Thursday, 1A-04, 4:55-5:05

Utility Needs Survey for Fault Current Limiters

Steven Eckroad

Electric Power Research Institute, 1300 West WT Harris Blvd., Charlotte, NC 28269 phone: (704) 595-2223, fax: (704) 595-2868, Email: seckroad@epri.com

In response to unprecedented restructuring of electric markets and a power delivery system in the U.S. that is not optimized to meet today’s loads and customer needs, electric utility companies are undertaking a focused effort in re-assessing fault current mitigation methods. Similar efforts are underway in other countries, albeit perhaps in response to different economic drivers. Novel fault current limiter (FCL) technologies are of growing interest because of their potential to replace existing (and increasingly often unsatisfactory) methods. The superconducting FCL (SFCL) is one such technology. SFCLs attracted interest soon after the discovery of HTS materials but have only lately been seriously considered as it became apparent that coated conductors might better enable the cost and performance desired by utility companies. Cost-benefit studies as well as significant field demonstrations are still needed to determine the full potential of a significant penetration of SFCLs into the market place. A number of developers around the world are designing and testing SFCLs, or preparing to do so. As these developments proceed it will be important to understand the characteristics of the intended market - the needs of the utility industry and the desirable characteristics of a FCL. The Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) has recently undertaken a series of utility needs and technology readiness surveys for FCLs. This topic will be briefly explored in this paper, drawing upon the results of those surveys.

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