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EMA Electromechanics substation breakers

EMA is an Argentine maker of medium and high voltage switching equipment, founded in Buenos Aires in 1952. In 2010 it opened EMA Electromechanics in Sweetwater, Texas, to build equipment for wind generation. Its best known product is the VDH/GSMI, a patented 38 kV outdoor vacuum breaker combined with a high speed, mechanically interlocked grounding switch for wind and solar collector circuits. EMA does not build transformers. It is on this site because its breakers sit in the collector substations that our solar and substation transformers feed.

Type

Manufacturer, build to order

Location

Buenos Aires, Argentina, with its US plant in Sweetwater, Texas

TAA eligible

Check per unit

What they build

VDH/GSMI combined vacuum substation breaker and high speed grounding switch, 38 kV, 1,200 A, 25, 31.5 or 40 kA
VDH vacuum substation breakers up to 38 kV, 3,000 A and 40 kA, for main, bus tie, feeder and capacitor bank duty
VDH 15 vacuum substation breakers up to 15 kV, 3,000 A and 40 kA
HVCB live tank SF6 breakers for substations up to 145 kV
EMA SKID, a packaged substation built around VDH or VDH/GSMI breakers

Company facts

Founded in 1952 in Buenos Aires, Argentina, and states it supplies low, medium and high voltage apparatus to major utilities in Latin America.
Started its US operation in Sweetwater, Texas in 2010.
States it has supplied over 2,700 breakers for 415 wind and solar projects in 38 US states, 7 Canadian provinces and 6 Mexican states.
States that five of the ten largest US wind projects in operation use VDH/GSMI breakers in their substations, as do the 350 MW Riviere-du-Moulin and 299 MW Blackspring Ridge wind farms in Canada.

How they sell

Builds to order, so a purchase order buys a production slot rather than a unit on a shelf.

In practice that means a purchase order is a place in a queue. Ask for the lead time from purchase order in writing, and ask whether the quoted date is a ship date or a production start. Those are not the same thing and quotes rarely say which.

Where they fit on a job

Federal work needs TAA eligible origin, so confirm the country of manufacture on the specific unit rather than assuming from the brand. Many brands build in several countries.

Common ratings

75 kVA

52 x 50 x 55 in, about 1,750 lb

150 kVA

58 x 54 x 60 in, about 2,400 lb

300 kVA

66 x 60 x 66 in, about 3,500 lb

500 kVA

72 x 66 x 72 in, about 4,900 lb

If the lead time does not work

These hold stock, so they are where to look when the date will not move.

Common questions

Does EMA make transformers

No. EMA builds substation circuit breakers, grounding switches and packaged breaker substations. It is listed here because its breakers protect the collector circuits that solar and wind step up transformers feed.

What is the EMA VDH/GSMI

A 38 kV outdoor vacuum circuit breaker combined with a high speed, mechanically interlocked grounding switch in one patented unit, rated 1,200 A and 25, 31.5 or 40 kA, made for switching and grounding wind and solar collector circuits.

Where is EMA equipment made

EMA is based in Buenos Aires, Argentina, and builds its North American product line in Sweetwater, Texas.

Is EMA equipment TAA eligible

Argentina is not a designated country under the Trade Agreements Act. Breakers built in Sweetwater, Texas are US made end products, so check the country of manufacture on the unit you are quoted.

Sources

We are a distributor, not EMA, and we have no exclusive arrangement with them. If they are the right answer for your job we will say so, and if they are not we will say that too. Send us the spec or call 786 220 2801.