Outdoor Systems

•  Custom Electric Control Units
• Telecom & Grounding System Design

Custom Electric Control Units

Are you an electric utility company that utilizes remotely operated initiating devices to transfer your customers to their own secondary generator in your peak load-sharing program?

Consider Wisconsin Power Control’s  Power Control Companion (PCC) to remove the uncertainty from the power transfer process, making the process easier for you and your customers.

Increasing numbers of commercial customers are participating in power control programs due to economic incentives. An increasing proportion of those customers are operating facilities incorporating computerized equipment and processes. There is a need to address the problem of damage to these sensitive equipment and processes resulting from the transfers of power during load shed events. There is also a need to be able to verify, and potentially repair, the operability of customer secondary power sources prior to the transfers. The economic benefit to the customer from participating in utility company power control programs may be outweighed by the risk of penalties for non-performance or the risk of loss of data and other damage to their sensitive equipment and processes. Thus, there is also a benefit to the utility companies in providing a means for the customer to safely participate in its programs.

The PCC is the electrical cogeneration system controller. The PCC controls the method and timing of the transfer of power to and from the utility’s service in conjunction with a standard open transition transfer switch. With the PCC, your customers will get an indication of the servicing utility’s intention to switch their facility on and off of the service grid and onto their secondary power source. The PCC can start their generator, verify that power is available and then delay the transfer of their electrical load (up to utility company limits) so that they have time to shut down systems and processes that will be damaged in the short outage that occurs during an open transfer of power.

Features

• Custom Programs
• Time Delayed Transfer of Load
• Internal UPS
• Various Alarming Methods
• Verification of Generator Start

Benefits

• Tailored to Your Specific Requirements
• Allows You Time to Shut Down Sensitive Equipment and Processes
• No Loss of Memory or Program Interruption
• Allows You to Select What is Best Suited to Your Needs
• Allows You Time for Emergency Repairs to Avoid Penalties from the Utility

Are you a utility customer interested in saving money by participating in a power control or load-sharing program? Do you want to be in control of the transfer when it occurs?

The Power Control Companion (PCC) power controller is the answer to all of your utility co-generation controller concerns. The PCC interface controller brings your secondary power source on-line and gives you alarm capabilities and time delays that enable your facility to shut down any computers or processes that would be harmed by an open transfer of power. Customized programming enables you to notify your facility via audible (paging or intercom announcements) and visual alarms that a transfer of power is imminent.

Electrical utility companies have been faced with growing demands for power. The formation and maintenance of generating facilities to meet occasional and short term peak demands is expensive. As a result, many utility companies have initiated programs for times of peak energy load in which some of the energy is provided by alternative energy sources. Customers are rewarded for participating in these programs by lowered utility rates or other incentives.

Utility company power control programs require that participants provide alternative sources of power to handle energy demands during times of peak load. Unfortunately, when the power transfers during a load-shedding event, the customer has little or no warning such an event is about to take place.

In a typical application of such a load-shedding program, the utility company installs an interface unit at the participating customer’s site. This interface receives a signal from the utility company indicating that a transfer between power sources is about to occur. The signal is relayed to a transfer switch, which transfers power between the primary power source and the customer’s secondary power source (usually a generator) at the beginning and end of such an event.

Transition between two power sources results in momentarily interrupting power to the load. Unexpected and momentary losses of power have been tolerated in the past, however, such an interruption of power is unacceptable in our modern technology age. Digital computers with volatile memories lose all the stored information if power is disconnected for longer than a very short interval. Many of today’s commercial facilities are highly computerized and contain equipment and processes that are sensitive to even these brief momentary losses of power. The transfer of power as it currently occurs can cause data loss and damage to computers and other sensitive electronic equipment, some of which may be unrecoverable. With no notification or time in which to safely shut down these equipment and processes, a utility customer is unable to safely prepare for the power transfer and thereby avoid damage and loss.

The PCC controls the power transfer process to avoid these potential problems. You specify the order in which you want the events to occur after the PCC receives a signal from the utility company stating that a power transfer is imminent. The PCC can activate an audible alarm, make an announcement over an intercom system, have alarm lights flash - whatever you need to alert the employees operating the sensitive equipment that a transfer will occur soon, giving them the time necessary to shut down equipment. The secondary generator is also checked to verify that it is operational. After a specified time, the PCC will switch the power to your secondary generator. The same warning process occurs when the utility company is ready to switch you back to their system. The PCC makes the transfer process occur smoothly so that none of your equipment is damaged and you reap the benefits of participating in the utility’s power control program.

