Updated:
Originally Published:
Despite its higher initial investment, Gas-insulated switchgear (GIS) can meet certain project challenges faced by petrochemical facilities more effectively, while offering significant long-term cost-savings throughout the substations lifespan, than its more conventional counterpart, air-insulated switchgear (AIS).
This blog, based off the white paper, “Improving the Bottom Line: How Gas-Insulated Substations Can Offer Operational & Maintenance Cost Savings for Petrochemical Facilities,” presents six GIS benefits that positively impact a facility’s bottom line.
Air-insulated substations consist of metal-clad components built on foundations with significant space between elements required to achieve sufficient electrical clearance for atmospheric air to work as its conducting medium. AIS substations are housed outdoors to accommodate the spacing requirements between elements, leaving them vulnerable to harsh environmental conditions and making them typically 5-to-10 times the size of GIS substations with equivalent ratings.
Gas-insulated substations are high-voltage electrical facilities whose major conducting structures (e.g., high-voltage conductors, voltage transformers, switches, circuit breaker interrupters, current transformers) are protected from outside elements within an enclosure using pressurized dielectric gas as an insulating medium.
GIS substations are typically placed within enclosed buildings, protected from environmental conditions and people. As mentioned in the Introduction, this protection can be especially significant for industrial/petrochemical manufacturing facilities.
1. Long-Term Maintenance Cost-Savings and Depreciation Cost Reduction
One major benefit of GIS substations over AIS substations is lower long-term maintenance costs. GIS substations require less maintenance than traditional AIS substations, with a longer useful life that spreads out the cost of depreciation over a longer period of time, partnered with fewer faults over time.
Since GIS substations are hermetically sealed and offer fewer pathways for outside contaminants to enter, there are fewer opportunities for equipment failure due to environmental factors such as humidity, rain, and dust. This reduction in maintenance can translate into significant long-term cost savings for petrochemical facilities.
2. Reduced Footprint
Space is often an issue for petrochemical refineries in particular. GIS requires 10% to 20% of the total area required of AIS, since AIS needs several feet of insulation space while GIS only needs inches. The smaller footprint immediately reduces site preparation and potentially site acquisition, while also offering the possibility of future expansion at negligible cost with some advanced planning when choosing the initial site.
3. Greater Reliability, Lower Failure Rates
GIS substations are the best option for petrochemical facilities that cannot tolerate lengthy disruptions in power supply. Faults in GIS substations are rare due to the fewer opportunities for contamination and the precision engineering of the equipment. Less downtime and more reliable power supply leads to cost savings and greater productivity for petrochemical facilities.
4. Reduced Safety Risks: Arc-Resistant, Fire Resistant, and Intrusion and Attack Resistant
5. Reduced Construction Time
Petrochemical facilities and renewable energy developers are seeing cost and schedule advantages from factory-built substations, allowing them to interconnect their projects to the grid aster. GIS comes fully assembled and tested from the factory, resulting in less required onsite construction work, which reduces installation and commissioning time. Pre-fabrication means construction is completed in a controlled environment, regardless of weather or external conditions, with more tools and options to perform precision work faster and at a lower cost.
Furthermore, a GIS substantiation can be built next to an existing AIS substation while continuing to provide power with minimal to no outages A construction proceeds, the operator can make gradual cutovers from AIS to GIS until the AIS substation is completely offline and can then be removed. In short, this equates to less downtime with fewer disruptions to plant operations.
6. Environmental Sustainability Goals
Historically, SF6 gas has been the predominant insulating medium for GIS builds. However, its environmental impact has recently led to its regulation, making it no longer the only option for GIS builds. New alternative insulation gas mixtures can eliminate the use of SF6 gas, helping facilities meet environmental sustainability goals. Non-SF6 formulations eliminate one of the most serious concerns about GIS by offering insulating properties as effective as SF6 with up to a 99% reduction in GWP (global warming potential).
Despite its higher initial capital investment, GIS substations offers a variety of benefits for petrochemical facilities. Long-term maintenance cost reduction, lower depreciation costs, reduced footprint, greater reliability, enhanced equipment protection, reduced safety risks and reduced construction time with modular assembly are just some of the benefits that can improve a facility's bottom line. Alternative insulation gases can also eliminate the use of SF6 gas, helping facilities meet environmental sustainability goals. Petrochemical facilities can achieve significant cost savings, higher efficiency, and greater reliability by considering GIS substations.
Download the whitepaper for a more in-depth look at how GIS substations can improve your bottom line and to view our references.
More information about Beta’s GIS project experience is also available here.
