Siemens supplies SF6-free high-voltage switchgear for English wind farm

Siemens will supply 102 SF6-free, gas-insulated 8VM1 high-voltage switchgear (GIS) to Siemens Gamesa by the middle of next year. 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. The switchgear are destined for the British East Anglia One offshore wind farm, which will supply up to 600,000 British homes with electricity starting in 2020. Siemens Gamesa is building the wind farm for ScottishPower Renewables in approximately 300 square kilometers of space, and is using a new connection and wind farm grid concept with a voltage of 66 Kilovolts (kV). Compared to the usual 33 kV connection, it increases the transmission capacity of each cable and simultaneously reduces transmission losses, thus cutting costs. For this purpose, Siemens Gamesa has adapted the substation transformers and converters to the wind turbines. Siemens will ship all 102 switchpanels by mid-2019.