A simplified description of the product system is described inFig. 1. The same product system applied for both capacitor banks, with differences only in the amounts and types of raw materials. The first tier of the product system is the capacitor bank which supplies the reactive power defined in the functional unit. The bank consists of capacitor units, insulators and a metal frame, standing on a concrete slab. The capacitor bank is a free standing installation, placed outside so no building infrastructurewas included. The units are also maintenance free, so no maintenance services were
required (personal communication with Alstom Grid). The banks were assumed to be installed in Central Europe and manufactured in Finland, representing the majority of the current market. The transport consisted of 800 tkm by lorry and 3900 tkm by container ship. For transport, the product was packed on a disposable pallet and wrapped in LDPE plastic.