Background art: Reactive power is present in all electric power systems that transfer alter- nating current. Many loads consume not only active power but also reactive power.

Transmission and distribution of electric power per se entails reactive losses as a result of series inductances tn trar, srormers, overhead fines and cables. Overhead lines and cables also produce reactive power as a result of capacitive connections between phases and between phases and earth potential.

At stationary operation of an alternating current system, active power pro- duction and consumption must be in agreement in order to obtain nominal frequen- cy. An equally strong coupling exists between reactive power balance and voltages in the electric power netwok. la : eaciivceaciivc power consumption and production are not balanced in a suitable manner, the consequence may be unacceptable voltage levels in parts of the electric power network. An excess of reactive power in one area ieads to high voltages, whereas a deficiency leads to low voltages.

Contrary to active power balance at a nominal frequency, which is con- trolled solely with the aid of the active power control of the generator, a suitable re- active power balance is obtainea with the aid of both controllable excitation of syn- chronous generators and of other components spread out in the system. Examples of such (phase compensation) components are shunt reactors, shunt capacitors, synchronous compensators and SVCs (Static Var. Compensators).

The location of these phase compensation components in the electric power network affects not oniy the voitage in various parts of the electric power net- work, but also the losses in the electric power network since the transfer of reactive power, like the transfer of active power, gives rise to losses and thus heating. It is consequently desirable to place phase compensation components so that losses

are minimized and the voltage in all parts of the electric power network is accept- able.

The shunt reactor and shunt capacitor are usually permanently connected or connected via a mechanical breaker mechanism to the electric power network.

In other words, the reactive power consumed/produced by these components is not continuously controllable. The reactive power produced/consumed by the synchro- nous compensator and the SVC, on the other hand, is continuously controllable.

These two components are consequently used if there is a demand for high-perfor- mance voltage control.

The following is a brief description of the technology for phase compensa- tion with the aid of synchronous compensator and SVC.

A synchronous compensator is in principie a synchronous motor running at no load, i. e. it takes active power from the efectric power network equivalent to the machine losses.

The rotor shaft of a synchronous compensator is usuafty horizontal and the rotor generally has six or eight salient poles. The rotor is usually dimensioned thermally so that the synchronous compensator, in over-excited state, can produce approximately 100 % of the apparent power the stator is thermally dimensioned for (rated output) in the form of reactive power, in under-excited state, when the syn- chronous compensator consumes reactive power, it consumes approximately 60 % of the rated output (standard value, depending on how the machine is dimension- ed). This gives a control area of approximately 160 % of rated output over which the reactive power consumption/production can be continuously controlled. If the machine has salient po) es with relatively iittte reactance in transverse direction, and is provided with excitation equipment enabling both positive and negative excitation, more reactive power can be consume than the 60 % of rated output stated above, without the machine exceeding the stability limit. Modern synchronous compensa- tors are normally equipped with fast excitation systems, preferably a thyristor-con- trolled static exciter where the direct current is supplied to the rotor via slip rings.

This solution enables both positive and negative supply as above.

The magnetic circuits in a synchronous compensator usually comprise a laminated core, e. g. of sheet steel with a welded construction. To provide ventila- tion and cooling the core is often divided into stacks with radial and/or axial ventila-

tion ducts. For larger machines the laminations are punched out in segments which are attached to the frame of the machine, the laminated core being held together by pressure fingers and pressure rings. The winding of the magnetic circuit is dispos- ed in slots in the core, the slots generally having a cross section in the shape of a rectangle or trapezium.

In multi-phase electric machines the windings are made as either single or double layer windings. With single layer windings there is only one coil side per slot, whereas with double layer windings there are two coi ! sides per slot. By coil side is meant one or more conductors combined vertically or horizontal and pro- vided with a common coil insulation, i. e. an insulation designed to withstand the rated voltage of the machine to earth.

