Zenergy Power (LSE:ZEN), the superconductor energy technology company, today 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’s 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 essential 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. Accordingly, Zenergy Power is particularly pleased to secure this agreement with AEP as it allows it to progress towards the completion of its DOE programme for the development of a high-voltage FCL product based upon the newly developed and tested compact design.
Michael Heyeck, Senior Vice President of Transmission, AEP, commented:
“As we expand and rebuild the transmission grid of the future to enable renewables and other forms of new generation, superconducting FCLs can provide a smart means to avoid capital investment as we integrate newer grid elements into the existing grid. An economical and reliable application of FCL would be useful in addressing these challenges.”
Zenergy Power is a superconductor energy technology company, quoted on the AIM market of the London Stock Exchange and comprising three operating subsidiaries located in Germany, USA and Australia. The Group's commercial focus is the innovation and manufacture of clean energy superconductor solutions.
Contacts:
Andrew Tan, + 44 207 602 7420
