Poland is working intensively to diversify its energy production and reduce its dependence on coal—and solar energy is playing an important role in these efforts. Reliable medium-voltage technology from Siemens is essential for the operation of Poland’s large-scale photovoltaic power plants.
Rapid expansion of solar energy
The Polish government aims to expand the country’s total renewable energy capacity to between 23 and 25 gigawatts (GW) by 2030.(1) Efforts are progressing rapidly: The installed electrical output of photoelectric plants jumped from less than 0.3 GW in 2018 to about 15 GW in 2023.(2) Government subsidies support these efforts.
Only 20 weeks between the order and commissioning.
Lamel currently produces and sells around 700 panels per year.
Since 2018, Lamel has installed over 300 Siemens lateral circuit breakers.
In 2023, an investor built two photovoltaic fields in the north of the country in Gdansk: one with an installed electrical output of 2 megawatts, the other with 4 megawatts.
Both fields feed their electricity into the public grid to help supply households and businesses in the area with climate-neutral electricity. Each of the two fields has its own substation with transformers to convert and feed the generated electricity into the public grid. Circuit-breakers in the substations protect the connection between the grid and the transformers, shutting them down in the event of a fault or for maintenance.
The investor commissioned Lamel, a family-owned company that specializes in the engineering and construction of medium-voltage systems, to build the substations. Founded in 1992, Lamel employs around 170 people and is based in Pępowo. In addition to manufacturing medium-voltage switchgear, Lamel also builds low-voltage switchboards and substations. The company sells around 700 panels per year.
Only 20 weeks were needed between the order and commissioning. The substations were completed in May 2023 just before the photovoltaic fields began commercial operation.
“The combination of our expertise in electrical engineering solutions with a proven Siemens product convinced our customer,” says Sławomir Plichta, Vice President of Lamel.
When selecting circuit-breakers for the substations, Lamel chose the internationally recognized and leading SION model series from Siemens. The 3AE6 vacuum circuit breakers all come from the Siemens medium-voltage factory in Berlin. The circuit breakers are each installed upstream of a transformer with an output of 2 MVA.
Since beginning its partnership with Siemens in 2018, Lamel has installed over 300 Siemens lateral circuit breakers. Thanks to the compact dimensions of the SION unit, Lamel is also able to design more compact panels, saving valuable space. In addition to their compact design, the SION circuit-breakers are distinguished by their high reliability and maintenance-free operation over decades as well as their innovative vacuum technology.
The decisive factor was short delivery times and the fact that we were able to provide a tailor-made solution. Our ability to combine a Polish-built system with proven medium-voltage technology from Siemens in Germany was also a key success factor.