Overview

High Voltage Direct Current (HVDC) systems enable utilities to move more power further, efficiently integrate renewables, interconnect grids, and improve network performance. HVDC systems utilize power electronics technology to convert AC and DC voltage and are ideal for supporting existing systems or building new power highways.

Overview

GE Vernova provides solutions that offer grid operators the ability to provide reactive power support, enhance controllability, improve stability and increase power transfer capability of AC transmission systems.

Overview

GE Vernova's Grid Solutions' EBoP systems cater to all types of project requirements including supplying equipment, engineered packages, and full engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) implementations.

Overview

GE Vernova offers solutions for a variety of substation projects and applications, including Modular Substation Automation Systems, utility and industrial substation projects, as well as DC substation solutions.

Overview

The energy landscape today is changing, this is being led by the current industry trends of Decarbonization, Digitization, Decentralization and Electrification. Discover how GE Vernova is working with utility, consumer and industrial customers to design and deploy tailored Microgrid and Distributed Energy Resource (DER) Management solutions.

Overview

GE Vernova offers a wide range of transformer solutions for the utility, industrial, commercial, residential and energy markets. These solutions feature flexible, reliable and robust designs to support a wide range of applications. With units operating in some of the most demanding electrical environments around the world, We design and delivers transformer solutions that provide among the highest level of performance and reliability to meet rigorous operating requirements.

Overview

GE Vernova provides GIS solutions from 50 kV to 800 kV, along with secondary products to maximize switchgear and network operation. The portfolio includes a full range of SF6 GIS as well as g3 (SF6-free) GIS at 145 kV and 420 kV voltage levels for utilities and industries worldwide.

Overview

GE Vernova is one of the top circuit breaker suppliers in the world. Our products include a range of live tank circuit breakers (up to 800 kV), dead tank circuit breakers (up to 550 kV), as well as hybrid and compact switchgear assemblies. We also provide solutions for power generation applications with our generator circuit breakers for installations up to 1,500 MW.

Overview

GE Vernova is a global market leader for disconnectors (disconnect switches) since 1960, with 8 product facilities in 7 countries and hundreds of thousands installations in more than 130 countries around the world. The portfolio includes disconnectors for AC applications (up to 1,200 kV), for DC applications (up to 1,000 kV) and for railway applications. We also offer power connectors to connect two or more conductors for a continuous electrical path.

Overview

GE Vernova is an industry leader in the design and manufacturing of high, medium and low voltage instrument transformers. With more than 100 years of experience, We offer a broad array of standard and high accuracy models for revenue metering and system protection applications. The portfolio of instrument transformers ranges from low voltage at 600 V suitable for industrial and high accuracy revenue metering, all the way up to high voltage at 1,200 kV. The portfolio also includes line traps and digital instrument transformers.

Overview

For a century, utilities have relied on us to deliver electrical products and services to meet their quality, durability and performance needs. Our capacitor and reactor product lines are an integral part of our portfolio. GE Vernova provides power capacitors that meet ANSI, IEEE and IEC standards, and our low voltage capacitors are UL listed. Ratings range from 1 kvar to 500 MVAR, and from 240 volts to 500 KV.

Overview

GE Vernova provides a broad range of bushings and surge arresters to help protect electrical assets. The bushings portfolio includes AC and DC solutions that enable long life, high reliability and installation flexibility. GE’s Tranquell surge arresters are ideal for distribution and EHV applications up to 612kV, and are available as polymer and porcelain station and intermediate class IEEE/ANSI C62.11.

Product Categories

Overview

SF6 (or Sulphur Hexafluoride) has been the standard gas used inside high voltage electrical equipment as an insulating and arc-quenching medium. However, SF6 is also listed as a potent greenhouse gas according to the Kyoto Protocol, with 24,300 times the comparative Global Warming Potential (GWP) of CO2 and a lifetime of 1,000 years in the atmosphere. With grid operators across the world becoming increasingly concerned about the environmental impact, we offer a commercially available and viable alternative to SF6 to help utilities and industries reduce their environmental impact.

Overview

GE Vernova offers a wide range of solutions to monitor and manage critical assets on the electrical grid, detect and diagnose issues and provide expert information and services to customers. Our asset monitoring and diagnostics portfolio includes solutions for single- and multi-gas transformer DGA, enhanced transformer solutions and switchgear monitoring, as well as software and services.

