Product launches emphasize commitment to deliver innovative, software-enabled solutions to help customers navigate the shifting energy landscape
Paris, France – August 27, 2018 The role of the grid is experiencing a pivotal change. GE Power's Grid Solutions business (NYSE: GE) today unveiled product innovations at CIGRE 2018 to address customers' needs to adapt to a more digitalized, decentralized and decarbonized energy landscape.
In the past, a simpler grid model transmitted electricity from large generation plants to end users. With carbon dioxide levels the highest they have ever been in 800,000 years, a modern grid is key to integrate renewable energy resources effectively as they are forecasted to represent two-thirds of global net electricity by 2050.
"The global energy landscape is undergoing a massive transformation. The grid of the future will require smarter, faster and more interoperable solutions to ensure resiliency, efficiency and security. That's why our Grid Solutions team is focused on investing in and delivering new digital, automation and HVDC technologies to transform energy networks across the globe. Our new product innovations will help our customers not only navigate the ever-changing energy landscape, but also unleash the full potential of electric grids worldwide," said Reinaldo Garcia, president and CEO of GE Power's Grid Solutions business.
At this year's CIGRE, GE Power's Grid Solutions business launched the following new products and services as part of their holistic approach to grid modernization:
eLuminaTM HVDC Control System: Introducing the industry's first HVDC solution to implement a world-class digital measurement system fully based on IEC 61850. eLumina delivers a 50 percent smaller footprint and 80 percent reduction in field connections that simplifies system architectures, improving maintenance and operational efficiency. With 10 times more computing power, eLumina brings more data to operators to enable actionable intelligence through improved analytics and situational awareness. This new powerful platform is designed around a "single-source-of-truth" system model, enabling a more scalable, flexible, interoperable and adaptive HVDC solution.
F35 Gas Insulated Switchgear (GIS) with 72.5kV: By 2050, 66 percent of the world's population will be living in urban communities, requiring more power in compact areas. Simultaneously, offshore wind is predicted to reach a cumulative capacity of 115 GW by 2030, and these wind farms are moving into deeper waters that require larger turbines with higher power ratings. To address these shifts, GE Power's Grid Solutions business has launched a new compact F35 Gas-Insulated Substation (GIS) for 72.5 kV networks. With a bay volume reduced by 23 percent and a 30 percent reduction in SF6 mass this new GIS delivers reliable power to urban, industrial and windfarm applications. For wind turbines and collection platforms specifically, this enhanced design allows the power voltage transformer to feed auxiliaries under "no wind" conditions, making it the ideal interface for offshore wind applications.
Modernizing the Grid through Digital Transformers, Intelligent Digital Substations, Asset Lifecycle Management Services and advanced EMS with full WAMS enhancement: As automation grows across the energy industry, digital control systems will play a vital role in the machines, grids and systems that deliver energy to the people and places that need it most. With these devices in place, the grid of the future will be able to recalibrate itself in real-time so that it can balance demand and integrate multiple-generation resources reliably. From the field to enterprise, GE Power's Grid Solutions business has created digitally connected solutions to increase efficiency and reliability of the network and it's connected assets, including:
With GE's hundred plus years of domain expertise and the power of digital integration, GE Power's Grid Solutions business is playing a critical role in boosting efficiency throughout the energy value chain across the globe.
If you are attending CIGRE, visit GE's stand #330 on the third floor of Palais des Congrès de Paris, France and contact us for on-site interviews with our industry experts. For daily updates, follow us at @GE_Power and the hashtag #CIGRE47.