Double-layer windings are generally made as diamond windings whereas single layer windings in the present context can be made as diamond or flat wind- ings. Only one (possibly two) coi width exists in diamond windings whereas flat windings are made as concentric windings, i. e. with widely varying coil width. By coil width is meant the distance in arc dimension between two coil sides pertaining to the same coil.

Normally all large machines are made with double-layer winding and coils of the same size. Each coil is placed with one side in one layer and the other side in the other layer. This means that ail coins cross each other in the coil end. If there are more than two layers these crossings complicate the winding work and the coil end is less satisfactory.

It is considered that coils for rotating machines can be manufactured with good results up to a voltage range of 10-20 kV.

A synchronous compensator has considerable short-duration overload ca- pacity. In situations when etectro mechanical oscillations occur in the power sys- tem the synchronous compensator can briefly supply reactive power up to twice the rated output. The synchronous compensator also has a more long-lasting overload capacity and is often able to supply 10 to 20 % more than rated output for up to 30 minutes.

Synchronous compensators exist in sizes from a few MVA to hundreds of MVA. The losses for a synchronous compensator cooled by hydrogen gas amount

to approximately 10 W/kvar, whereas the corresponding figure for air-cooled syn- chronous compensators is approximately 20 W/kvar.

Synchronous compensators were preferably installed in the receiving end of long radial transmission lines and in important nodes in masked electric power net- works with long transmission lines, particularly in areas with little local generation.

The synchronous compensator is also used to increase the short-circuit power in the vicinity of HVDC inverter stations.

The synchronous compensator is most often connected to points in the electric power network where the voltage is substantially higher than the synchro- nous compensator is designed for. This means that, besides the synchronous com- pensator, the synchronous compensator plant generally includes a step-up trans- former, a busbar system between synchronous compensator and transformer, a generator breaker between synchronous compensator and transformer, and a line breaker between transformer and electric power network.

In recent years SVCs have to a great extent replaced synchronous com- pensators in new installations because of their advantages particularly with regard to cost, but also in certain appiications because of technical advantages.

The SVC concept (Static Var. Compensator) is today the leading concept for reactive power compensation and, as well as in many cases repiacing the syn- chronous compensator in the transmission network, it also has industrial applica- tions in connection with electric arc furnaces. SVCs are static in the sense that, contrary to synchronous compensators, they have no movable or rotating main components.

SVC technology is based on rapid breakers built up of semi-conductors, thyristors. A thyristor can switch from nonconductor to conductor in a few millionths of a second. Capacitors and reactors can be connected or disconnected with neg- ligible delay with the aid of thyristor bridges. By combining these two components reactive power can be steplessly either supplie or extracted.

A SVC plant typicalEy consists of both capacitor banks and reactors and since the thyristors generate harmonics, the plant also includes harmonic filters.

Besides control equipment, a transformer is also required between the compensa- tion equipment and the network in order to obtain optimal compensation from the

size and cost point of view. SVC plant is available in size from a few MVA up to 650 MVA, with nominal voltages up to 765 kV.

Various SVC plant types exist, named after how the capacitors and reactors are combined. Two usual elements that may be included are TSC or TCR. TSC is a thyristor-switched reactive power-producing capacitor and TCR is a thyristor- switched reactive power-consuming reactor. A usual type is a combination of these elements, TSC/TCR.

The magnitude of the losses depends much on which type of plant the SVC belongs to, e. g. a FC/TCR type (FC means that the capacitor is fixed) has consider- abiy greater losses tharl a TSC5CR. The losses for the latter type are approxi- mately comparable with the losses for a synchronous compensator.

It should be evident from the above summary of the phase compensation technology that this can be divided into two principal concepts, namely synchronous compensation and SVC.

These concepts have different strengths and weaknesses. Compared with the synchronous compensator, the SVC has the main advantage of being cheaper.

However, it also permits somewhat faster control which may be an advantage in certain applications.