Overview

GE Vernova's Grid Solutions business electrifies the world with advanced grid technologies and systems, enabling power transmission and distribution from the grid to homes, businesses, and industries effieciently and reliably.

The GridBeats™ portfolio is designed to streamline grid digitalization, improve grid resilience, and empower utilities to manage their networks remotely, particularly in the face of the energy transition.

Overview

GE Vernova's Critical Infrastructure Communications solutions deliver comprehensive networks that are designed to be secure, flexible, and tailored to meet customers' objectives and unique geographic requirements.

Overview

GE Vernova's comprehensive portfolio of solutions for implementing and managing a substation.

Overview

The collection of required asset condition data from the field on a large scale for GE Vernova and 3rd party electrical equipment is a key step in building a robust Asset Performance Management strategy. Grid Services specialists are constantly evaluating and implementing new innovative inspection technologies applying strict processes and methods. The digital inspections methods are designed to improve the efficiency of data collection, oil analysis and online monitoring. All new approaches to capture data are integrated into the EnergyAPM ecosystem for automatic data transfer.

Overview

Business environment is constantly transforming for substation owners but the need to deliver consistent outcomes remains. That’s where a Flexible Service Agreement can help. By partnering with GE Vernova on a long term, customers can realize the full potential of their electrical substations and network assets while balancing performance and investment, along with predictable costs and flexible billing arrangements, letting them get back to focusing on what matters.

Overview

Energy costs are significant expenses for utilities and industries at large, particularly those that are energy-intensive or operate heavy machinery. Between 5% and 25%* of the expenses in these organizations are allocated to energy payments, with up to 15%** of this energy consumption being wasted during operations.

Overview

GE’s innovative and high-quality services help maintain and optimize high-voltage electrical assets throughout their entire lifecycle. Leveraging the design and manufacturing knowledge of our engineers, the customized service solutions ensure substations and networks perform as planned. Experts deliver services for applications across the power system, keeping assets up-to-date, safe, reliable and efficient while improving customers’ return-on-investment.

Overview

GE Vernova provides a full range of services & support tailored to meet a broad range of power system needs across utility and industrial applications. With deep domain knowledge and industry expertise GE’s service application engineers and technical specialists can help plan, design, operate, maintain, and modernize your protection, control, monitoring and automation systems.

Overview

GE Vernova provides comprehensive services throughout the systems lifecycle. The services can be provided by our local team and with the support of our global Competence Centers when the equipment is installed, during the warranty period and beyond.

Overview

Our technical experts are ready to equip customers with the knowledge needed to effectively manage their critical assets and systems, and increase their return on product investments. Our training courses are offered in a variety of ways, including online, onsite at customer locations, and in our state-of-the art training centers around the world.

Overview

GE Vernova's Grid Solutions' Testing Laboratories enable manufacturers and end users to test their primary equipment by leveraging deep domain expertise and testing facilities, to develop enhanced high voltage products and certify their capabilities before market introductions.

Overview

GE Vernova delivers materials and eco-design studies for high voltage solutions to accelerate insulation and environmental innovation. GE’s services provide the expertise and methods that enable new value to support customer engineering, sourcing, quality control and EHS activities.

Overview

With the rapid digitalization of the grid, utility, power generation and industrial operators require cybersecurity solutions to monitor and protect grid asset and systems from increased severity and frequency of cyber attacks. GE Vernova adopted a “defense in depth” approach, providing innovative cybersecurity solutions designed to increase operational integrity, comply with regulations and control costs of security.

Overview

Utilities today seek to create and connect new sources of power generation to meet growing global demand, while also managing grid reliability, costs and regulatory factors.

Overview

Water is central not just to the economy, but to life. As a result, water treatment systems demand secure, dependable power to ensure process uptime. From the grid-connected substation to reliable electrical protection, control, and power quality metering, GE Vernova offers tailored solutions to keep critical plants operational and meet the unique needs of the water and wastewater industry.

Overview

As power systems become increasingly interconnected and complex, utilities need solutions that optimize energy transmission and management while improving reliability.

Overview

Data centers – and the information they store – are becoming increasingly integral to the way we live our lives every day. With rising demand also come rising costs. And more importantly, the information in these centers must remain secure while simultaneously accessible. We provide data centers with electrical infrastructure solutions from the input utility source to the IT server racks. This includes high-voltage switchgear and transformers, medium and low voltage electrical equipment, automatic transfer switches, switchboards, UPS systems, critical power PDUs, static transfer switches, and overhead busway. This chain of electrification products provides high quality and reliable products and services for the entire lifecycle of a data center.

