Alstom Grid | ServicesGreen Services

Green Services

2

Sustainable development and reduction of environmental impacts are today major concerns in energy industry.

High Voltage manufacturers and users have a heavy responsibility towards environment from the design to the use and maintenance phases, as well as at the end of life during the decommissioning. Alstom Grid is your partner to manage equipment through their lifecycle in a sustainable manner.

SF6 managementSF6 is an inert, odorless, nontoxic gas without equivalent in electrical applications because of its outstanding insulation and breaking properties. However, this gas has a Global Warming Potential of 23,900 times greater than that of CO2. Put in another way, when

released in the air, the impact of 1 kg of SF6 equals 22.8 metric tons of CO2. Thus, Alstom Grid takes care about SF6 gas handling at every step in equipment lifecycle. It is tackling the subject by aiming to reduce emissions due to operational or accidental releases.

Meet efficiency and reliability in a sustainable wayOur experts support you to make the most of your assets at every step of their lifecycle in a sustainable manner.• SF6 management• Transformer upgrade to vegetable oil• End of life management

Alstom Grid is engaged in several voluntary agreements and continuous improvement in eco-design to minimise environmental impact at every stage of a product’s lifecycle.

To face growing environmental concerns and regulations, Alstom Grid supports you in your daily challenges:• Decrease power consumption• Use ecological and sustainable solutions• Limit greenhouse gas emissions, • especially with SF6 and transport• Reduce industrial waste with equipment• lifetime expension and use of recycled • components• Improve safety conditions for your • technicians

Product lifecycle concept

A trained and certified operator would be aware that he is required to perform vacuum during SF6 recovery on electrical equipment, thus SF6 is not left in the container at atmospheric pressure. When vacuum is performed up to lowest absolute pressure, the losses are insignificant.

ExampleAlstom Grid SF6 Handling Trainings for the employees of a German Utility company Alstom Grid certified 20 team members and workers of a German Utility company. The company has signed and ratified the “German voluntary self-obligation to the reduction of SF6 gas emissions” and has a model function for the industry of large German power suppliers. The utility plans to continue to work with Alstom Grid on its employees trainings.

• Gas recycling• Bottle decontamination• Report and certification

SF6 management challenges are: to ensure employee safety, to reduce to a minimum the environmental consequences linked to potential leakages, to respect local and federal regulations, to stop leakages from decommissioned equipment and to manage the logistics bottle shipments. For Alstom Grid, goal is to offer customers the most economical and simple solution for the management of SF6 in their installed parks.

Alstom Grid SF6 management program is only handled by trained and certified workers; gas is no longer left in used bottles or containers. Customer staff no longer handles the SF6; Alstom Grid’s Service team manages the entire SF6 recycling process.

l

SF6 handling training and certification

To ensure that equipment functions efficiently, SF6-filled devices need to meetgas pressure and gas quality standards. Both of these standards tend to lessen throughout equipment lifecycles, which ultimately will compromise reliability.

Alstom Grid proposes a service to manage SF6 quality and pressure levels for all Alstom Grid products and equipment. This service offer includes:• A gas pressure check• Topping-up when required• A gas quality check

When gas recycling is required, a mobile recycling cart is used. SF6 recovery from the equipment is performed with state-of-the art reclaimer (1mbar).The gas recycling process is as follows:• Test of the gas contamination (supply report)• Gas recovery• Gas separation

SF6 lifecycle management Delivery, quality check and recycling

3

GREEN SERVICES

Today, European regulation No 842/2006 requires that recovery of SF6 shall be handled only by certified personnel and IEC 62271-303 Technical Report recommends it strongly as well. Alstom Grid Technical Institute provides a complete range of trainings including work on various handling operations involving SF6. This certification is a proof that people hand-ling SF6 are able to manipulate it, contain it, and prevent any eventual releases into the atmosphere.

