Schumer Presses Feds to Fund Superpower in Capital Region

SCHUMER PRESSES FEDS TO FUND SUPERPOWER IN CAPITAL REGION

Schumer Writes Top Energy Official: Find More Funding for Albany Cable Project, Which Could Help Large Areas Carry More Electricity, Boost Capital Region Economy

SuperPower Has Said It Needs $1.5 Million To Move Forward With Superconductor Technology and Avoid One Year Delay

US Senator Charles E. Schumer today pressed a top energy official to secure an additional $1.5 million dollars for SuperPower's Albany Cable Project. Schumer wrote to Assistant Secretary of Energy for Energy Efficiency and Renewable EnergySecretary of Energy David Garman to urge him to find additional funding since this project could have a significant impact on the Capital Region's economy and the nation's electric reliability. SuperPower has said it needs additional funding from the current Department of Energy budget in order to avoid a possible a one year delay in developing superconducting technology.

"This technology has the potential to solve several of our nation's most pressing energy challenges," Schumer said. "I wrote to Assistant Secretary of Energy for Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Garman to make sure he leaves no stone unturned when looking for funds for this important project. The bottom line is that we need the federal funds to move this forward because it is good for our energy policy and it is great for the Capital Region."

The Department of Energy's budget for High Temperature Superconducting (HTSC) technology research, the budget for which this project is funded, faced a 35 percent reduction in Fiscal Year 2004 to $32 million. Despite efforts to locate additional sources of funding within the Department of Energy, these cuts were maintained resulting in a significantly reduced federal investment in the development of HTSC technology.

Schumer said that funding the technology is vital for New York because the state is in position to receive two of the first deployed projects in the nation under plans to place superconducting technology in the grid in Albany and on Long Island. Schumer said that landing these projects could demonstrate the superiority of superconductor technology produced in the Capital Region and improve the capacity of New York's electrical grid in highly congested areas.

In a letter today to acting Assistant Secretary of Energy for Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Garman, Schumer urged DOE to reexamine the budget for ways to restore the development of high temperature superconductivity (HTSC) research. Schumer said that he is deeply troubled by this funding shortfall, especially since developing commercially viable HTSC technologies could enhance the reliability of the electrical grid, benefit the environment, and increase the capacity of electrical transmission lines.

Superconductivity, a state characterized by the absence of electrical resistance, was discovered at the beginning of the 20th century. A superconductor is a material that is a perfect conductor of electricity when cooled to a very low temperature. It carries direct current with 100% efficiency because no energy is dissipated by resistive heating. Once direct current is introduced into a superconducting loop, it can flow undiminished forever. SuperPower, Inc., is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Intermagnetics General Corporation (IGC) and develops electric power components such as underground transmission and distribution cables, transformers, and fault current limiters. Superpower is one of the original members of New Energy New York, the consortium of Capital Region energy technology companies, that Senator Schumer put together in 2002, to help grow the region's burgeoning energy industry.

http://schumer.senate.gov/SchumerWebsite/pressroom/press_releases/2005/PR40070.Superpower11405.html