Updated:
November 20, 2023
Updated:
Originally Published:
Despite its higher initial investment, Gas-insulated switchgear (GIS) can meet certain project challenges faced by petrochemical facilities more effectively, while offering significant long-term cost-savings throughout the substations lifespan, than its more conventional counterpart, air-insulated switchgear (AIS).
This blog, based off the white paper, “Improving the Bottom Line: How Gas-Insulated Substations Can Offer Operational & Maintenance Cost Savings for Petrochemical Facilities,” presents six GIS benefits that positively impact a facility’s bottom line.
Air-insulated substations consist of metal-clad components built on foundations with significant space between elements required to achieve sufficient electrical clearance for atmospheric air to work as its conducting medium. AIS substations are housed outdoors to accommodate the spacing requirements between elements, leaving them vulnerable to harsh environmental conditions and making them typically 5-to-10 times the size of GIS substations with equivalent ratings.
Gas-insulated substations are high-voltage electrical facilities whose major conducting structures (e.g., high-voltage conductors, voltage transformers, switches, circuit breaker interrupters, current transformers) are protected from outside elements within an enclosure using pressurized dielectric gas as an insulating medium.
GIS substations are typically placed within enclosed buildings, protected from environmental conditions and people. As mentioned in the Introduction, this protection can be especially significant for industrial/petrochemical manufacturing facilities.
1. Long-Term Maintenance Cost-Savings and Depreciation Cost Reduction
One major benefit of GIS substations over AIS substations is lower long-term maintenance costs. GIS substations require less maintenance than traditional AIS substations, with a longer useful life that spreads out the cost of depreciation over a longer period of time, partnered with fewer faults over time.
Since GIS substations are hermetically sealed and offer fewer pathways for outside contaminants to enter, there are fewer opportunities for equipment failure due to environmental factors such as humidity, rain, and dust. This reduction in maintenance can translate into significant long-term cost savings for petrochemical facilities.
2. Reduced Footprint
Space is often an issue for petrochemical refineries in particular. GIS requires 10% to 20% of the total area required of AIS, since AIS needs several feet of insulation space while GIS only needs inches. The smaller footprint immediately reduces site preparation and potentially site acquisition, while also offering the possibility of future expansion at negligible cost with some advanced planning when choosing the initial site.
3. Greater Reliability, Lower Failure Rates
GIS substations are the best option for petrochemical facilities that cannot tolerate lengthy disruptions in power supply. Faults in GIS substations are rare due to the fewer opportunities for contamination and the precision engineering of the equipment. Less downtime and more reliable power supply leads to cost savings and greater productivity for petrochemical facilities.
4. Reduced Safety Risks: Arc-Resistant, Fire Resistant, and Intrusion and Attack Resistant
5. Reduced Construction Time
Petrochemical facilities and renewable energy developers are seeing cost and schedule advantages from factory-built substations, allowing them to interconnect their projects to the grid aster. GIS comes fully assembled and tested from the factory, resulting in less required onsite construction work, which reduces installation and commissioning time. Pre-fabrication means construction is completed in a controlled environment, regardless of weather or external conditions, with more tools and options to perform precision work faster and at a lower cost.
Furthermore, a GIS substantiation can be built next to an existing AIS substation while continuing to provide power with minimal to no outages A construction proceeds, the operator can make gradual cutovers from AIS to GIS until the AIS substation is completely offline and can then be removed. In short, this equates to less downtime with fewer disruptions to plant operations.
6. Environmental Sustainability Goals
Historically, SF6 gas has been the predominant insulating medium for GIS builds. However, its environmental impact has recently led to its regulation, making it no longer the only option for GIS builds. New alternative insulation gas mixtures can eliminate the use of SF6 gas, helping facilities meet environmental sustainability goals. Non-SF6 formulations eliminate one of the most serious concerns about GIS by offering insulating properties as effective as SF6 with up to a 99% reduction in GWP (global warming potential).
Despite its higher initial capital investment, GIS substations offers a variety of benefits for petrochemical facilities. Long-term maintenance cost reduction, lower depreciation costs, reduced footprint, greater reliability, enhanced equipment protection, reduced safety risks and reduced construction time with modular assembly are just some of the benefits that can improve a facility's bottom line. Alternative insulation gases can also eliminate the use of SF6 gas, helping facilities meet environmental sustainability goals. Petrochemical facilities can achieve significant cost savings, higher efficiency, and greater reliability by considering GIS substations.
Download the whitepaper for a more in-depth look at how GIS substations can improve your bottom line and to view our references.
More information about Beta’s GIS project experience is also available here.
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