To obtain the relevant certification, Alstom Grid Technical Institute proposes different training courses including theoretical and practical sessions. These sessions cover different topics such as: SF6 and the environment, SF6 quality, SF6 recovery systems, storage and transpor-tation, and practical exercises of SF6 handling. Evaluations are performed to validate the skills and abilities gained by the trainees.

Several causes may lead to tightness losses: oxydation of the elastomer, chemical attack of the gasket material due to SF6 decomposition products, thermal ageing of the gasket, flange material corrosion.

Alstom Grid proposes a gas density monitoring system that detects leaks as soon as they start and measures the leak rate. Once a gas leak is detected, gaskets can be sealed off or exchanged. The Alstom Grid leak detection and repair service can be performed on any equipment containing SF6.

Alstom Grid Aix-les-Bains

l

Mobile decontamination workshopMany overhaul or maintenance operations involve opening SF6 insulated switchgear. Clean, dry work conditions are necessary to accomplish these operations, so the Alstom Grid service team has designed a mobile decontamination workshop which can be taken to the customer’s site.

Thus, Alstom Grid teams are able to retrofit, maintain, overhaul or upgrade any gas-insulated equipment in safe, clean and environmentally-friendlyconditions. The mobile workshop is fully functional on-site within one day. It is equipped with state-of-the-art devices to ensure the highest service quality.

Illustration

4

GREEN SERVICES

BWatch 3 Density Monitoring System on a 500 kV GIS in China a 500 kV GIS was energised in 2008 and the eight circuit breaker bays have been equipped with a BWatch 3 Density Monitoring System. On July 2008, the BWatch 3 indicated a leakage in one compartment of 1.07g/L/year, representing a loss of 0.04% of GIS SF6 per year. At this stage the gas density had reached 57.4g/L. The second stage alarm density was set at 49.61 g/L. At the estimated leak rate, it would take 2642 days to reach the second stage alarm if the BWatch 3 had not already detected the leak.

Thanks to the BWatch 3 early detection, Alstom Grid was able to localise and eliminate the leakage. Reparation was scheduled during a planned maintenance and the leaking gasket was replaced. The customer did not need an emergency shutdown or unplanned refilling.

SF6 leak detection and repair

Environmentally-friendlyNatural ester is made from vegetable oil and the other grade additives come from renewable resources. It is considered to be quickly and easily biodegradable, non-toxic and harmless to humans - and therefore safe for the environment. In addition, it can be regenerated, recycled and reused.

Financial savingsReducing fire risks can lead to a reduction in insurance costs. In some cases, insurance companies have suggested that customers use vegetable oil in transformers, especially when they are located inside buildings, near residences or in built-up or hazardous areas. In addition, as vegetable oil is non-toxic and less flammable than mineral oil, mainten-ance and containment plans are mitigated, reducing manpower and installation costs. Oil replacement costs are also reduced because the vegetable oil can be recycled and reused.

Transformer upgrade to vegetable oil

l

Vegetable oil advantages

The mineral oil used for transformers is a strong soil and groundwater contaminant, which is extremely difficult to clean up. Oil spills can cause major environmental damage which could result in significant safety issues and financial costs. Consequently, users are required to develop special maintenance and containment plans to limit such risks. It has become increasingly important for our customers to find adequate compromises in order to be both efficient and environmentally-friendly.

5

GREEN SERVICES

Equipment lifecycle extensionVegetable oil creates a much better environment for insulating paper and as such, slows its deterioration. As they age, transformers become wet and as vegetable oil is more hydroscopic than mineral oil, the humidity transfer from paper to oil is easier, increasing the efficiency of drying processes. This improved humidity migration helps to extend the insulation of the transformer. In some cases, it can increase the life of the insulating thermal paper by 5-8 times, significantly extending the entire transformer’s lifetime and bringing long-term savings by postponing equipment replacement investments.

