SCOTLAND -- SP Energy Networks has commissioned Siemens to supply environmentally friendly SF₆-free gas-insulated switchgear (GIS) for a Glasgow substation.

As part of the ScottishPower group, a Principal Partner for the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP26) to be held in Glasgow later this year, SP Energy Networks is investing $18 billion in the clean energy generation and networks infrastructure needed to help the UK decarbonise and reach Net Zero emissions.

Siemens has developed new GIS that should enable the SP Energy Networks substation in Glasgow to operate free of sulphur hexafluoride (SF₆).  This is the first such installation in the UK, as SF₆ is commonly used as an insulator for electrical equipment in substations across the country.

The new technology trial will take place at the substation in MacLean Square in Glasgow, across the River Clyde from the Scottish Event Campus (SEC) where the United Nations Climate Change Conference will take place later this year.

Colin Taylor, Director of Processes and Technology at SP Energy Networks, said: "Traditionally, SF₆ is used as an insulator in switchgear but this new trial will use a climate-neutral insulation comprised of components from ambient air which will help us to reduce our CO₂ footprint, make it safer to handle the switchgear and easier to recycle at the end of its service life."

The new equipment is expected to be delivered and installed at the Glasgow substation by the end of summer 2021.

Source: Siemens