The drawbacks of the SVC as compared with the synchronous compensa- tor include: it has no overload capacity. In operation at its capacitive limit the SVC be- comes in principle a capacitor, i. e. if the voltage drops then the reactive power pro- duction drops with the square of the voltage. If the purpose of the phase compen- sation is to enable transfer of power over long distances the lack of overload capac- ity means that, in order to avoid stability problems, a higher rated output must be chosen if SVC plant is selected than if synchronous compensator plant is selected. it requires filters if it inclues a TCR. it does not have a rotating mass with internal voltage source. This is an advantage with the synchronous compensator, particularly in the vicinity of HVDC transmission.

In order to achieve a more competitive electricity market many countries have deregulated, or are in the process of deregulating, the electricity market. This usually involves a separation of power production and transmission services into

separate entities. When these two parts of the system are in different hands, the previously existing link between the planning of generation plants and transmission lines is broken. A generation plant owner may announce the closing of a generation plant at timescales which are, for hardware investments, very short, presenting the operators and planners of transmission services with major changes in both load flow patterns and the location of controllable reactive production/consumption re- sources at short notice. Consequently, there is a strategic need for a phase com- pensation unit that can be relocated, within short lead time, to an arbitrary node in the transmission system.

In countries where the electricity market has not been deregulated there may also exist a need to have relocatable phase compensation components. For instance, countries with a large share of nuclear power production may encounter situations similar to that described above. Normally, nuclear power plants are closed down once a year. during a low load season, for inspections and repara- tions. However, occasionally these plants may have to stay closed for longer peri- ods of time due to major reparations. Although this situation is easier to handle in a country which has not deregulated the electricity market, the size of a typical nu- clear plant may imply that the changes in load flow patterns and the absence of controllable reactive production/consumption resources puts the operators of the transmission system in situations which are difficuit to handle while maintaining pre- scribed security standards. There exists a need for a relocatable phase compensa- tion unit also in these situations.

There exist today a smali number of relocatable SVC plants, see e. g. the article"Relocatable static var compensators heip control unbundled power flows"in the Magazine"Modern Power Systems", December 1996, pages 49-54. In addition to the differences between a static and a synchronous compensator described above, the relocatable static compensator involves a number of containers, which requires a fairly large area at the site and which needs to be electrically intercon- nected at the site. But most importantly the relocatable static compensator can only be connected to nodes in the transmission system where a step-down transformer already is available, providing a fairly fow voltage. In other words, the relocatable static compensator cannot be directly connected to the transmission system voltage (typically 130 kV and up).

Due to the number of components required in a synchronous compensator plant and in particular the up to now necessary presence of a transformer, synchro- nous compensator plants for high-voltage networks up to now have been realized solely as stationary plants. In case of change in an existing power network regard- ing the need for phase compensation the plant might be superfluous at its location or might be required to be designed and dimensioned different, or a plant might be required somewhere else in the network. This of course is a serious drawback with such a stationary plant.

Description of the invention: The object of the present invention is to attain a synchronous compensator plant avoiding this drawback.

According to the invention this object has been achieved in that a synchro- nous compensator plant of the kind specified in the preamble of claim 1 includes the specific features specified in the characterizing portion of the claim.

Thanks to the fact that the vnding (s) in the rotating electric machine in the synchronous compensator plant isfare manufactured with a special solid insulation, a voltage level can be achieved for the machine which is far above the limits a con- ventional synchronous compensator can be practically or financially constructed for.

The voltage level may reach any level applicable in power networks for distribution and transmission. The advantage is thus achieved that the synchronous compen- sator can be connected directly tu such networks without intermediate connection of a step-up transformer.

Elimination of the transformer per se entails great savings in cost, weight and space, but also has other decisive advantages over a conventional synchro- nous compensator plant.

