As part of the distribution agreement, Caterpillar will continue to market Active Power products under the Caterpillar brand and as a complement to its own product line.

Solar Energy Storage a Possible Source of Renewable Energy
A recent New York Times article reported that solar thermal power plants could gather heat from the sun to boil water into steam, and then use the steam to spin turbines and generate power.

The article goes on to say that the important characteristic of these plants is their ability to store the heat throught the use of solar thermal systems. These systems use heated molten salt as the medium to absorb the heat from solar panels. The heated molten salt is then pumped to a holt salt storage tank, which can store the salt for immediate use or for hours and days. The hot salt is then fed to a steam generator, which powers a steam turbine.

Finally, the article states that a small start-up, eSolar, is backed by Google and is pursuing the design. The goal is to produce renewable electricity for less than the price of coal-fired powered.

New Products & Services
Double-Throw Safety Switch
GE Consumer & Industrial's Electrical Distribution business recently introduced its new NEMA 3R double-throw safety switches, which feature the industry's only 10-year, leak-proof limited warranty. The switches deliver long-term reliability in applications such as healthcare, wastewater generators, cell phone towers, oil platforms and rigs, retail, and general farming.
Ideal for manually transferring between utility power and a stand-by generator in power emergencies, the safety switches are non-fused and available in sizes ranging from 30A to 400A, 240V and 600V. Using interlock defeat, the switches allow inspections without disrupting building power. For more information, go to www.GEconsumerproducts.com.

Electrolytic Capacitors
Cornell Dubilier, New Bedford, Mass., recently announced six new series of aluminum electrolytic vertical chip SMT capacitors targeted for a broad spectrum of applications in filtering, bypassing, and power supply decoupling. Type AVE (85°C) is a general purpose type with up to 2000 hours of load life. Types AVRF, AVES, AVEK, AVEZ , AVGA are all rated for operation at 105°C. Type AVRF has a 5000 hour load life while the high voltage AVGA series has ratings up to 450VDC. Full specifications are available at www.cde.com/catalog/smt/. For technical support, contact Robert Sevigny, at RSevigny@cde.com.

Stray Voltage Web Site
infraShock, www.infrashock.com/home.php, is an enterprise that evolved from a simple grassroots advocacy whose primary mission was to shield the public from the pervasive year-round risk of voltage leakage (commonly referred to as stray voltage). In addition to offering protective guidelines, this responsible venture provides an interactive Web site that maps hotspots and facilitates their direct reportage to the utilities so that pedestrians may be apprised firsthand of any potential dangers en route. The goal of infraShock is to reduce the chance of injury and fatality and in so doing, create effective transparency that would remediate infrastructure maintenance and repair on a federal level.