Overview

The oil and gas industry is evolving at a rate never seen before, facing shifting pricing levels, ever-changing regulatory requirements, and increased environmental consciousness. Through reliable, safe, and innovative solutions and a holistic service offering, GE Vernova can help the energy sector thrive in this changing reality.

Overview

Modernizing and digitizing the distribution grid is imperative for utilities and customers to enhance power system stability and safety, while increasingly integrating distributed power and demand response.

Overview

The industry is changing. Simultaneously, so are your utility’s needs. Operational effectiveness, power stability, and critical asset management are key priorities – whether in pulp and paper, steel, or data centers. GE’s holistic portfolio of products and services are designed with reliability, innovation, and sustainability at the forefront, helping you face the energy transition with ease.

Overview

Mining companies require secure communications, efficient asset performance management, and dependable, innovative technology to protect their critical assets. GE Vernova offers a broad product portfolio to help you through each step of the mining process – safely and reliably.

Category banner
HV/MV Equipment
HVDC Switches

Home > HV/MV Equipment > Circuit Breakers > HVDC Switches

Related Links
  Circuit Breaker Overview
  Controlled Switching
  Circuit Breaker Monitoring
  Circuit Breaker Services
  Asset Management
 
  
HVDC Switches

Switches for HVDC applications are designed to close and open very rapidly in case of fault or for maintenance purposes. The switches may have to commutate load current while maintaining the flow of power within DC substation and its availability.

All HVDC switches are activated by the highly reliable spring-spring mechanism and benefit of a huge experience and installed base of AC circuit-breaker technology delivered worldwide in regards to design technology, to quality in terms of supplier qualification, assembly processes and ISO conformity.

Key Features: 
  • DC current switching
  • Dielectric withstand in open position over long time intervals
  • High creepage distances require a long column
  • Optional Features:
    • Use of surge arresters in addition to capacitors
    • Low temperature or seismic applications
    • CBWatch3 Monitoring System
    • Closing resistors for special applications
Overview
GE Advantage
HVDC Switches
Bypass & FAD Switch
High Speed Switch

Today's Challenging Environment

Globally the utility environment is becoming more complex and utilities are having to manage new challenges such as:

  • Increasing demand for electricity
  • Connection of remote generation
  • Growth of distant offshore wind
  • Integration of variable renewable generation
  • Need for security of supply
  • Reduce carbon footprint
  • Land costs becoming more expensive
  • New right-of-way access permits increasing difficult to obtain

The only choice for many utilities is to restructure their grid systems to manage these challenges. Utilities are looking for cost effective solutions to transfer power and to improve the quality, stability and reliability of the grid which will anticipate their needs for the next 20 to 50 years.

GE's Solution

High Voltage Direct Current (HVDC) solutions are ideal for supporting existing AC transmission systems or for building new power highways. HVDC is a system which interconnects two AC networks, converting AC voltage to DC voltage, and DC voltage to AC voltage utilizing power electronics technology. HVDC systems enable transfer of power, interconnection of grids, integration of renewables and maximize grid performance.

back to back hvdc interconnectionBack to back HVDC Interconnection

The GE Advantage

GE’s HVDC Switches are developed based on the highest standards for performance, ratings, user convenience and reliability.

Every model is designed utilizing 3D design tools and analysis software to achieve the highest performance. Switches and Disconnectors are thoroughly type tested and subject to routine tests to meet or exceed the latest standards and requirements. Dependent on customer requirements, GE is able to design and supply highly customized products.

Based on years of global experience, deep domain expertise, manufacturing excellence and several deployments across multiple applications and industries, GE has dedicated projects teams working in partnership with our customers to ensure successful equipment implementations. GE provides customers with the following competitive advantages.

Robust Design Leveraging Cutting Edge Technology Provides High Performance and Lower Total Cost of Ownership

  • Durable spring-spring mechanism with 5 times more reliability than hydraulic, pneumatic or hydraulic-spring designs*
  • HVDC switches are specifically designed to address HVDC constraints and are derived from conventional AC breaker with self-blast technology, with improved technology and performances for DC applications.
  • All switchgear is designed to operate within extreme environmental conditions with available options for high elevation, very low and high temperatures (-60 °C to +60 °C), seismic zones, polluted areas, and corrosive atmospheres.

