Enertia Engineering Announces Free Trial Units for Commercially Available Anti-Islanding Protection Technology

Edmonton, Alberta, March 8, 2011 – Enertia Engineering Ltd., a leading electrical equipment company, is pleased to announce, after 2 years of research, development, and commercialization, the EnerPulsar Anti-Islanding protection system is now commercially available in North America.

Enertia Engineering Ltd. is offering a free trial unit to each Utility in North America to test the EnerPulsar Anti-Islanding protection system within their network. A limited number of units is available, and for a limited time.

EnerPulsar is a low-cost, easy-to-implement Distributed Generation (DG) Anti-Islanding protection system. This new technology uses a centrally located Signal Generator to provide a unique signal over the high voltage interconnecting utility lines. Fail-safe Signal Detectors installed at each nearby Distributed Generator monitor the line to detect the signal. Absence of the signal ensures the DG is isolated quickly until such time as electrical system emergency is dealt with and the signal can be restored.

The primary goal of anti-islanding protection technology is simple – safety. When a transmission line is broken, or a fault occurs somewhere in an electrical system, the local utility needs to isolate the emergency location, and ensure no power flows to it. This is straightforward for the utility-controlled generators, but can be very difficult for the utility when there are small 3rd party generators connected to the grid. Examples of these small generators are wind turbines, solar arrays, biogas, and biomass generators.

"The EnerPulsar technology is a viable and extremely safe solution. It costs significantly less than traditional control methods; in many cases 1/10th the cost of existing solutions. In the instance of multiple DG units in the vicinity of each other, the cost drops even more. We are confident that this will result in an increase of environmentally sustainable power generation in North America." Says Darcy Braun, Director of Enertia Engineering Ltd.

EnerPulsar is patented islanding detection technology developed by the University of Alberta and commercialized by Enertia Engineering Ltd. It uses an industry-standard TWACS concept of imposing a signal in the power system to enable the failsafe control of all nearly DG units. Concept and feasibility tests were done at ATCO and Manitoba Hydro. Full commercial testing is ongoing with Hydro One.

Company Background
Enertia Engineering Ltd. is a Canadian-based electrical engineering consulting and electrical equipment manufacturing firm with offices in Alberta and Ontario. Enertia Engineering Ltd. is a key supplier to many of the largest oil & gas, consulting, and field service companies worldwide. Recent product development also includes the first-available cold-weather capable solar powered street lights in Canada.