India's Largest Integrated Power Company, Tata Power, Will Use Natural Esters In Its Electrical Distribution Transformers

Improved fire safety, biodegradability and reduced carbon footprint led Tata Power's move to choose Cargill's Envirotemp™ FR3™ natural ester transformer oil

Gurgaon, India /PRNewswire/ - Tata Power, based in Mumbai, will be the first utility in India to incorporate a natural ester, versus petroleum-based, dielectric fluid into its electrical transformer systems.

All of Tata Power's new Package Substations will be filled with Cargill's FR3 fluid, the leading natural ester-based dielectric fluid that is currently installed in over 600,000 transformers on six continents. "Demand for solutions like FR3 fluid is increasing because power companies are seeking effective solutions that combine operational efficiencies and improved performance with environmental benefits," said Cargill dielectric fluids global business manager, Dave Roesser. In February 2014, Cargill announced CPFL Energia in Sao Paulo Brazil, is migrating its entire distribution network to FR3 fluid-filled transformers.

Tata Power is India's largest integrated power company serving more than 500,000 residential and industrial customers. It is known as an innovative leader with a long history of "firsts" in the market. Recently, it was the first Indian power company to energize a 1 MVA Transformer with FR3 fluid.

"We continually look for ways to better serve our communities with safe, reliable solutions that also support our sustainability initiatives," said Mr. Ashok Sethi, Executive Director- Tata Power Co. Ltd.

Tata Power thoroughly evaluated FR3 fluid and chose the natural ester solution for three key reasons:

Improved fire safety - With more than twice the flash and fire point as mineral oil and self-extinguishing properties, FR3 fluid provides improved fire safety for the densely populated areas within Tata Power's service area.

Environmental benefits - FR3 fluid is biodegradable as well as non-toxic and non-hazardous in soil and water.

Reduced carbon footprint - As FR3 fluid is made from a renewable resource, it is carbon neutral and results in 56 times less carbon emissions less than mineral oil*.

Tata Power will work with Cargill and with transformer manufacturing partners, Schneider Electric, ABB, and Raychem RPG, on integrating FR3 fluid into its distribution network.
*According to BEES 4.0 lifecycle analysis

About Tata Power
Tata Power is one of India's largest integrated power companies with a growing international presence. The Company together with its subsidiaries and jointly controlled entities has an installed gross generation capacity of approximately 8,560 MW in India and a presence in all the segments of the power sector viz. Fuel Security and Logistics, Generation (thermal, hydro, solar and wind), Transmission, Distribution and Trading. For further information, visit us at: www.tatapower.com

About Cargill
Cargill provides food, agriculture, financial and industrial products and services to the world. Together with farmers, customers, governments and communities, we help people thrive by applying our insights and nearly 150 years of experience. We have 143,000 employees in 67 countries who are committed to feeding the world in a responsible way, reducing environmental impact and improving the communities where we live and work. For more information, visit Cargill.com and our News Center.

About Cargill Industrial Specialties
Cargill Industrial Specialties is the largest business unit within Cargill that is exclusively focused on providing bio-based solutions to industrial markets, including dielectric fluids, paints, inks and coatings, lubricants, renewable construction and oilfield chemicals, consumer products, flexible foam and other diverse applications in the chemical industry. Launched in 1998, Envirotemp FR3 fluid is made from renewable vegetable oil and is currently used in more than 600,000 power and distribution transformers around the world.

FR3 fluid helps customers improve fire safety, increase grid reliability and optimize transformer performance as well as provide numerous environmental benefits. FR3 fluid meets IEEE and IEC standards and has been recognized by FM Global, Underwriters Laboratories (UL®), and the National Electrical Code® (NEC®). In 2014, FR3 fluid received the Presidential Green Chemistry Award from the Environmental Protection Agency and is part of its BioPreferred Program. For more information, visit envirotempfluids.com.