A call for upgrading the grid

UK energy analyst Inenco has warned that Britain's archaic National Grid will not be able to cope with the push towards renewable energy without massive new investment by the government. It has emphasised on the fact that the UK's electricity infrastructure is so outdated and expensive that the renewables push towards wind farms and other forms of microgeneration will place an impossible strain on the network.

It is being indicated that wholesale electricity prices will be forced up by 20 percent when the European Union's carbon trading scheme becomes law.

Inenco forecasts that energy costs will rise by a fifth are double the estimate of the Government, which says prices may go up by 10pc.

Under the EU carbon trading scheme, heavy users of electricity will be forced to bid for permits to produce extra carbon dioxide above their capped limit, as reported by telegraph.co.uk. Many permits are still free at the moment, but a limited UK permit trading trial raised £54m for the Treasury last year and they will be traded fully on the open markets by the end of 2012. The current price for one allowance, which represents about 2MWh of electricity, is between €20 (£19) and €25.

Ian Parrett, energy analyst at Inenco, said it was likely that increases in wholesale electricity prices would be passed on to consumers.

"The key issue is that price-based measures tend to affect the least well-off the hardest," he said. "We need to make sure that the costs aren't just borne by those who have no alternative."

AMSC announces Turnkey D-VAR® order for long island power grid

- Long Island Power Authority Adopts Solution to Ensure Continued Grid Reliability During Periods of Peak Electricity Demand
- AMSC to Provide D-VAR Reactive Compensation Systems, Ancillary Hardware, Installation Services and Ongoing Maintenance

DEVENS, MA – January 27, 2009 – American Superconductor Corporation (NASDAQ: AMSC), a leading energy technologies company, announced today that it has received an order for a large-scale dynamic reactive compensation solution from National Grid (LSE: NG) (NYSE: NGG), one of the world’s largest investor-owned energy companies, which manages the electricity network on Long Island under an agreement with Long Island Power Authority (LIPA). AMSC will install its proprietary D-VAR STATCOM solution on eastern Long Island to ensure the continued reliability of the local power grid. Reactive power compensation is necessary to stabilize voltage, relieve power grid congestion, improve electrical efficiency, and prevent blackouts in power grids.

“Long Island Power Authority is supplying more power to its residential and commercial customers each year,” said Long Island Power Authority President and Chief Executive Officer Kevin S. Law. “In order to continue providing reliable, high quality power, we needed a solution to stabilize voltage during times of peak demand, particularly over the summer months when Long Island’s population is at its highest.”

D-VAR dynamic reactive compensation systems are classified as Static Compensators, or “STATCOMs,” a member of the FACTS (Flexible AC-Transmission System) family of power electronic solutions for alternating current (AC) power grids. These Smart Grid solutions are able to detect and instantaneously compensate for voltage disturbances by dynamically injecting leading or lagging reactive power into the power grid. AMSC has received orders for over 60 STATCOM power grid solutions worldwide, more than all other manufacturers. The company’s D-VAR STATCOM customers include more than 20 electric utilities and 40 wind farms.

The total dynamic range of reactive compensation provided by this transmission grid solution will be -96 to +240 mega-volt-amperes reactive (MVAR). AMSC will provide a full turnkey solution, including installation and ongoing maintenance and support for LIPA. The contract calls for commissioning of the reactive compensation solution by mid 2010. It will include a 36 MVAR base-rated D-VAR STATCOM – one of the largest STATCOM’s ever deployed in North America – seamlessly integrated with capacitor banks.

This is the second D-VAR solution AMSC has sold for LIPA’s power grid. In addition, in April 2008, AMSC commissioned the world’s first high temperature superconductor (HTS) power transmission cable system in LIPA’s commercial power grid. The 138,000 volt (138 kV) power cable system is successfully operating in LIPA’s Holbrook transmission right of way. It contains hair-thin HTS wires that conduct 150 times the electricity of similar sized copper wires, enabling the cable system to utilize far less wire and yet conduct up to five times more power – in a smaller right of way – than traditional copper-based cables.

“LIPA has one of the most reliable power grids in the U.S.,” said AMSC founder and Chief Executive Officer Greg Yurek. “By deploying this D-VAR STATCOM solution, LIPA will continue its tradition of utilizing the latest technologies to meet and exceed its customers’ demands for reliable, digital-grade power.”

AMSC’s D-VAR systems are modular and scalable solutions that can be customized to meet specific customer needs. These Smart Grid solutions are being utilized in a wide range of applications, including voltage regulation and grid reliability, optimization of power transfer capacity on stability-limited transmission networks, and reactive power support for wind farm interconnection to the grid. To learn more about AMSC’s D-VAR solutions for the power grid, please visit: http://www.amsc.com/products/transmissiongrid/reactive-power-AC-transmission.html

About LIPALIPA, a non-profit municipal electric provider, owns the retail electric Transmission and Distribution System on Long Island and provides electric service to more than 1.1 million customers in Nassau and Suffolk counties and the Rockaway Peninsula in Queens. LIPA is the 2nd largest municipal electric utility in the nation in terms of electric revenues, 3rd largest in terms of customers served and the 7th largest in terms of electricity delivered. In 2006, LIPA outperformed all other overhead electric utilities in New York State in all three major reliability categories. LIPA does not provide natural gas service or own any on-island generating assets. More information about LIPA can be found online at: http://www.lipower.org.

About American Superconductor (NASDAQ: AMSC)
AMSC offers an array of proprietary technologies and solutions spanning the electric power infrastructure – from generation to delivery to end use. The company is a leader in alternative energy, providing proven, megawatt-scale wind turbine designs and electrical control systems. The company also offers a host of Smart Grid technologies for power grid operators that enhance the reliability, efficiency and capacity of the grid, and seamlessly integrate renewable energy sources into the power infrastructure. These include superconductor power cable systems, grid-level surge protectors and power electronics-based voltage stabilization systems. AMSC’s technologies are protected by a broad and deep intellectual property portfolio consisting of hundreds of patents and licenses worldwide. More information is available at www.amsc.com.

LCA increases its equity stake in RLtec to 77.4 percent

Low Carbon Accelerator (LCA) has made a further equity investment of £300,000 in ResponsiveLoad Ltd (RLtec).

LCA's investment was part of an overall £550,000 funding round, with £250,000 provided by a private investor. Further details weren't shared.

As part of this investment, LCA has converted its £900,000 convertible loan in RLtec, previously announced on 21 December 2007, into preference shares. These transactions result in LCA's equity stake in RLtec increasing to 77.4 percent and takes LCA's total investment in RLtec to £2,053,500. In addition, LCA has agreed to provide a further £300,000 in funding subject to the achievement of milestones.

It was originally envisaged that the convertible loan note would finance RLtec to the completion of a larger third party funding round. The company now expects to pursue this larger funding round after RLTec has agreed terms with the National Grid for the provision of grid balancing services using RLtec's patented dynamic demand technology. RLtec is targeting agreement of this contract in early 2009.

For its part, RLtec has shared that it is making steady progress towards agreeing a demonstration project with Ofgem and a major utility supplier under the UK's Carbon Emissions Reduction Target (CERTs) programme. It has also recently received an order to trial its product using electrical load available in the Sainsbury retail store estate, in addition to successfully completing application testing with a major appliance manufacturer.

RLtec has developed technology suitable for demand- response and Smart Grid energy balancing applications.