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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: August 30, 2004

SCHUMER: NEWLY DEVELOPED CAPITAL REGION PROJECT COULD BE KEY TO PREVENTING FUTURE BLACKOUTS

Schumer, SuperPower unveil new superconductor technology – the Matrix Fault Current Limiter – and reveal new test results that show the device could protect the electricity grid against a sudden power surge

Last year, Schumer helped to secure $6 million in federal funding for development of the new superconductor valve to strengthen New York’s electricity grid

Schumer: This success will further establish the Capital Region as a center for new energy technology

US Senator Charles E. Schumer today said that local company SuperPower’s new superconductor technology could help prevent future blackouts Schumer, who helped secure $6 million for the project, also helped unveil the device today and released new test results that show that a prototype of the technology has been extremely successful in trials conducted over the last year.

"Not only does this project further establish the Capital Region as a center for new energy technology, but the new trial results show that this has a real chance of helping provide more reliable, better-quality power to citizens everywhere," Schumer said. "Eliminating power interruptions is important for the ordinary citizen, and crucial for the digital economy in which we live. And the added bonus is that this project could give the local economy a real shot in the arm."

Because of increasing demand, there is roughly 75% more electricity coursing through the power grid today than there was 25 years ago. This puts a severe strain on aging infrastructure along the grid, such as circuit breakers that were designed at that time. A sudden power surge today can carry a lot more charge than when those breakers were designed, and therefore can overwhelm them and cause permanent damage. The average circuit breaker costs roughly $100,000 each and the average substation houses twenty-five breakers, meaning these increasingly routine surges can yield expensive damage.

SuperPower's Matrix Fault Current Limiter (MFCL) protects the electricity grid against damage from a sudden power surge by acting as a buffer or “power valve” before the surge reaches the circuit breaker to avoid large scale loss of power or damage to equipment. The development and eventual implementation of the MFCL is a key to providing reliable, quality power in the immediate future. There is 75% more power on the grid than 25 years ago, but it continues to grow at 2-3% each year. As a result, power surges could continue to wreak havoc on substations and do so more frequently. This could lead to more power interruptions, which cause obvious health, safety and economic threats.

Schumer, who helped deliver $6 million to the Capital Region to develop the technology and build the prototype, said today that the eventual implementation of the MFCL will be significant because it will be one of the first commercialized uses of superconductive technology. SuperPower is a leader in the development of this technology that holds the potential of revolutionizing power transmission by increasing capacity by 3 to 5 times and by cutting transmission losses in half, over existing technology. SuperPower is a member of the New Energy New York consortium Schumer created to promote the Capital Region's burgeoning new energy industry.

Schumer and SuperPower announced today that successful proof-of-concept tests have been conducted on the Matrix Fault Current Limiter (MFCL) development program, meaning that the prototype has responded favorably to trials assessing its effectiveness over the last year. “We are pleased to be achieving our targeted milestones on this challenging development program,” said Glenn H. Epstein, chairman and chief executive officer of Intermagnetics. “The proof-of-concept tests were performed on the first of a series of MFCL prototypes. This first prototype proved the concept of the design and validated our expectations on the almost instantaneous response of the MFCL to reduce significant levels of short circuit current. This completes the first major milestone for this program, and provides us with the basis to proceed with up-scaling the design to transmission level operating voltages.

Philip J. Pellegrino, President of SuperPower, further elaborated on the proof-of-concept tests. “The objective for this first prototype was to demonstrate that the MFCL reacts rapidly to a power surge, and starts to limit the increase in short circuit current within about 4 milliseconds. This almost immediate limitation is of interest to electric utilities to minimize electrical and mechanical stress on system components, such as bus work, connectors, cables and transformers. There are many causes of electrical short circuits on the power grid such as lightning strikes, animal interference, tree limbs, etc. It was ultimately, tree limbs contacting power lines that triggered the 2003 blackout.”

Schumer was joined by Glenn H. Epstein, Chairman and CEO, Intermagnetics General Corp.; Phillip Pellegrino, President of SuperPower; NYS Assemblyman Paul Tonko.

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