The efficiency of the plant is increased. Moreover, reactive losses incurred by the transformer's consumption of reactive power are avoided and so is the resul- tant shift in phase angle. This has a positive effect as regards the static and dyna- mic stability margins of the system. Furthermore, a conventional transformer con- tains oil, which entails a fire risk. This is eliminated in a plant according to the in- vention, and the requirement for various types of fire-precautions is reduced. Many

other electrical coupling components and protective equipment are also reduced.

This gives reduced plant costs and less need for service and maintenance.

These and other advantages result in a synchronous compensator plant being considerably smaller and less expensive than a conventional plant, and that the operating economy is radically improved thanks to less maintenance and smaller losses.

Thanks to these advantages a synchronous compensator plant according to the invention will contribute to this concept being financially competitive with the SVC concept (see above) and even offering cost benefits in comparison with this.

The fact that the invention makes the synchronous compensator concept competitive in comparison with the SVC concept therefore enables a return to the use of synchronous compensator plants. The drawbacks associated with SVC compensation are thus no longer relevant. The complicated, bulky banks of capaci- tors and reactors in a SVC plant are one such drawback. Another big drawback with SVC technology is its static compensation which does not give the same sta- bility as that obtained by the inertia obtained in a rotating electric machine with its rotating e. m. f. as regards both voltage and phase angle. A synchronous compen- sator is therefore better able to adjust to temporary disturbances in the network and to fluctuations in the phase angle. The thyristors that control a SVC plant are also sensitive to displacement of the phase angle. A plant according to the invention also enables the problem of harmonics to be solved.

The synchronous compensator plant according to the invention thus en- ables the advantages of synchronous compensator technology over SVC technol- ogy to be exploited so that a more efficient and stable compensation is obtained at a cost superior to this from the point of view of both plant investment and operation.

The plant according to the invention is small, inexpensive, efficient and reli- able, both in comparison with a conventional synchronous compensator and a SVC.

The reduction of the amount of required components in the plant and in particular the elimination of the transformers in the plant makes the design of the plant as a mobile unit possible, which thus is included as an essential feature of claim 1. By making the plant as a mobile unit that can be transported by a lorry, a railway truck, a helicopter or the iike, the plant can be moved from one location of a

power network to another, should the need for phase compensation in the network change.

With a synchronous compensator plant having components with windings of the specific construction as claimed in claim 1 and making use of the possibility to design the plant as a mobile unit the drawbacks related to stationary synchro- nous compensator plants thus are overcome. This is primarily of relevance for high- voltage networks, in particular in the range of 36 kV and above.

Another object of the invention is to satisfy the need for fast, continuously controllable reactive power which is directly connected to sub-transmission or transmission level in order to manage the system stability and/or dependence on rotating mass and the electro-motive force in the vicinity of HVDC transmission.

The plants shall be able to supply anything from a few MVA up to several hundreds of MVA.

The advantage gained by satisfying said objects is the avoidance of the in- termediate transformer, the reactance of which otherwise consumes reactive power. This also enables the avoidance of traditional so-called generator breakers.

Advantages are also obtained as regards network quality since there is rotating compensation. With a plant according to the invention the overload capacity is also increased, which with the invention may be +100 %. The synchronous compensa- tor according to the invention may be given higher overload capacity in over-excited operation than conventional synchronous compensators, both as regards short- duration and long-duration overload capacity. This is primarily because the time constants for heating the stator are large with electric insulation of the stator wind- ing according to the invention. However, the thermal dimensioning of the rotor must be such that it does not limit the possibilities of exploiting this overload capacity.

To accomplis this the magnetic circuit in the electric machine included in the synchronous compensator plant is formed with threaded permanent insulating cable with included earth. The invention also relates to a procedure for manufactur- ing such a magnetic circuit.

