In the summer of 2006, United REMC completed a new substation that employs a relatively new technology in which the transformer and other equipment are cooled by environmentally-safe soybean oil-based fluid.

The substation, located in southern Allen County, was the first in Indiana to use the soybean-based Envirotemp FR3 fluid in a large capacity transformer. The soybean
oil-based FR3 fluid – made by Cooper Power Systems -- has been used elsewhere in transformers of various sizes.

The FR3 fluid is completely biodegradable making it good for the environment. It has a higher flash point, so it is safer. Because of its dielectric properties, it will enhance the transformer’s performance and increase its lifespan. And of course it is a renewable product, and opens yet another market for soybean producers.

Most transformers are traditionally filled with petroleum-based mineral oil as a coolant. United is not the first utility to use FR3 fluid,, but was the first utility in Indiana to use it in a substation. Over 4,000 gallons of the fluid were used to fill the transformer, as well as three regulators used at the substation. All told, that equates to just over 100 acres of soybeans to make that amount of soybean oil.

In addition, United chose to use soybean oil-based fluid in the on-site transformer that now serves the nearby Vera Bradley facility, and another transformer that serves a Huntington area nursing home.

The new Lafayette substation serves about 1,800 existing customers, and replaces another nearby substation that was at capacity. The new facility has approximately four times the capacity as the substation it replaced.

In addition, the new sub will serve a new industrial park located directly south of the General Motors plant in southwest Allen County; a number of new housing developments now under construction north of GM; and the proposed Prairie Center at Lafayette Center Road and I-69.