NIST has hired Framingham, Mass.-based Plexus Research, an R. W. Beck company, to help in this endeavor.

Industry News
Fusion Power Project Uses ETAP Programs
Operation Technology, Inc. (OTI), Irvine Calif., developers of the ETAP enterprise solution for electrical power systems, recently announced that the ITER Organization, a joint international research and development project, is using ETAP for the design and analysis of its power system. As a part of the research and development project, ITER’s facility in Cadarache, France, will be the world’s largest experimental site to demonstrate the scientific and technical feasibility of fusion power.

When operational, ITER will study plasmas in conditions similar to those expected in an electricity-generating fusion power plant. It will generate 500MW of fusion power for extended periods of time, ten times more than the energy input needed to keep the plasma stable. It will therefore be the first fusion experiment to produce net power. It will also test a number of key technologies, including the heating, control, and diagnostic and remote maintenance that will be needed for a real fusion power station.

ETAP is used by ITER for design and analysis, including load flow, short circuit, motor starting, reliability, and ground grid design parameters.

Guide for Solving Industrial PQ Problems Now Available
According to a news item in a recent issue of Power Quality Newsletter, Tenaga Malaysia, the national power company, has made available a guide on solving power quality problems at industrial sites. The guide is available for downloading, at no charge, at www.tnb.com.my/tnb/con_quality.htm.

According to Alex McEachern, president of Power Standards Lab, publisher of the newsletter, the guide is "useful, practical, straightforward and written in beautiful English."

Photovoltaic Roof Tile Agreement Announced
Suntech Power Holdings Co., Ltd., San Francisco, and Open Energy Corp., Solana Beach, Calif., recently entered into an exclusive agreement licensing the worldwide manufacture, distribution, and marketing of Open Energy’s building integrated solar roof tile product to Suntech. Open Energy granted Suntech an exclusive license for the intellectual property incorporated into its solar roof tile product and any similar or new-generation tile roof products.

The solar roof tiles are 50W, 4-ft. BIPV (building-integrated photovoltaic) tiles and are available in different color panels. They are rated at 48W DC nominal power.

New Products & Services
AC Power Monitor
Power Standards Lab, Alameda, Calif., recently introduced its PQube, an AC power monitor that captures sags, swells, and frequency variations, with time-stamped pictures of the waveforms, and stores them on a standard plug-in SD card, in open file formats for use on any picture-viewing or any spreadsheet program. Snap on plug-in modules expand PQube’s functions to include Ethernet communications, current monitoring, and single- and 3-phase voltage monitoring (single-phase-to-neutral, single-phase-to-phase, star, wye, delta) from 100V to 690V L-L (400V L-N), 50/60Hz. The monitor auto-detects single-phase, phase-to-phase, delta, wye, corner ground, and many others connection configurations as well as nominal voltage and nominal frequency. Included is a 2-gig SD-card for data storage, setup files, and language pack. Also included is built-in Li-Polymer UPS for recording during power cuts. Monitor can be powered from 24VAC, 24-48VDC, or from optional 100~240VAC plug-in power supply module. Mountings include standard 35mm DIN-rail or panel mount. For more information, go to www.powerstandards.com/index.htm.

MV Surge Protective Devices
Strikesorb 40-3000, 40-4000, and 40-5000 medium-voltage surge devices are comprised of a 40-mm diameter single distribution-grade MOV disc in an environmentally sealed aluminum housing. The 40-3000 provides a maximum continuous operating voltage (MCOV) of 2.55kV with a rated voltage of 3kV. The device has a nominal discharge current of 10kA and a residual voltage of less than 10kV. The 40-4000 provides an MCOV of 3.4kV with a rated voltage of 4kV, while the 40-5000 has an MCOV of 4.25kV with a rated voltage of 5kV. Foir more information, go to www.raycapinc.com/.

Power-Conditioned UPS
The ONEAC brand ONePlus Series power-conditioned UPS features a power range of 250VA to 1,000VA and operates at 120V, 60 Hz, or 230V, 50/60 Hz. According to the company, the unit's isolation transformer eliminates contaminants and limits let-through to less than 1/2V in common mode (N-G) and less than 10V in normal mode (L-N). Additional product features include user-replaceable battery packs and USB and Serial RS232 ports for communication. For more information, go to www.chloridepower.com.