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Industrial Grade UPS Systems Protect Electric Generating Plant Control Room
Power Generating Plant Uses Industrial Grade UPS System to Back-Up Critical Controls
Glass Making Plant Uses UPS System To Ensure Continuous Operation
Nuclear Power Station Installs New UPS System
Nebraska Nuclear Power Plant Upgrades UPS System
New Hampshire Utility Uses Industrial Grade UPS Systems At Several of Its Power Stations

Nebraska Nuclear Power Plant Upgrades UPS System

Nebraska Public Power District (NPPD) Cooper Nuclear Station is located near Brownville, Nebraska, occupying a 1,351 -acre site on the west bank of the Missouri River. In commercial service since July 1974, the station has a capacity of 778 MW.

Recently, the Cooper Station replaced one of its uninterruptible power supply (UPS) systems because it had reached the end its design life expectancy. This particular system provides back-up electrical power for the fire protection system, instrumentation such as the reactor water pressure level recorders, the public address system and the plant security system.

The station went through a systematic procedure of evaluating UPS vendors before purchasing new equipment. According to Ladislav F. Bednar, senior staff engineer at Cooper Station, "A primary criteria of our analysis was the number of nuclear installations a vendor had supplied over the years.

Other nuclear plants were also contacted to gather information on how their UPS systems were performing. Based on this research, Cooper Station discovered that AMETEK Solidstate Controls had handled the most nuclear facility installations of any UPS vendor. They also received recommendations from other plants that use AMETEK Solidstate Controls' equipment.

Another endorsement of Solidstate Controls, LLC's performance came from within Cooper Nuclear Station itself. A 45 kVA SCI system had been used to back-up the plants management information system computer since 1975. Station personnel involved with this installation had always been very satisfied with the service from AMETEK Solidstate Controls, especially the excellent parts availability.

Cooper Station was also impressed with AMETEK Solidstate Controls' quick response during the quoting process for the new system. Michael B. Kennedy, NPPD electrical engineer, said, " Someday answers to changes in specifications or other questions were the rule, not the exception."

Before the unit was shipped for installation, NPPD personnel came to AMETEK Solidstate Controls' manufacturing facility for a day and a half of witness testing. Kennedy added, "This allowed us to observe testing of the system, ask questions about its operation and to actually operate the system under a variety of conditions."

The new UPS system, with a 30 kVA capacity, is quieter, gives off less heat and takes up less space than the unit it replaced. The single-phase system features a variety of custom alarm indicators which were specially laid out for easy reading by plant personnel.

The Cooper Stations UPS system is an industrial grade unit, designed for environments such as those found in nuclear power plants. The system employs ferroresonant technology that uses passive electronic and magnetic components in its design. This type of unit is better suited to industrial environments than UPS systems using more complicated power devices with complex feedback circuits.