December 2011

Feature Article

Securing Remote Substations for a Smarter Grid
Utilities across North America share a common realization that current physical security measures at remote substations simply cannot truly safeguard critical infrastructure against insider threat, copper theft and sabotage. It turns out that current security deployments are not enough to compete against the intelligent perpetrator with inside access to a company’s vulnerabilities.

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Remote 2012 Call for Papers Announced

The 2012 Remote Monitoring and Control Conference and Expo is currently looking for speakers, end-users and technology experts to present at the world's premier conference covering SCADA, monitoring & control, networking, onsite power and security for remote, unattended and automated assests.

Conference sessions should be technical and education while providing examples for recent installations, cutting edge technology and application strategies from users driving growth in these markets. In 2012 we are encouraging end-users of these ever evolving technologies to take the time to not only attend, but also present about any innovative project they may be involved in.

Visit of Call for Papers Page for More Information

Schneider Electric Raises the Bar in Smart Grid Metering
Schneider Electric has released the Square D PowerLogic ION8650 meter as the latest evolution in the company’s line of revenue and power quality meters. The Square D PowerLogic ION8650 meter builds on two previous generations American National Standards Institute (ANSI) utility meters to provide higher accuracy and better compliance with international power quality standards while still providing flexible communication options. The latest generation of the meter provides marked improvements in performance, making it integral to the support of Smart Grid metering applications.

The Square D PowerLogic ION8650 meter will contain twice the accuracy of the ANSI C12.20 Class 0.2 & IEC 62053-22 Class 0.2S standards, including a single Class 2/10/20 current range. In addition the Square D PowerLogic ION8650 meter will provide world-leading power quality monitoring capabilities. The meters will comply with the most stringent global power quality measurement standard, IEC 61000-4-30 Class A edition 2. The Square D PowerLogic ION8650 meter will also monitor sags/swells and harmonics, capture transients and waveforms, and comply with the international quality-of-supply standards EN 50160, IEEE 519 and IEEE 1159.

OSI Releases New Version of its Transmission Management Suite for Transmission System Operators
Open Systems International, Inc. (OSI) has released a new version of its monarch Transmission Network Analysis software package, in support of new transmission and reliability initiatives throughout the electric utility industry.

This latest release of OSI’s Transmission Management Suite (Release 5.6.0) includes a comprehensive set of new feature enhancements, including the added support for symmetrical multi-processing/parallel processing capabilities for handling a large list of contingencies, phase angle measurements and Phasor Measurement Unit data in State Estimation. Support for various data exchange methods is provided, including the latest CIM standard and specific extensions used by regional transmission and market operators such as ERCOT.

Additionaly features inlcude added support for expanded FACTS devices, enhanced solution speeds for extra large networks (20,000+ buses), NERC state estimator performance monitoring, expanded diagnostics for localized problem identification, automatic/dynamic rendering of the network graph using CIM and/or native model format, enhanced voltage stability analysis, situational awareness key performance indices for reactive, voltage and active violations and near-violations.

L-com Introduces Industrial Ethernet Switches for Harsh Environments
L-com, Inc. is offering its own line of industrial Ethernet switches to address the growing industrial networking market. The L-com IES (Industrial Ethernet Switch) switch line features DIN rail mounting, dual 24 VDC power inputs, rugged aluminum cases, and an operating temperature of -40°C to 70°C. The IES series switches are plug-and-play, unmanaged devices and can be installed in minutes providing seamless connectivity to IP-enabled devices such as PLCs, drives, motors, pumps and meters.

“Now we are truly able to offer our customers a complete industrial Ethernet solution with the addition of the IES series switches,” said Peter McNeil, Ethernet product manager.  “L-com now carries all the components required to build an industrial Ethernet network ranging from shielded category rated cabling, fiber optic cables, DIN rail, NEMA enclosures and now the IES series switches.”

L-com offers several models to choose from including copper only or combination fiber optic and copper interfaces. Fiber versions are offered in both multimode (2 km) and single mode options up to 80 km.

Clear24 Thermal Camera from SightLogix Delivers Detailed Images in All Conditions
SightLogix has released Clear24, a new thermal video imaging solution. The thermal camera uses powerful image processing to provide detailed thermal image, including in conditions of rain, snow, fog, wind or humidity.

Thermal imagery has been known for nighttime applications. However, during the day, thermal cameras can suffer from degraded performance due to the whiteout that occurs when targets are close to the same temperature as background. Thermal images are often blurry, displaying items as indiscernible shapes. Clear24 adapts to conditions to provide discriminating detail throughout the field of view, night and day.
Clear24 is a thermal camera that includes an imager with lens optics, on-board video processing and image-contrast technology. Clear24 is ruggedized for outdoor environments inside a NEMA 4X (IP66 compliant) nitrogen-purged housing. Multiple lens field-of-view options are available from 48° to 4.6° to support various distance ranges from 670 to 6,800 feet.

