Windpower Engineering & Development

  • Home
  • Articles
    • Most recent posts
    • News
    • Featured
  • Resources
    • Digital issues
    • Podcasts
    • Suppliers
    • Webinars
    • Events
  • Videos
  • 2025 Leadership
    • 2024 Winners
    • 2023 Winners
    • 2022 Winners
  • Magazine
  • Advertise
  • Subscribe

GE Power Conversion enables DC in Remote Power Networks, cutting cost of offshore wind electricity by 15%

By Nic Sharpley | March 4, 2014

GE Power Conversion has announced the successful trials of PassiveBoost™—its technology to let remote power networks go DC. This is an important step in lowering the cost of power delivered from offshore installations and increasing the electrical output delivered from renewable energy sources in distant, inhospitable places.

This GE technology extends DC transmission to subsea and renewable energy turbines.

This GE technology extends DC transmission to subsea and renewable energy turbines.

Since Edison, electrical engineers at GE have recognized the effectiveness of DC in the transmission of electricity from the sites where it is generated to the homes and businesses where it is needed. Modern power electronics have made it possible to realize that efficiency gain for power transmission, and PassiveBoost extends its potential for use in the distribution or collection grid.

The trials, performed at the company’s full-scale power system test site near Leicester, in the U.K., brought together new technologies, which GE has been introducing over the past four years. The solution on test provides a straight replacement, on the same footprint, for the AC transformer inside every wind turbine and allows direct connection to an efficient, high-voltage, DC power collection grid while reducing cable cost and without the need for an expensive and complex DC breaker.

In PassiveBoost, GE has used a new power device packaging technique with a novel cooling system. Crucially, GE also has its ActiveFoldback™ fault protection system, which has allowed it to protect the DC network at equivalent or lower cost compared to AC.

The PassiveBoost project has been supported by Scottish Enterprise, with parts of the trial system being manufactured in GE’s Glasgow plant.

Research and development was undertaken by teams from GE Power Conversion’s Advanced Technology Group at the University of Edinburgh and in Rugby, Warwickshire, in the U.K.

GE
www.ge.com

 


Filed Under: News, Offshore wind
Tagged With: GE
 

Related Articles Read More >

Equinor launches ECO Liberty service operations vessel for Empire Wind offshore project
Triton Anchor receives U.S. patents for offshore anchor
US government allows Empire Wind offshore project to resume construction
Richardson Electronics to deliver pitch energy modules to TransAlta wind fleets

Podcasts

Wind Spotlight: Looking back at a year of Thrive with ZF Wind Power
See More >

Windpower Engineering & Development Digital Edition Archive

Digital Edition

Explore the full archive of digital issues of Windpower Engineering & Development, presented in a high-quality, user-friendly format. Access current and past editions, clip, share, and download valuable content from the industry’s leading wind power engineering resource.

Windpower Engineering & Development
  • Wind Articles
  • Solar Power World
  • Subscribe to Windpower Engineering
  • About Us/Contact Us

Copyright © 2025 WTWH Media LLC. All Rights Reserved. The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of WTWH Media
Privacy Policy | Advertising

Search Windpower Engineering & Development

  • Home
  • Articles
    • Most recent posts
    • News
    • Featured
  • Resources
    • Digital issues
    • Podcasts
    • Suppliers
    • Webinars
    • Events
  • Videos
  • 2025 Leadership
    • 2024 Winners
    • 2023 Winners
    • 2022 Winners
  • Magazine
  • Advertise
  • Subscribe