The major and essential difference between known technology and the em- bodiment according to the invention is thus that this is achieved with an electric ma- chine provided with solid insulation, the magnetic circuit (s) of the winding (s) being arranged to be directly connected via breakers and disconnectors to a high supply

voltage of between 20 and 800 kV, preferably higher than 36 kV. The magnetic cir- cuit thus comprises a laminated core having a winding consisting of a threaded ca- ble with one or more permanently insulated conductors having a semiconducting layer both at the conductor and outside the insulation, the outer semiconducting layer being connected to earth potential.

To solve the problems arising with direct connection of electric machines to all types of high-voltage power networks, a machine in the plant according to the in- vention has a number of features as mentioned above, which differ distinctly from known technology. Additional features and further embodiments are defined in the dependent claims and are discussed in the following.

Such features mentioned above and other essential characteristics of the synchronous compensator plant and the electric machine according to the invention included therein, include the following: The winding of the magnetic circuit is produced from a cable having one or more permanently insulated conductors with a semiconducting layer at both conduc- tor and sheath. Some typical conductors of this type are XLPE cable or a cable with EP rubber insulation which, however, for the present purpose are further developed both as regards the strands in the conductor and the nature of the outer sheath.

XLPE = crosslinked polyethylene. EP = ethylene propyiene.

Cab) Cables with circular cross section are preferred, but cables with some other cross section may be used in order to obtain better packing density, for in- stance.

Such a cable allows the laminated core to be designed according to the invention in a new and optimal way as regards slots and teeth.

The winding is preferably manufactured with insulation in steps for best utilization of the laminated core.

The winding is preferably manufactured as a multi-layered, concentric ca- ble winding, thus enabling the number of coil-end intersections to be reduced.

The slot design is suited to the cross section of the winding cable so that the slots are in the form of a number of cylindrical openings running axially and/or radially outside each other and having an open waist running between the layers of the stator winding.

The design of the slots is adjusted to the relevant cable cross section and to the stepped insulation of the winding. The stepped insulation allows the mag- netic core to have substantially constant tooth width, irrespective of the radial ex- tension.

The above-mentioned further development as regards the strands entails the winding conductors consisting of a number of impacted strata/layers, i. e. insu- lated strands that from the point of view of an electric machine, are not necessarily correctly transposed, uninsulated and/or insulated from each other.

The above-mentioned further development as regards the outer sheath entails that at suitable points along the length of the conductor, the outer sheath is cut off, each cut partial length being connected directly to earth potential.

The use of a cable of the type described above attows the entire length of the outer sheath of the winding, as well as other parts of the plant, to be kept at earth potential. An important advantage is that the electric field is close to zero within the coil-end region outside the outer semiconducting) ayer. With earth po- tential on the outer sheath the electric field need not be controlled. This means that no field concentrations wili occur either in the core, in the coil-end regions or in the transition between them.

The mixture of insulated and/or uninsulated impacted strands, or trans- posed strands, results in low stray losses.

The cable for high voltage used in the magnetic circuit winding is con- structed of an inner core/conductor with a plurality of strands, at least two semicon- ducting layers, the innermost being surrounded by an insulating layer, which is in turn surrounded by an outer semiconducting layer having an outer diameter in the order of 20-250 mm and a conductor area in the order of 30-3000 mm2.

The insulated conductor or cable used in the present invention is flexible and of a kind which is described in more detail in WO 97/45919 and WO 97/45847. Ad- ditional descriptions of the insulated conductor or cable concerned can be found in WO 97/45918, WO 97/45930 and WO 97/45931.

Accordingly, the windings, in the arrangement according to the invention, are preferably of a type corresponding to cables having solid, extruded insulation, of a type now used for power distribution, such as XLPE-cables or cables with EPR- insulation. Such a cable comprises an inner conductor composed of one or more

strand parts, an inner semiconducting layer surrounding the conductor, a solid insu- lating layer surrounding this and an outer semiconducting layer surrounding the in- sulating layer. Such cables are fiexible, which is an important property in this con- text since the technology for the arrangement according to the invention is based primarily on winding systems in which the winding is formed from cable which is bent during assembly. The fiexibility of an XLPE-cable normally corresponds to a radius of curvature of approximately 20 cm for a cable with a diameter of 30 mm, and a radius of curvature of approximately 65 cm for a cable with a diameter of 80 mm. In the present application the term"flexible"is used to indicate that the winding is flexible down to a radius of curvature in the order of four times the cable diame- ter, preferably eight to twelve times the cable diameter.