Other Clear24 camera features include 10/100 Ethernet communications with support for broadband, wireless (802.11a), cellular and satellite. The camera’s design is pre-integrated with third-party video management or physical security information management (PSIM) system environments.

Texas Instruments Introduces Boost Charger IC for Nano Power Energy Harvesting
Texas Instruments, Inc. (TI) has introduced its next generation of power management integrated circuits (ICs) for energy harvesting. The efficient boost charger for nano (ultra low) power energy harvesting manages the microwatts to milliwatts of power generated from a number of sources, such as solar, thermoelectric, electromagnetic and vibration, and stores the extracted energy in various storage elements, including Li-ion batteries and super capacitors. The bq25504 also includes circuitry to protect the energy storage element from over voltage and under voltage conditions and to kick-start the system when the battery is deeply discharged.

In a solar panel powered device that is operating in indoor light conditions, for example, the new boost charger increases the usable harvested energy by 30 to 70 percent compared to a linear regulator. This efficiency allows designers to reduce the size and the number of solar panels in their designs, thus reducing overall solution cost. The device can benefit wireless sensor networks (WSN) for area, industrial, water/waste and structural monitoring.

The bq25504 features quiescent current, typically 330 nA, and high conversion efficiency of greater than 80 percent. The user-programmable settings allow the boost charger IC to be used in a variety of energy sources and energy storage elements such as different battery chemistries or super capacitors, and a battery OK indicator allows conditional enabling of external loads and protects the storage element. 

Demand Spike for Backup Power Systems Stokes Growth in the Global Stationary Lead Acid Battery Market
The global stationary lead acid (SLA) battery market is poised to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 6.8 percent from 2011 to 2017. SLAs have been used for well over a century as a backup/standby power solution in support of various critical applications. Over time, SLA batteries have established a solid reputation as a reliable and rugged solution.

The environmentally friendly nature and widespread product availability strengthens the position of SLA batteries as the solution of choice for many industrial-based end-users. Extensive distribution and service networks are contributing to a strong uptake of the technology. Additionally, mergers and acquisitions have increased brand awareness as well as network distribution capabilities and expanded presence.

New analysis from Frost & Sullivan’s Global Stationary Lead Acid (SLA) Battery Market research finds that the market earned revenues of $4.18 billion in 2010 and estimates this to reach $6.62 billion in 2017.

Although alternative battery chemistries, such as lithium ion polymer, nickel-cadmium (NiCd), and nickel-metal hydride (NiMH) are gaining steady traction in the market, there is no threat of an industry transition to these energy storage solutions any time soon.

Limited product differentiation is rampant throughout this mature market. The failure to discern product quality allows less capable units to force prices down and presents an illusion that units are identical and devoid of performance variance.

A major challenge within the SLA battery market is the extreme volatility of lead prices. From 2009 to 2010, the industry witnessed an increase of nearly 45 percent. Constant pricing adjustments to compensate for such drastic fluctuations are highly impractical. As a result, vendors absorb the cost difference initially until it is eventually passed on to the consumer.

Furthermore, factors such as global competition among SLA battery manufacturers, production overcapacity in some areas, and overall mature market conditions have contributed to decreased profit margins.

Iconics and Mitsubishi Electric Form Global Partnership
Iconics has signed a global partnership agreement with Mitsubishi Electric. Mitsubishi Electric has made a 19.9 percent equity investment in Iconics as part of the partnership. Under the signed agreements, Mitsubishi Electric will market MC Works (SCADA) solutions for process automation, factory automation and energy management, based on Iconics technology.

Mitsubishi Electric and Iconics will jointly develop integrated software solutions for the process automation and social infrastructure global markets. The tightly integrated products will greatly reduce total cost of ownership by reducing engineering, deployment and start-up time of applications for the water and wastewater, food and beverage, renewable energy, power and other process intensive industry applications.

“The continued expansion of social infrastructure in Asia and Latin America is driving demand for the automation and electric equipment from Mitsubishi Electric,” said Satoshi Matsushita, Group vice president and general manager, Overseas Marketing, Mitsubishi Electric, Tokyo. “Our customers can now acquire their complete automation solution for factory and process automation, including programmable logic controllers, drives, electrical metering and other equipment from a single global supplier.”

Survalent Technology Commissions New SCADA System For Colorado River Commission of Nevada
Survalent Technology has commissioned a new SCADA system for Colorado River Commission (CRC) of Nevada. The CRC is an executive agency of the State of Nevada responsible for acquiring and managing Nevada’s share of water and hydropower resources from the Colorado River. CRC serves both commercial and industrial customers and are a member of the Colorado River Energy Distributors Association (CREDA).

