New solutions for prefabricated secondary substations in the view of sustainability

The secondary substations will assume an important role as "smart nodes" of the smart grid. So in few years there will be a widespread dissemination on the territory of this apparatus. Consequently, great care have to be taken not only on safety issues, but also on the constructive methodology, in order to determine low environmental impact and decommissioning cost. This paper focuses on innovative solutions for the realization of prefabricated secondary substations, in the direction of sustainability. Innovative layout and enclosure topologies have been here taken into account. In particular, by considering that the substation concrete box is, at the same time, uneconomical and with strong environmental impact, the realization of the secondary substations inside a container is proposed. This is a more sustainable and less costly solutions, considering that for this purpose an already used container can be adopted. This choice avoids to build a new box in concrete and allows to recycle waste materials, ensuring, also, the following advantages: reduction of apparatus transportation costs and transportation environmental impacts; limitation of the internal arc effects, due to the ability of the adopted box to absorb the shock wave; reduction of the electromagnetic field outside the enclosure, thanks to the shielding action of the box.