The winding should be constructed to retain its properties even when it is bent and when it is subjected to thermal or mechanical stress during operation. It is vital that the layers retain their adhesion to each other in this context. The material properties of the layers are decisive here. particuiarty their elasticity and relative coefficients of thermal expansion. In an XLPE-cable, for instance, the insulating layer consists of cross-linked, low-density polyethylene, and the semiconducting layers consist of polyethylene with soot and metal particles mixed in. Changes in volume as a result of temperature fluctuations are completely absorbed as changes in radius in the cable and, thanks to the comparatively slight difference between the coefficients of thermal expansion in the layers in relation to the elasticity of these materials, the radial expansion can take place without the adhesion between the layers being lost.

The material combinations stated above should be considered only as ex- amples. Other combinations fulfilling the conditions specified and also the condition of being semiconducting, i. e. having resistivity within the range of 10-1-106 <BR> <BR> <BR> <BR> ohm-cm, e. g. 1-500 ohm-cm, or 10-200 ohm-cm, naturally also fall within the scope of the invention.

The insulating layer may consist, for example, of a solid thermoplastic ma- terial such as low-density polyethylene (LDPE), high-density polyethylene (HDPE), polypropylene (PP), polybutylene (P8), poiymethyl pentene ("TPX"), cross-linked materials such as cross-linked poiyethylene (XLPE), or rubber such as ethylene propylene rubber (EPR) or silicon rubber.

The inner and outer semiconducting layers may be of the same basic ma- terial but with particles of conducting material such as soot or metal powder mixed in.

The mechanical properties of these materials, particularly their coefficients of thermal expansion, are affecte relatively little by whether soot or metal powder is mixed in or not-at least in the proportions required to achieve the conductivity necessary according to the invention. The insulating layer and the semiconducting layers thus have substantiate the same coefficients of thermal expansion.

Ethylene-vinyl-acetate copolymers/nitrile rubber (EVA/NBR), butyl graft polyethylene, ethylene-butyl-acrylate copolymers (EBA) and ethylene-ethyl-acryiate copolymers (EEA) may also constitute suitable polymers for the semiconducting layers.

Even when different types of material are used as base in the various lay- ers, it is desirable for their coefficients of thermal expansion to be substantially the same. This is the case with the combination of the materials listed above.

The materials listed above have relatively good elasticity, with an E-modu- <BR> <BR> <BR> <BR> lus of E<500 MPa, preferably <200 MPa. The elasticity is sufficient for any minor differences between the coefficients of thermal expansion for the materials in the layers to be absorbed in the radial direction of the elasticity so that no cracks ap- pear, or any other damage, and so that the layers are not released from each other.

The material in the layers is elastic, and the adhesion between the layers is at least of the same magnitude as in the weakest of the materials.

The conductivity of the two semiconducting layers is sufficient to substan- tially equalize the potential along each layer. The conductivity of the outer semicon- ducting layer is sufficiently high to enclose the electrical field within the cable, but sufficiently low not to give rise to significant losses due to currents induced in the longitudinal direction of the layer.

Thus, each of the two semiconducting layers essentially constitutes one equipotentiai surface, and these layers will substantially enclose the electrical field between them.

There is, of course, nothing to prevent one or more additional semiconduct- ing layers being arranged in the insulating layer.

According to a particularly preferred embodiment of the invention, at least two of these layers, preferably all three, have the same coefficient of thermal ex- pansion. The decisive benefit is thus achieved that defects, cracks or the like are avoided at thermal movement in the winding.

