An alternative to SF6

Omnia Projects are the Owners Engineer (OE) for the 132kV Grid Connection of the Lostock Sustainable Energy Plant (LSEP) which is an 89MW Energy from Waste (EfW) generator. To facilitate the connection to the SPEN network, a new 132kV substation is being constructed consisting of 4 SPEN feeder circuits and 2 customer feeder circuits, but using GE 132kV g³ switchgear.

SF₆ (or Sulphur Hexafluoride) had been the standard gas used inside high voltage electrical equipment as an insulating and arc-quenching medium. However, SF₆ is also listed as an extremely potent greenhouse gas according to the Kyoto protocol, with 23,500 times the comparative Global Warming Potential of CO₂ and a lifetime of 3,200 years in the atmosphere.

g³, (pronounced "g" cubed) is GE's alternative to SF₆ gas, developed for HV electrical transmission equipment. g³ products feature the same ratings and same dimensional footprint as the state-of-the-art SF₆ ones, with a drastically reduced environmental impact: more than 99% less gas global warming potential (GWP), comparatively. g³ products have a significantly improved life cycle assessment (LCA) compared with SF₆ products and other alternatives. In addition, with product dimensions remaining the same, there is no major increase of raw materials, thus no pollution transfer induced on any other environmental indicators. Also, g³ products operate with no restriction under the same temperature range as SF₆ products (down to -30°C).

Like SF₆, g³ is non-toxic and not flammable. It falls in the same safety class as SF₆.

The g³ switchgear has been installed at Lostock and is ready for commissioning to commence.