EA1 Turbines to Feature Sulfur Hexafluoride-Free Switchgear

Siemens will supply sulfur hexafluoride (SF₆)-free, gas-insulated 8VM1 high-voltage switchgear (GIS) to Siemens Gamesa for East Anglia ONE wind turbines. The 102 units of SF₆-free GIS will be delivered to the turbine manufacturer by mid-2019.

The switchgear will protect each wind turbine individually against overloads and short-circuits, and make it possible to supply electricity reliably and without interruption.

Developed for wind farms, the 8VM1 from the blue GIS portfolio operates with vacuum circuit-breaker technology and with clean air instead of sulfur hexafluoride (SF₆) as the insulating medium, Siemens explains.

The 8VM1 blue GIS, which is a further development of the switchgear technology that operates with SF₆ is part of Siemens’s blue portfolio.

As a result, not only the generation of power but also its transmission and distribution are climate-neutral. Moreover, the use of vacuum switchgear technology with clean air as the insulating gas makes it possible to minimize expenditures for operating and maintaining the switchgear.” – Siemens.

Karlheiz Kronen, CEO of the High Voltage Products Business Unit within the Siemens Energy Management Division, said: “Customers can benefit from both economic feasibility and an excellent degree of environmental compatibility. We worked together with the customer at a very early stage in the project and found the optimum solution for installing the switchgear in the base of the turbine.”