GE and Hitachi both launched grid solutions at the CIGRE Conference in Paris (25 – 30 August).
GE Vernova launched its GRiDEA Grid Solutions portfolio, a suite of solutions aimed at decarbonising the electrical grid. The portfolio is designed to offer grid operators a range of solutions to reduce SF6 emissions and raw material usage. At its core is a range of high-voltage SF6-free products, including g3, one of the company’s alternative technologies to SF6, allowing for a 99% CO2 equivalent reduction of the gas contribution to global warming compared to traditional SF6 equipment. There is a wide range of SF6-free switchgear up to 420 kV on offer. Another gaseous SF6-free technology for live tank circuit breakers has been added, allowing the switchgear to operate in extremely low temperature environments.
Other contributions are aimed at minimising the environmental impact of its products throughout their lifecycle. The GRiDEA portfolio will feature less raw materials by using recycled materials like copper, aluminium and oil, as well as the replacement of copper wiring with fiber optics; extend equipment lifespan through advanced monitoring systems and control switching devices, and optimise the design and efficiency of transmission and distribution infrastructure, focusing on smaller, lighter, and more efficient products. GE believes this portfolio will ‘set a new standard for grid transmission infrastructure, digitalization and sustainability’.
Hitachi Energy, which noted that 3000 GW of renewable projects worldwide are waiting in connection queues, asserted that power system upgrades are urgently needed and called for urgent action to strengthen power systems and address grid bottlenecks and accelerate the energy transition by increasing the deployment of innovative power electronics technology.
To this end it has launched Grid-enSure, an integrated solution portfolio to stabilise power systems by strengthening transmission, managing frequency variations and system voltage, and addressing capacity constraints.
Hitachi quotes an International Energy Agency estimate that 80 million km of grids must be added or replaced by 2040, requiring grid investment to double to more than $600 billion a year by 2030. Owing to more variable power flows, and lower inertia and predictability, the need for increasingly controlled interconnection capacity, with green energy corridors directly feeding cities, is required to support the remote sustainable generation. Inertia is crucial to ensures overall grid stability.
Grid-enSure is described as bringing a new holistic approach to designing, planning and operating present and future power systems, based on Hitachi Energy’s advisory and consulting services for grid development and modernisation. The solutions combine Hitachi Energy’s existing and future power electronic solutions, said to include advanced semiconductor technology – entirely manufactured in-house – to allow the fast and secure conversion and control of energy flows, thanks to higher power density and optimal switching frequency.
Grid-enSure is already in place at Caithness Moray-Shetland in Scotland, a multi-terminal HVDC voltage-source converter system, integrating wind energy generation from remote islands.
