sf6 in power transmission and distribution...1 / ©ecofys, a navigant company. all rights reserved...

/ ©ECOFYS, A Navigant Company. All rights Reserved1

Alternatives and policy options

SF6

in power transmission and

distribution

September 2017

/ ©ECOFYS, A Navigant Company. All rights Reserved2 / ©2016 Navigant Consulting, Inc. All rights Reserved22 / ©ECOFYS, A Navigant Company. All rights Reserved

Key Messages

Considering equipment in power transmission and distribution, further reduction of SF

6usage and emissions is possible. Even with the progress of

the last decade in mind, realistic targets still may be ambitious.

Applications and technology challenges are diverse. Reduction potentials which are easily accessible are partly limited in volume. Important volumes require more effort and time.

For that reason, emission reduction policies are more a process than an action. Applications and technologies should be tackled in parallel rather than one by one.

For successful efforts, industry needs a clear and stable policy framework. Targets and performance criteria for comparing the benefits of alternative solutions have to be set with vision.

Replacing old existing plants and introducing new technologies are two separate fields of importance.


SF6

is the industrially used gas with the highest global warming potential (GWP): 235001). As other F-gases it is subject to regulation under the Kyoto protocol (1997).

SF6 has an extremely long life in atmosphere of 3200 years2) → atmospheric concentration increases linearly with emissions

EU F-Gas regulation and reports of the Commission:

Regulation (EC) 842/2006 | Report on application, effects and adequacy COM (2011) 581

Regulation (EC) 517/2014 | Assessment of alternatives for new medium voltage (MV) switchgear due 2020 | Report on effects due 2022

1) Time horizon 100 years2) Source: Climate Change 1995, The Science of Climate Change: Summary for Policymakers and Technical Summary of the Working Group I Report, page 22. Source graph: https://www.esrl.noaa.gov/gmd/dv/iadv/graph.php?code=MLO&program=hats&type=ts


SF6 represents a significant share of the EU’s GHG emissions related to F-gases

1990 1995 2000 2005 2010 20150

20

40

60

80

100

120

140

SF6 Unspecified mix of HFCs and PFCs PFCs HFCs

GH

G e

mis

sio

n in

Mt

CO

2 e

qu

iva

len

t

Source: European Environment Agency: Annual European Union greenhouse gas inventory 1990–2015 and inventory report 2017 Submission to the UNFCCC Secretariat

5% of total


In the EU, equipment for Power Transmission and Distribution (T&D) is one of the last eligible applications for SF

6.

SF6

emissions from electrical industry are a major component in the total

EU regulation (EC) 517/2014

does not yet restrict application

of SF6

in equipment for power

T&D;

defines requirements for

handling, training of staff,

labeling of equipment and

reporting.1990 1995 2000 2005 2010 20150

2000

4000

6000

8000

10000

12000

14000

16000

other applicat ions (sound insulat ing windows) metal industry

semiconductor industry chemical industry

T&D electrical equipment

kt C

O2-

equ

ival

ents

(sta

cked

)

Source: Monitoring Umweltbundesamt / German Environment Agency


German SF6

emissions from T&D industry currently account for about 30...40% in this sector. Legal restrictions do not exist.

1990 1995 2000 2005 2010 20150

2

4

6

8

10

12

emissions HS equipment SV 2005emissions HS&MS equipment SV 2005emissions total equipment SV 2005

annual em

issio

ns [

t]

voluntary self-commitment of indus-try

A voluntary self-commitment of electrical industry (users and manufacturers, 2005) aims on emission reduction, monitoring and research for alternatives.

Substantial emission reductions have been reported, despite increasing use of SF

6.

Source: Monitoring Umweltbundesamt / German Environment Agency


The Project – Objective and Scope

In preparation of the 2020 report the German Ministry for the Environment (BMU) wanted to get an informed position on:

State of the art of T&D equipment and alternatives to SF6

Existing developments and expected progress

BMU contracted the study „Concepts for SF6-free transmission and distribution of electrical energy“. Contractors are Ecofys and ETH Zurich, High Voltage Laboratory (Prof. Chr. Franck).

The scope covered new equipment exclusively.

An intense stakeholder involvement was a dedicated purpose of the project.

Running form February 2016 (kick off) until February 2018. (Draft technical report available at website Umweltbundesamt1). Final report to be published in early 2018.

1) http://www.umweltbundesamt.de/en/topics/economics-consumption/products/fluorinated-greenhouse-gases-fully-halogenated-cfcs/application-domains-emission-reduction/switchgear#textpart-2


The T&D industry initiated developments and proposed various alternatives. SF6 has three different functions – alternatives have to meet combined needs.

Isolating conductors

Options

Alternative gases

Solid compounds

Fluids

Cooling current carrying conductors

Options

Alternative gases

Fluids

Extinguishing electrical arcs when breaking current carrying contacts

Options

Alternative gases

Vacuum


The technology categories and their reduction potentials

Medium voltage switchgear (primary and secondary distribution)

Various commercial alternatives exist for secondary, to a lesser extent for primary distribution

High voltage switchgear

Prototype solutions are being demonstrated

Open questions (±5 years)

Others (voltage and current transducers, MV capacitors etc.)

Alternatives and measures depend on application

MS HS sonst ige02468

10

em

issio

ns [t], 2014

others

Manufacturing

Operation

HVMVSource: Monitoring Umweltbundesamt / German Environment Agency

SF

6-e

mis

sio

ns [t],

2014


Considerations for dedicated policies

Possible policy objectives:

Further reduce emissions of SF6

Further replace SF6 by alternatives

Important: pay sufficient attention to other criteria than GWP (health safety / toxicity of alternatives and by-products, lifetime)

Economic incentives at reasonable values have limited effect.

National policies have limited effect and imply the risk of market distortion

Not scope of the project, BUT substantial potential for reduction of emissions from existing assets exist


The voluntary self-commitment of the German industry works. Improvements are still possible.

Implement a SF6 register.

Replace generalized modeling results by structured data.

Discrepancies exist between reported emissions and atmospheric measurements. Verify industry monitoring by inverse modeling based on atmospheric measurements.


Invitation to discussion

Do you think that the EU should regulate application of SF6

also in power T&D?

What policies do you consider appropriate?

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