Zenergy Power to Install Transmission-Voltage Fault Current Limiter at American Electric Power Facility
ZNEPF | Quote | Chart | News | PowerRating — Zenergy Power, a superconductor energy technology company, announced that American Electric Power (‘AEP’) has entered into a collaborative agreement with the Group to become the first utility company to install and operate a transmission-voltage Fault Current Limiter (FCL) on the United States Electricity Grid.
AEP owns the United States’ largest electricity transmission system, comprising of nearly 39,000 miles of transmission lines, and is one of the country’s largest generators of electricity, owning nearly 38,000 megawatts of generating capacity. The FCL is expected to be installed at the 138-kilovolt Tidd substation near Steubenville, Ohio, in late 2011. Zenergy Power said its FCL is a newly developed and proprietary ‘smart grid’ device that helps to suppress the excess energy associated with ‘fault currents’ and, in doing so, protects large-scale grid equipment, including cables, transformers, capacitor banks and switchgear. Accordingly, Zenergy Power’s FCL not only increases the reliability of the electricity supply but also mitigates significant capital expenditure by minimizing the incidence of electrical damage to grid equipment. In addition, it is anticipated that the use of FCLs in certain grid locations could defer the need to upgrade substation infrastructure which, depending on individual circumstances, can cost up to tens or hundreds of millions of dollars. Prior to entering into this agreement, AEP conducted a thorough evaluation of the FCL business case with respect to its own grid requirements. The construction and installation of the high-voltage device will be partially funded by the U.S. Department of Energy (‘DOE’) as part of Zenergy Power’s ongoing US$11 million project initially announced on June 29, 2007. As recently announced by the DOE, the availability of funding through this project has been accelerated as a result of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. ((Comments on this story may be sent to newsdesk@closeupmedia.com)) For full details on (ZNEPF) ZNEPF. (ZNEPF) has Short Term PowerRatings at TradingMarkets. Details on (ZNEPF) Short Term PowerRatings is available atThis Link.
