GE Power Conversion commissions shore power system converters for ships calling in BrestGE Power Conversion commissions shore power system converters for ships calling in Brest

Shore power supply tests, conducted in partnership with Cegelec Portes de Bretagne, a company in the VINCI Energies group, have recently been successfully completed as part of the installation and commissioning process, to provide a fully functional shore power supply system.

Automatic reconfiguration

With its dynamic power management capability, GE Power Conversion’s system is particularly adaptive. The conversion systems can be reconfigured automatically according to the needs of different ships berthed in port, without interruption to electrical power supply. 

For example, if a berth needs to draw more power than its allocated converter’s capacity, another converter automatically connects to ensure continuity of service. 

This feature gives the system flexibility, protection and safety. The rapid reconfigurability results in very high-power supply availability, making it possible to supply the most demanding systems, such as cruise ships, with electricity, notes GE Energy Power Conversion.

Eric Cotelle, president of GE Energy Power Conversion France, said: 'The technologies embedded in our converters also help to ensure the high reliability, durability, and long life of the shore power system, which is critical for installations that will need to operate for several decades.'

20 years in service

Used for more than 20 years on cruise ships and on shore power systems, press-pack power electronic technology has proven its reliability. Shore power applications have very specific demands, including the ability to accommodate repeat, frequent cycles of connection and disconnection from shore to ship, so converters—especially semiconductors—must be extremely robust. The GE technology also makes it possible to provide 'hot redundancy', enabling instant correction if an issue is detected, which offers even higher power supply availability.