Features

• Custom Programs
• Time Delayed Transfer of Load
• Internal UPS
• Various Alarming Methods
• Verification of Generator Start

Benefits

• Tailored to Your Specific Requirements
• Allows You Time to Shut Down Sensitive Equipment and Processes
• No Loss of Memory or Program Interruption
• Allows You to Select What is Best Suited to Your Needs
• Allows You Time for Emergency Repairs to Avoid Penalties from the Utility

Telecom and Grounding System Design

The Tower System Pack is the complete solution for all your electric service, telephone service and grounding system needs.

• The Metal "H" frame
• The electrical and telephone entrance equipment
• The grounding materials

• 1 - 800A Single phase 120/240V metering pack
• (1 - 800A Main Tap box, 5 - 200A Meter spaces, 4 - 200A 100K AIC breakers, 1 - 100A 100K AIC breaker)
• 1 - 125A Outdoor panel with breakers, conduit and wire from meter pack
• 1 - GFI Outlet mounted on service stand
• 1 - 48" x 36" x 18" Telephone company entrance enclosure with FRP back panel and ground bar installed
• 1 - Outdoor metal service stand, ready to assemble on-site
• 2 - 12"x 60" Round concrete form tubes for concrete bases
• 27 - 5/8" x 10' Cu clad ground rods
• 1000' - #2 Tinned solid copper ground wire, shipped on 2 - 500 foot reels
• 5 - Cadweld molds, Weldmetal and mold handles
• 2 - Gate jumper assemblies
• 1 - Can of Cold Galvanized spray paint
• 1 - 1/4" x 4" x 20" Cu buss bar with insulated mounting hardware
• 2 - 12" x 20" x 12" Deep inspection wells or 8" round PVC pipe type inspection wells
• 2 - Sets of drawings and installation instructions

Outdoor Site & Street Lighting Maintenance Services

We offer comprehensive outdoor site and street lighting maintenance services for commercial, municipal, and industrial customers - whether you need parking lot lighting, repairs, service, or installation of new poles & fixtures, Wisconsin Power Control can meet your needs.
 
We specialize in strategic management and maintenance of lighting systems. The goal of our services is to eliminate energy waste, optimize system performance, and provide your employees and customers with maximum recommended lighting levels at all times.
 
Our services:

• Offer your employees the light they need to work most productively and keep your facility safely illuminated
• Showcases to your customers your merchandise that is well-lit by an attractive, bright lighting system
• Provides your building an attractive night lighting system
• Offers you time, energy and financial savings that can cut your current lighting costs

Lighting Services

• Survey and consultation. To not only optimize your system, but match the best products and maintenance to your lighting needs.
• Group relamping and cleaning services. To ensure consistent light level and reduced lamp replacement labor costs.
• Energy Conservation Retrofitting Services. To get you the required light levels for less energy.
• Electrical Maintenance Services. To troubleshoot those nagging troublesome electrical emergencies for industrial & commercial electrical systems, computer and lighting systems as well as convenience electrical wiring.
• Maintenance and Repair. To rapidly and professionally fix any lighting problem.
• Periodic inspections. To make sure your lighting system continues to run smoothly.
• Liability insurance. To give you peace of mind that we're responsible for your and our employees' safety and any property damage during our service.

The WPC Advantage

• Trained Crews - Our crews are trained and licensed electricians. Ready to solve your electrical problems.
• Stocked Trucks - Our crews have a fully stocked bucket truck, eliminating those extra charges for trips to the supply house for parts.
• 24 Hour Emergency Services - WPC provides an emergency phone and email contact for after hours service issues. 

Fuel Cells

Imagine a future where the electricity needed to run your business is generated from a small appliance located inside your building. Where the electricity to run computer servers and sensitive electronics is generated right at the point of use - in the server rack itself, right next to that equipment. And imagine this "point of use" power being uninterruptible, digital quality power - free from the power outages, surge and sag conditions, transients, and other problems inherent with grid-supplied power.

Imagine generating electricity with no combustion, so the only emissions are a little heat and pure water. What you are imagining is what we are creating every day.

Welcome to the world of modular hydrogen fuel cells.

Rugged Reliability

GenCore systems offer extended run back-up operation on mission-critical applications, such as industrial plant controls and telecommunications. Benefits include reduced operation and maintenance expenses, and reliable operation over a wide range of outdoor ambient conditions.

Markets GenCore systems include:

• Telecommunications
• Cable Broadband
• Outside Plant Uninterruptible Power Supply (UPS)

Fuel Cell Products for Telecom Backup Power

This backup power can save you. Increase system reliability and decrease operating costs with GenCore. GenCore fuel cell systems are high-performance solutions for the critical backup power needs of wireless and wireline providers. Our flexible platform-based product architecture delivers backup that‘s scalable to your needs.

