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news release:
Intermagnetics'
SuperPower Subsidiary Receives First Place Ranking at 2005 DOE Peer Review Among
SPI Device Programs for High Temperature Superconducting Cable Project
Schenectady,
NY, Oct. 18: Intermagnetics General Corporation’s (NASDAQ:IMGC)
Energy
Technology subsidiary, SuperPower, Inc., with its partners Sumitomo Electric
Industries of
Osaka
,
Japan
, The BOC Group (NYSE: BOX) of
Murray Hill
,
New Jersey
, and National Grid (NYSE:NGG; LSE:NG) of
Westborough
,
MA
, announced today that the Albany HTS Cable Project was ranked No. 1 at the 2005
Annual Peer Review of U.S. Department of Energy sponsored projects in the
Superconductivity Partnerships with Industry (SPI) program. The report cited
that “this project is progressing well at all levels: cables, cryogenics,
dielectrics and utility operations.”
Glenn
H. Epstein, chairman and chief executive officer of Intermagnetics General
Corporation said, “This impressive result underscores the importance of taking
the time to put together the right team to appropriately plan, manage, and
finance the project. The Review Panel’s commendation of the project’s risk
management strategy and responsiveness to recommendations by the DOE Readiness
Review Team … highlight the determination of this team to successfully carry
out this important demonstration project.”
Ryosuke
Hata, managing executive officer and deputy general manager, R&D at Sumitomo
Electric Industries said, “Sumitomo is determined to continue this project
with the same dedication to success that the team has shown thus far. We believe
that our previous experience with HTS cable projects bodes well for the
successful conclusion of this, our first such project in the
United States
. We are proud to be a member of this high-performance team.”
The
Review Panel specifically noted that “The use of the Sumitomo 3-in-One cable
is an elegant and compact solution.”
Edward
L. Garcia, vice president PGS Ventures, BOC added, “BOC successfully completed
the installation and preliminary testing of the cryogenic refrigeration system
(CRS) in August and is now looking forward to integrating the CRS with the cable
system and demonstrating the remote monitoring capability.”
The
project is currently in the installation stage of two segments – 320-meters
and 30-meters - of first generation (1G) HTS cable at the North Albany Service
Center of National Grid. The joining of these two segments in an underground
vault is expected to be a world’s first demonstration of a cable-to-cable
joint. On completion of installation, configuration and system testing, phase
one of the cable is expected to be commissioned early in calendar 2006. The
Review Panel noted “all essential preliminary activities to be performed …
have been successfully completed (site infrastructure, cryogenic system, BSCCO
cable sections and terminations.)”
While
this project is thus far moving forward according to plan, SuperPower continues
to work in parallel on the scale-up of its second generation (2G) HTS wire
toward delivery of nearly 6 miles of wire to Sumitomo for fabrication into the
world’s first 2G HTS cable system to be installed in phase two of this
project, which is expected to be completed in 2007. Success of that phase should
help to ensure a place for superconductivity in the utility grid,” noted
Philip J. Pellegrino, president of SuperPower.
Michael
R. Hynes, vice president, business services of National Grid, the utility
hosting the
Albany HTS Cable Project, commented, “This type of demonstration project is
important to utilities as we evaluate this new technology for possible
integration into the nation’s electric power grid. Demonstration of greater
efficiency, system reliability, and ultimate cost-effectiveness will go a long
way toward convincing our industry that this is a technology worthy of adoption.
National Grid is pleased to be a part of this project.”
The
$26M Albany HTS Cable project is receiving $13M in funding from the U. S.
Department of Energy’s SPI program. The project was initially awarded a $6M
grant from The New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA)
in 2001. The remaining project cost is being covered by the project partners.
Peter R. Smith, president of NYSERDA said, “NYSERDA is proud to be helping
SuperPower with the development of this cable project. Its recognition by the
DOE Peer Review panel indicates that this cable will play an increasingly
important role in the safe and secure delivery of electricity to New
Yorkers.”
SuperPower
is responsible for overall project management, site infrastructure, and will
supply the 2G HTS wire for phase two of the project, in which a 30-meter section
of 1G cable will be removed and replaced with an identical length of 2G HTS
cable. Sumitomo Electric Industries is responsible for the manufacture and
installation of the entire HTS cable, and the BOC Group is responsible for the
CRS and remote operating system.
Panel
Reviewers further noted that “the fact that all design tests were done in
accordance with ASME, IEEE, AEIC standards is good news. This means that the
product may be applicable in the
U.S. without any doubt.”
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