Increased fire safety conditionsVegetable oil has superior fire-resistant properties. While mineral oil can ignite at around 150°C, vegetable oil can reach temperatures up to and beyond 350°C. Flash and fire points are twice as high as for mineral oil, thereby increasing the fire safety margin twofold. This huge benefit reduces oil fire risks which can cause severe damage to equipment and installations, as well as long outages.

Our proposal is to replace the mineral oil used in transformers with vegetable oil. Vegetable oil is an environmentally-friendly dielectric coolant which can replace mineral oil, bringing advantageous benefits. It is totally compatible with transformer insulating materials, components, fluid processing equipment and procedures. It is also an excellent chemical stabiliser over time.

Thus, it can increase equipment safety margins in terms of both fire safety and the environment. The retro-filling of existing liquid-filled transformers is simple, especially

when Alstom Grid's experts are involved. This requires particular attention to achieve minimum mineral oil rates. Vegetable oil maintains its fire point over 300°C if the quantity of residual mineral oil doesn’t exceed a certain amount, otherwise it loses its chemical characteristics.

Alstom Grid also manufactures transformers with vegetable oil for different applications such as shunt reactors, interconnection power transformers, step-up transformers and more. The increasingly wide usage of these “Green” transformers is a growing success!

Recycling specificities

End-of-life management

l

Recycling is becoming mandatory and it is a cost-effective and environmentally-friendly solution. To support its customers in their daily activities, Alstom Grid proposes different recycling options.

European regulations 842/2006 indicates that any fluorinated gas having an impact on the environment must be recovered in order to prevent any release into the atmosphere. SF6 characteristics allow its recycling and/orits reuse.

To perform SF6 recycling, Alstom Grid uses a mobile recycling cart to proceed with recuperation and recycling at the customer’s site. Gas recovery is performed with state-of-the-art reclaimers, with a recovery capacity of 1mbar, thus losses are insignificant. Alstom Grid staff manages the whole SF6 recycling process meaning that Gas is handled only by trained and certified workers.

Decontamination costs

6

GREEN SERVICES

Financial savings can be achieved by recycling SF6. Indeed, the price of destruction of 1 ton of contamined SF6 nearly costs 25% of the price of 1 ton of new SF6, whereas recycling 1 ton of contamined SF6 nearly costs 75% of the price of 1 ton of new SF6 but SF6 can be reused, which gives an overall saving of 50%.

SF6 circuit breakers• Breaker decommissioning• Shipping logistic and freight • processing• De-energise, decontaminate & recycle • parts with certificate

Gases• On-site gas recovery• On-site filtering for reuse• Shipping logistic and freight • processing

Mixed gases• SF6 / CF4 / N2 mixed gas separation• SF6 (to IEC 60480 level) and CF4

• recycling with certificate

Gas cylinders• Cleaning/decontamination• Quality testing for certified high-• pressure standards• Hydrostatic testing and re-marking• Cylinders refurbishment – painting &• marking

SF6 decontamination

50% savingCost of 1 ton of new SF6

Cost of recycled

SF6

SF6 recycling

Cost of destruction

Cost of 1 ton of initial SF6

To manage contamined SF6 within your equipment, recycling is the most cost-effective solution

Equipment decommissioning, refurbishing & recycling

l

7

GREEN SERVICES

Since the application of European Union regulations (16-02-14 for the classification of components) and directives (R541-49), companies are requested to destroy old equipment with the lowest environmental impact possible.

Alstom Grid undertakes the whole decommissioning process: site de-energising and decommissioning, transportation, treatment and recycling, delivery of new equipment, erection, installation, commissioning and on-site testing.

Alstom Grid’s offer on decommissioning presents its real commitment to handle equipment correctly with recyclers and collectors governed by regulations and directives with special focus on preserving the environment. Alstom Grid goal is to reuse a maximum number of parts, thus using less raw materials.

1 ton of new SF6

ALSTOM Grid Worldwide Contact Centrewww.grid.alstom.com/contactcentreTel: +44 (0) 1785 250 070

www.grid.alstom.com