GE Grid Solutions to provide SF6-free switchgear for Vattenfall substation

2021-10-18 GE Grid Solutions

GE Renewable Energy’s Grid Solutions business has been awarded a contract for Sweden’s first SF₆ free gas-insulated switchgear (GIS) to be installed at the Vattenfall Eldistribution AB Lindhov substation in Tumba.

The project scope covers the design, engineering, delivery, and erection & commissioning of eight bays of GE’s F-35-41g 145 kV g³ switchgear.

“This contract represents GE’s latest g³ switchgear award and demonstrates that utility operators are becoming increasingly aware of their environmental footprint and the impact it has on their communities and the world around them.  Today, 25 leading electrical utilities have already adopted GE’s g³ gas products for their high voltage networks, avoiding the addition of more than a million tons of CO₂ equivalent to the grid. That’s the equivalent of removing about half a million petrol cars from the road for one year,” said Mikael Grage, Managing Director – Sweden at GE’s Grid Solutions.

A recent EU Commission report concluded that fluoronitrile-based gas mixtures – such as g³ gas – may be the only insulating and switching gas alternative to SF₆ when space is a constraint, such as in urban areas. That’s because fluoronitrile-based gas products feature the same compactness and performance as traditional SF₆ equipment, unlike other SF₆-free solutions.

GE’s g³ gas-insulated products are currently available for live-tank circuit-breakers and gas-insulated substations (GIS) up to 145 kV, as well as gas-insulated lines (GIL) up to 420 kV.