Energetica India Magazine May-June 2021

NEWS GRID/TRANSMISSION REC Hands over 2 Transmission SPVs to PGCIL Siemens, Mitsubishi Ink MoU to Develop Zero GWP Solutions for Power Transmission Industry India’s leading power sector lender REC Ltd has handed over two Special Pur- pose Vehicles (SPVs) of transmission projects to state-run Power Grid Corpo- ration of India Ltd (PGCIL), after winning in competitive bidding. Navratna NBFC REC Ltd, through its wholly owned subsidiary REC Power Distribution Company Ltd (RECPD- CL), has transferred ‘Fatehgarh Bhadla Transco Ltd’ and ‘Sikar New Transmis- sion Ltd’ to PGCIL. “The selection of Power Grid Corpora- tion of India Ltd was carried out through tariff based competitive bidding (TBCB) for selection of transmission developers in line with the standard bidding docu- ments and guidelines,” said Ministry of Power in a statement. REC Ltd has completed more than 50 years in the area of its operations since its establishment in 1969. It provides financial assistance to state electricity boards, state governments, central and state power utilities, independent power producers, rural electric cooperatives and private sector utilities. Its business activities involve financing projects in the complete power sector value chain; different type of projects in- cludes generation, transmission, distri- bution projects, and renewable energy projects. Siemens Energy and Mitsubishi Elec- tric had signed a Memorandum of Un- derstanding (MoU) to conduct a feasi- bility study on the joint development of high-voltage switching solutions with zero global-warming potential (GWP) that substitute greenhouse gases with clean air for insulation. Through this partnership, both the companies will research methods for scaling up the application of clean air insulation technology to higher voltag- es. They’ll start with a 245-kV dead-tank circuit breaker that will speed up the availability of climate-neutral high-volt- age switching solutions for customers around the globe. Moreover, the two entities will continue to manufacture, sell, and service switch- gear solutions independently. Both companies have been working on the development of SF6-free gas-insu- lated switching solutions that replace the greenhouse gas with clean air, a pure mixture of nitrogen and oxygen, in order to contribute to global carbon neutrality goals. To date, clean air insu- lation is the only alternative to green- house gases and therefore poses zero health and safety risks. In conjunction with vacuum interrupters, a higher per- formance for switching applications is ensured, even compared with all known SF6 circuit breakers. Siemens Energy’s Blue Portfolio of- fers future-proof and environmentally friendly solutions for high-voltage power transmission. It comprises F-gas-free gas-insulated switchgear, circuit break- ers, and instrument transformers. It’s Blue products lie outside the scope of any conceivable F-gas regulation. 13 energetica INDIA- May-June_2021