Siemens ( NYSE: SI ) has launched a new direct-current technology that simplifies the connection of offshore wind power plants to the grid.   In contrast to the large central converter platforms conventionally used in the industry, Siemen’s innovation utilizes a much smaller platform to house its transmission technology, as reported on the Power Technology website. It can sequentially connect multiple smaller platforms in a wind farm, routing them to an onshore transformer substation.   The compact design of the new solution makes possible the use of encapsulated high-voltage electrical equipment like diode rectifier units (DRU), instead of the more common air-insulated transistor modules. These DRU have a transmission capacity o...