, supervised by and integrated with Newtility’s BOS Control Panel.
Our customized solution provides functionality similar to a traditional ATS, but with additional features and custom automated behavior to support the owner’s specific needs. In this case, we configured the system with several separate modes for automatic transfers, each of which behaves slightly different so as to ensure reliabile power that matches their broadcasting needs at the moment.