Guidelines and assessment methods for end users to estimate, quantify and challenge climate change and ecological impacts of medium- and high-voltage switchgear

In the worldwide effort to limit global warming, the energy transmission and distribution system operators and switchgear manufacturers have been actively looking for medium- and high-voltage switchgear with a lower climate change impact. The first step of this process is the removal of SF6, the most potent greenhouse gas (GHG), whose complete removal in switchgear will need many years, especially for the highest voltage and short-circuit ratings. However, even SF6-free equipment has a non-negligible impact on the environment, including on the climate change, which users will need to consider to minimize their carbon footprint. This paper investigates common assessment methods of the environmental impact of a switchgear, to objectively estimate their carbon footprint in a way that can be used by grid operators at any step of a project, from within public tender phases to complete system wide LCA studies. It goes through GWP, LCA, and simplified estimations results and clarifies their scope, forces, and weaknesses, including the notion of time and avoiding greenwashing arguments. By involving different customers, specialists, and manufacturers, the comparison aims for fairness and mentions uncertainties and limits of the study. It especially includes the feedback from two major European utilities, RTE and Stedin, which had different approaches to include environmental assessments in their strategy and decisions. Some key takeaways are presented along guidelines for accurate and comparable environmental assessments. This work can only be the starting point of a renewed way to account for ecological impact of medium and high voltage switchgear. The paper ends with an open conclusion, inviting more scientific work to define the path to the low-carbon switchgear of tomorrow