The new system features Survalent’s highly available, open-architecture system based on Windows Server 2008. It includes several of Survalent’s open system applications, including WorldView, command sequencing, event data recording, SCADA add-in for MS Excel and Access, remote alarm annunciation, IED Wizard, control panel, system configuration status (SCS) and SCADA replicator.

“Survalent Technology is committed to providing our customers an intuitive and user friendly portal for accessing a suite of quality application to run their daily operations,” said Steve Mueller, Survalent Technology president and CEO.  “We offer advanced utility applications and integrate with third party technologies to decrease complexity and optimize productivity.”

Fieldbus Foundation Issues Transducer Block Specification for Wired HART and WirelessHART Devices
The Fieldbus Foundation has issued a Foundation Wireless and Remote I/O (WIO) preliminary specification addressing fieldbus transducer blocks for wired HART and WirelessHART devices, together with updates to the WIO System Architecture and WIO Data Structures related to the transducer block specification.

Part of the Foundation for Remote Operations Management solution implementing wireless and remote I/O, the new technical specification defines a fieldbus transducer block used to represent HART devices within Foundation for Remote Operations Management devices. Both wired HART and WirelessHART devices may be represented in this block. In addition, the specification describes the expected method for HART configuration tools and asset-managing hosts to access HART devices using the native HART command protocol transported through the Foundation high speed Ethernet (HSE) network. The specification also defines structures to identify and maintain HART device status in wired multi-drop networks as well as in WirelessHART mesh networks connected to FOUNDATION for Remote Operations Management devices.

Ameresco Solar to Provide Small Area Module Product Line Previously Offered by BP Solar
Ameresco Solar, a subsidiary of Ameresco, has reached an agreement to provide the small area module (SAM) line of solar panels that range from 5 watts to 180 watts (previously offered by BP Solar International, Inc.), under the Ameresco Solar brand.

“Ameresco Solar and BP Solar have observed a strong demand for these small, rugged panels and many companies have come to rely on these modules for existing products and applications,” said Colin Gates, vice president, Ameresco Solar. “These modules have been offered by BP Solar for over 25 years, delivering consistent footprints, certifications, and approvals that are important to the off-grid solar industry. Without them, there would be a large void for customers.”

This agreement strategically keeps the product headquarters in the same US location and helps to make sure warranties are facilitated and information exchanges happen in a real-time fashion moving forward. Service and the warranty continue to be critical considerations of the product line.

Event Listings

NATE 2012

Feb. 6-9, 2012

San Antonio, TX

The NATE Annual Conference & Exposition is recognized as the premier event of the year for the tower erection, service and maintenance industry, providing education, marketing, networking, and the development of cohesion among NATE members.  Details on NATE 2012 are available here.

ARC World Industry Forum

February 6-9, 2012
Orlando, Florida

ARC’s World Industry Forum will help you discover emerging technologies and develop winning strategies.  It provides the ideal environment for industry executives to collaborate, share ideas, and find new ways to attack their most pressing problems.  Multiple forum programs on the major issues facing our industry enable you to explore these topics from different perspectives.  Dynamic roundtable discussions provide an intimate opportunity to ask questions and share experiences with the speakers and your peers.  Owner/operators, solution providers, and technical experts will all benefit from this experience while simultaneously contributing to the community’s body of knowledge.

www.arcweb.com

IWCE 2012
Feb. 20-24, 2012
www.iwceexpo.com

You've all heard the buzz words – LTE, 700 MHz, narrowbanding, P25, broadband, mobile data, VoIP, smart grid, and more...

At IWCE 2012, get the real information. Learn from other cities, other colleagues, other agencies, other enterprises and the experts in communications technology systems.

At IWCE, see an exhibit hall packed with over 330 leading suppliers showcasing the latest products and services in the communications technology marketplace.  Touch the most innovative technology that will help you do your job more efficiently and effectively. Connect with colleagues from around the world, and attend an expansive conference program of training, workshops and sessions on specific technologies and applications.

Join the global connection at IWCE 2012, the pre-eminent communications technology systems event for the working world. Visit www.iwceexpo.com for more information.

Smart Energy Summit 2012
Feb, 28 - March 1st, 2012
Austin, Texas

Smart Energy Summit: Engaging the Consumer, hosted by Parks Associates, is the premier conference studying the market for residential energy management and smart grid technologies.

This event, held February 28- March 1 in Austin, Texas,  features a unique combination of market research, including Parks Associates’ landmark Residential Energy Management service, and real-world expertise, with industry experts examining the impact of smart grids on home systems. The conference deeply examines the business models, consumer value propositions, and the deployment plans of energy utilities, cloud services, home systems and communications service providers. www.smartenergysummit2012.com

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