Gas-Insulated Substation Market Trends

Growth Drivers

• Higher Safety Provided by Gas-insulated Substations – Gas-insulated substation comes with a variety of advantages. However, one of the most significant advantages and growth driver is that it offers is high safety. As GIS is full of insulating gas such as sulfur hexafluoride, it experiences less explosion as compared to AIS. As a result, there are fewer chances of explosion with GIS and it is safer as compared to AIS. According to a National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) report, GIS systems are more reliable and available than air-insulated substations (AIS). According to the report, GIS systems have a failure rate of 0.1% per year, while AIS systems have a failure rate of 0.6% per year. 
• Growing Development of Smart Cities – Rising development of smart cities all over the world has promoted the installation of gas-insulated substations owing to their properties being small and efficient. According to a report, the number of smart city projects worldwide grew from 170 in 2013 to 1,000 in 2020. 
• Rising Demand for Electricity Globally – The demand for electricity all over the world is rising day by day owing to the growing industrial sector, urbanization, and increasing spent by key market players and government on better power supply, in turn, is raising the demand for the gas-insulated substation. The electricity consumption in the United States was 4 trillion kWh in 2019, owing to the growing industrial sector.
• Rising Focus on Renewable Energy - Governments all around the world are putting more and more effort into lowering their carbon footprint and encouraging the usage of renewable energy sources like wind and solar energy. The requirement for effective transmission and distribution infrastructure has increased as a result, which has increased the necessity for gas-insulated substations. For the wind farm cluster in the Baltic Sea, Siemens Energy was awarded a contract in 2021 to provide two onshore high-voltage direct currents (HVDC) systems. Gas-insulated switchgear technology will be used in the project, which is anticipated to be finished by 2029, to guarantee dependable and effective power transmission.

Challenges

• Lack of Awareness Regarding the Modification of Energy Infrastructure in Developing Countries 
• High Initial Cost – Installing a gas-insulated substation often costs more than installing air-insulated substations (AIS). This is caused in part by the price of the insulating gas as well as the requirement for specific equipment to manage it. As a result, some utilities and project developers might find GIS less appealing.
• Technical Complexity Associated with GIS