*according to CIGRE report 510.

Manufacturing Excellence to Ensure Highest Quality Standards

  • Global manufacturing sites certified according to ISO 9001 and ISO 14001 standards
  • Products are manufactured utilizing GE’s Advanced Production System ensuring the highest level of quality
  • Customized designes available to meet customer application requirements

Extensive Research, Testing and Proven Field Experience Resulting in Enhanced Reliability

  • R&D Competence Centers and associated testing labaratories assure extensive research and testing for DC applications
  • Specific HVDC tests are carried out in laboratories to ensure best performance over life time of assets
  • 400,000+ units of circuit breakers and disconnectors for AC and DC installed worldwide and in service in more than 100 countries

Optional Features for Enhanced System Compatibility, Digital Integration and In-House Expertise

  • Complete monitoring system available for asset management and digital substation integration
  • Full life-cycle support for products, spare parts management and technical training by GE Subject Matter Experts
  • Local Product Sales Specialists provide strong product and technical support
HVDC Substion Bina IndiaHVDC Substion Bina India

HVDC Switches

DC Switch in Champa India DC Switch in Champa India

Where more than one HVDC Pole share a common transmission conductor (typically the neutral) it is advantageous to be able to commutate the DC current between transmission paths without interrupting the DC power flow.

NBGS – Neutral Bus Ground Switch

This switch is normally open but when closed it solidly connects the converter neutral to the station earth mat. Operation with this switch can normally be maintained if the converter can be operated in a bipole mode with balanced currents between the poles, that is, the DC current to earth is very small. The switch is also able to open, commutating a small DC unbalance current out of the switch and into the DC circuit.

NBS – Neutral Bus Switch

A NBS is in series with the neutral connection of each pole. In the event of an earth fault on one pole, that pole will be blocked. However, the pole remaining in service will continue to feed DC current into the fault via the common neutral connection. The NBS is used to divert the DC current away from the blocked pole to ground.

GRTS – Ground Return Transfer Switch

The connection between the HVDC conductor and the neutral point includes both a high voltage disconnector and a GRTS and is used as part of the switching operation to configure the HVDC scheme as either a ground return monopole or a metallic return monopole. The disconnector is maintained open if the HV conductor is energized in order to isolate the medium voltage GRTS from the high voltage.

The GRTS is closed, following the closing of the disconnector in order to put the HV conductor in parallel with the earth path. The GRTS is also used to commutate the load current from the HV conductor transferring the path to the earth (or ground return) path. Once current flow through the HV conductor is detected as having stopped, the disconnector can be opened, allowing the HV conductor to be re-energised at high voltage.

MRTB – Metallic Return Transfer Breaker

The MRTB is used in conjunction with the GRTS to commutate the DC load current between the earth (ground return) and a parallel, otherwise unused, HV conductor (metallic return).

The MRTB closes in order to put the low impedance earth return path in parallel with the metallic return path. The MRTB must also be able to open, causing current flowing through the earth return to commutate into the much higher impedance metallic return path.

Bypass Switch (BPS) and Fast Acting Discharge Switch (FADS)

Bypass Switch BPS during Testing Bypass Switch BPS during Testing

This switching device can be used either as a HVDC by-pass or a fast discharge switch.

As a by-pass switch , it is connected across each converter valve group in HVDC schemes using more than one independent converter per pole. It shall closes rapidly to by-pass a converter group that is being taken out of service and commutate the current back into a valve group that is being taken back into service.

As a fast acting discharge switch, it is connected between one pole and a resistance connected to the ground. It remains opened until a fault occurs in AC network. AC circuit-breaker clears the fault, but a trapped charge remains in the HVDC line and shall be discharged before the AC circuit-breaker re-close and re-energize the poles 300 ms later: for it, fast acting discharge switch shall perform a fast CO within these 300 ms to discharge and re-isolate the pole from the ground.

High Speed Switch

High Speed Switch

High speed switches can be used either as a line paralleling switch or either as converter paralleling switch.
As a line paralleling switch, it is connected in series to one or more high voltage pole conductors allowing one or more line to be connected in parallel or to revert to a single line operation while maintaining the flow of HVDC power.

As a converter paralleling switch, it is connected in series to each converter at the high voltage DC terminal where 2 or more converters are connected in parallel onto a common pole conductor. It is designed to allow additional converter(s) to be connected in parallel or to disconnect some of them while conducting the load current.