Powerful HV HRC fuses have been protecting energy grids worldwide for decades. As renewable energy generation plants grow, they need increasingly optimized transformer fuses. In the past, that has kept power losses relatively high. SIBA’s innovative Think Green product line succeeds not only in meeting all electrical protection requirements but also in reducing power losses up to 30 percent. That means if all of the roughly 400,000 distribution transformers currently protected with HV HRC fuses in Germany were outfitted with SIBA Think Green fuses, power consumption would fall around 13 gigawatts per year, eliminating 10,000 metric tons of CO2 emissions.
The innovative fuse product line provides long-term economic advantages as well as environmental ones. Reducing power losses also improves efficiency: Despite the somewhat higher upfront investment, the fuses generate EUR 1.50 to 2.20 per watt saved over 30 years. That means the fuses return 6% on their initial investment.
No wonder that the Think Green approach stirred up so much excitement when it was unveiled last year at CIRED Madrid (Congrès International des Réseaux Electriques de Distribution), the international trade show and conference for power distribution. This biennial event is one of the main global forums for movers and shakers in the electricity distribution sector to share ideas and experiences. It is attended by large utilities and grid operators as well as universities and relevant research institutions.
For more details about Think Green and SIBA experts’ efficiency calculations, see this trade show report
Foto: shutterstock-Vanatchanan/Montage: GM