The invention also relates to a procedure for manufacturing the magnetic circuit for the electric machine included in the synchronous compensator plant. The procedure entails the winding being placed in the slots by threading the cable through the cylindrical openings in the slots.

From another aspect of the invention, the object has been achieved in that a plant of the type described in the preamble to claim 35 is given the special fea- tures defined in the characterizing part of this claim.

Since the insulation system, suitably permanent, is designed so that from the thermal and electrical point of view it is dimensioned for over 36 kV, the plant can be connected to high-voltage power networks without any intermediate step-up transformer, thereby achievingtheadvantages referred to above. Such a plant is preferably, but not necessarily, constructed to include the features defined for the plant as claimed in any of claims 1-34.

The above-mentioned and other advantageous embodiments of the inven- tion are defined in the dependent claims.

Brief description of the drawings: The invention will be described in more detail in the following detailed de- scription of a preferred embodiment of the construction of the magnetic circuit of the electrical machine in the synchronous compensator plant, with reference to the ac- companying drawings in which Figure 1 shows a single line diagram of the invented synchronous compensator plant.

Figure 2 shows a schematic axial end view of a sector of the stator in an electric machine in the synchronous compensator plant according to the inven- tion, and Figure 3 shows an end view, step-stripped, of a cable used in the winding of the stator according to Figure 2 Figure 4 schematically shows the invented plant transported on a lorry.

Description of a preferred embodiment: Figure 1 shows a single line diagram of the synchronous compensator plant according to a preferred embodiment of the invention, where the machine is ar- ranged for direct connection to the power network, without any step-up transformer, at two different voltage levels.

In the schematic axial view through a sector of the stator 1 according to Figure 2, pertaining to the eiectric machine included in the synchronous compensa- tor plant, the rotor 17 of the machine is also indicated. The stator 1 is composed in conventional manner of a laminated core. Figure 2 shows a sector of the machine corresponding to one pole pitch. From a yoke part 9 of the core situated radially outermost, a number of teeth 4 extend radially in towards the rotor 17 and are sepa- rated by slots 7 in which the stator winding is arranged. Cables 6 forming this stator winding, are high-voltage cables which may be of substantially the same type as those used for power distribution, i. e. XLPE cables, but without any outer, mechani- cally-protective sheath. Thus, the semiconducting layer which is sensitive to me- chanical damage lies naked on the surface of the cable.

The cables 6 are illustrated schematically in Figure 2, only the conducting central part of each cable part or coil side being drawn in. As can be seen, each slot 7 has varying cross section with alternating wide parts and narrow parts. The wide parts are substantialiy circulas and surround the cabling, the waist parts be- tween these forming narrow parts. The waist parts serve to radially fix the position of each cable. The cross section of the slot 7 also narrows radially inwards. This is because the voltage on the cable parts is lower the closer to the radially inner part of the stator 1 they are situated. Slimmer cabling can therefore be used there, whereas coarser cabling is necessary further out. In the example illustrated, cables of three different dimensions are used, arranged in three correspondingly dimen- sioned sections of slots 7.

Figure 3 is showing a cross section through a high voltage winding 6 used in the present invention. The high voltage winding 6 comprises a current-carrying conductor in the form of a number of strands 12 with circular cross sections which strands 12 are arranged in the middle of the high voltage winding 6. Around the strands 12 there is a first layer 13 with semiconducting properties. Around the first semiconducting layer 13 is arranged a layer of solid insulation 14 for example

XLPE-insulation. Around the insulation layer 14 there is a second layer 15 with semiconducting properties. The diameter of the high voltage winding is 20-250 mm and the conducting area lies in the interval of 80-3000 mm.

The three layers are arranged to adhere to each other even when the ca- ble is bent. The cable shown is flexible, and this property is maintained during the entire life of the cable.

In figure 4 it is schematically illustrated how the complete plant constitutes a mobile unit 21 that can be transported on a lorry.