Superconducting fault limiter to be tested in California grid

Silicon Valley-based SC Power has received a $500,000 USD grant from the California Energy Commission to install one of the company's superconducting Fault Current Limiters (FCL) in the California grid.

In a recent report to the U.S. Congress probing the blackouts of 2003, the Department of Energy recommended mobile electrical grid substations be fitted with 'Saturable HTS Fault Current Limiters' to limit the effect of future grid disruptions.

SC Power has built one of the first such fault limiters, based it on superconducting (near zero electrical resistance) technology from its parent Zenergy Power (AIM: ZEN.L).

The test is to take place in the grid of Southern California Edison (SCE), California‘s largest utility. The California Energy Commission and the SCE will oversee the testing process, and are expected to produce standardized guidelines which could form the basis of performance criteria for all future FCLs in the United States, SC Power said.

The FCL is a scaled-up version of previously constructed prototypes, and is being built by Delta Star, a leading manufacturer of transformers and the sole manufacturer of mobile transformers in the United States.

Construction, installation and testing are expected to be completed by the end of 2007.

The global market for FCLs is expected to be worth up to $5b USD annually, according to U.K. investment bank Ambrian Partners.

"The stability, reliability and efficiency with which power grid systems distribute electrical energy is a pressing and key issue for the CEC and for utilities around the globe. We are delighted that we have been able to work so closely with the [Energy Commission] to understand their needs and concerns," said Michael Fitzgerald, Chairman of Zenergy.

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