- GE has been awarded a contract for Sweden´s first SF6 free 145 kV gas-insulated switchgear (GIS)
- g3 switchgear will be installed at the Vattenfall Eldistribution AB Lindhov substation in Tumba
- 25 leading electrical utilities have already adopted GE’s g3 products for their high voltage networks, avoiding the addition of more than a million tons of CO2 equivalent to the grid
Paris, FRANCE and Västerås, SWEDEN – September 21, 2021 – GE Renewable Energy’s Grid Solutions business (NYSE-GE) 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, located approximately 25 km from the center of Stockholm. The switchgear will feature GE’s industry-leading g3 (pronounced “g”- cubed) gas, a game-changing alternative to SF6 - a potent greenhouse gas - with a global warming potential (GWP) that is about 99% less compared to SF61.
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.
For more information on GE’s high-voltage g³ substation equipment and product roadmap, visit our website.
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Notes to the Editor:
- SF6: Due to its strong insulating and arc-quenching properties, SF6 is widely used in substation equipment with the transmission industry accounting for approximately 80% of the world’s usage. Identified as a potent greenhouse gas by the 1997 Kyoto Protocol, SF6 is estimated to contribute 23,500 times more emissions than CO₂ when leaked and can remain in the atmosphere for up to 3,200 years.
About GE’s Grid Solutions
Grid Solutions, a GE Renewable Energy business, serves customers globally with over 13,000 employees. Grid Solutions provides power utilities and industries worldwide with equipment, systems and services to bring power reliably and efficiently from the point of generation to end power consumers. Grid Solutions is focused on addressing the challenges of the energy transition by enabling the safe and reliable connection of renewable and distributed energy resources to the grid. For more about GE’s Grid Solutions, visit https://www.gegridsolutions.com.
About GE’s g3 gas
GE’s alternative to SF6 is g3 insulating and switching gas representing the culmination of a decade of research and development by its teams in France, Germany and Switzerland in collaboration with 3M Company. The g3 gas mixture is based on carbon dioxide, oxygen, and 3M™ Novec™ 4710 Dielectric Fluid from the 3M fluoronitrile family. Fluoronitrile was identified by R&D experts as the most suitable additive to CO2 and O2 to reach the targeted environmental benefit of an alternative to SF6, without compromising the equipment’s technical performance and footprint. As a result, the global warming potential (GWP) of GE’s g3 gas is some 99% lower as compared to SF6. In terms of technical performance, g3 high voltage equipment offers not only the same performance as SF6 products, it also features the same dimensional footprint as compared to SF6 equipment and operates in the same ambient conditions (down to -30°C).
More about g3 - SF6 Free Solutions (gegridsolutions.com)
More about g3 development, GE’s fluoronitrile based gas mixture: In search of an SF6 replacement | Think Grid (think-grid.org)
For media inquiries, please contact:
Allison J. CohenGrid Solutions, External Communications Manager
GE Renewable Energy
+972 54 7299742
[email protected]