Meiden America Switchgear, Inc., is a manufacturer of the world’s first environmentally friendly 72.5kV and 145kV dead tank dry air insulated vacuum circuit breakers. Our VCB’s are greenhouse-gas free and a safe becoming a reliable addition to any electric system. Global demand for high voltage eco-friendly vacuum circuit breakers is increasing rapidly as many utility companies are making the responsible choice by opting to replace aging and obsolete substation equipment with more reliable and environmentally sustainable equipment across their systems. As worldwide regulations are strengthening to restrict the use of SF6 gas—used to insulate most conventional gas-insulated switchgear— many utility companies are looking to do their part to combat climate change. With installation of the world’s first dead tank dry air insulated vacuum circuit breakers, utilities may realize many of their core Strategic Directives in environmental, maintenance, safety, and productive initiatives, including: • Ability to refill insulating air without de-energizing the breaker. • Elimination of manual switching procedures required to de-energize breakers. • Reduction of outages to members. • Reduction of maintenance costs. • Operation at -50 degrees C without tank heaters. • Reduction of risks associated with unexpected low SF6 pressure alarms. • Reduction of GHG emissions. • Elimination of SO2 produced during a fault. Meiden responded to these initiatives by releasing a 72kV-class dead tank dry air insulated vacuum circuit breaker in 2004. More than 2,300 of these environmentally friendly units have been sold globally to date. Meiden’s 145kV VCB delivers the same world-class quality and reliability as the 72kV-class VCB.