Unlike traditional technologies, which can be unpredictable and maintenance dependant, GenCore systems deliver the reliable backup power you need over the widest range of operating environments - with reduced operating costs and zero emissions.

If you lose the grid, we have the grit.

Clean. Quiet. Predictable. GenCore. It‘s what to demand when your customers demand reliability. Join us in putting future power generation to work - today.

Wind Turbines

The Excel is a 7 meter (23 ft) diameter three-blade upwind turbine that achieves high reliability through rugged construction and a minimum of moving parts.

The rotor on the Excel has three pultruded fiber reinforced plastic (FRP) blades which are rigidly attached at their hubs. The Excel blades are flexible in torsion and have a unique pitch weight attached to their outboard leading edge. The patented Powerflex® blade system provides passive blade pitching as a function of rotor speed. Thus, the blades are set for a higher pitch to aid start-up, but "flatten out" at speed to improve operating aerodynamic efficiency. The airfoil used on the Excel is a proprietary design (BW-3) developed specifically for low Reynolds Number conditions. This thin, highly cambered section is not affected by normal dust and residue build-up on the blade leading edge. BWC offers an Extra-Stiff Blade Option for high-turbulence or high icing conditions. These blades are often painted black for ice-shedding.

The blades attach directly to the outside shell of the Excel's purpose-built direct drive 38-pole permanent magnet (PM) alternator. The alternator has an "inside-out" configuration in that the outer shell (containing the magnets) rotates about the fixed internal stator structure. Thus, the alternator incorporates the rotor hub, has no central rotating shaft, puts the front bearing in the rotor plane, and has no brushes. The output is a sinusoidal three-phase alternating current that varies in voltage and frequency with wind speed.

The Excel wind turbine series is nominally rated at 10 kW. In a battery charging application, however, there is an inherent load matching problem between permanent magnet alternators and battery banks. The Excel-R is optimized for low wind speed performance, which maximizes energy production. But providing the best performance in low winds results in some reduction in peak power under high wind conditions. Therefore, the Excel-R is rated at 7.5 kW.

The turbine is aligned into the wind by a tail assembly. The tail boom and and integrated rotor/alternator assembly attach to the mainframe assembly, which incorporates the yaw-axis slip-rings and the tower interface. The geometry of the mainframe creates the passive Autofurl® high wind speed protection. The mainframe offsets the rotor and yaw axes such that rotor thrust produces a furling moment about the yaw-axis. The weight and inclined pivot of the hinged tail provides a preset resistance to the rotor furling moment. Overspeed control is initiated at 13-15 m/s (30-34 mph) when rotor thrust overcomes the tail resistance and restoration is caused by gravity as the wind speed subsides. The Excel has no shut-down wind speed. The turbine can be manually shut-down using a furling winch installed at the base of the tower.

Corrosion protection for the Excel is provided by hot-dip galvanizing (mainframe, tower adapter, and tail boom), electro-zinc plating, and polyurethane paint systems. FRP components, such as the blades, are protected by ultraviolet-inhibiting resin additives and sub-surface “scrim cloth” UV barrier. The blades have polyurethane leading edge tape for protection against erosion. The Excel’s four sealed bearings are provided with static drain brushes to protect against discharge pitting. A Marine Corrosion Option is available which substitutes stainless steel hardware and provide full encapsulation of the stator windings.

The Excel has only four moving parts, no adjustable elements, and no grease fittings. No scheduled maintenance is required beyond biannual inspections and replacement of the outer three feet of blade leading edge tape every 4-5 years. Static components of the Excel are designed for a 50 year life and dynamic components are designed for a 30 year life. Predicted major overhaul requirements include blade refinishing and alternator bearing replacement at 15 years or 225,000 kWh’s.

The VCS-10 controller, which comes with the Excel-R wind turbine, provides controlled rectification through a three-phase semi-converter. The semi-converter uses phase modulation to control charging voltage and current based upon the battery bank voltage. Safe operation of the Excel turbine is independent of the load conditions, allowing the controller to unload the turbine during regulation. No auxiliary load is required. The VCS-10 is fully solid-state and is passively cooled. It incorporates an LCD display of DC bus voltage and status lights to indicate the charging mode of the unit.

Since its introduction in 1983 the Excel has distinguished itself as the one of the most reliable wind turbines ever produced. The Wisconsin Power & Light SWECS test program, the largest of its kind (involving SWECS from UTRC (Windtech), Windworks, Jacobs, Enertech, and Carter), showed a 99.1% availability (9.0% higher than any other unit) and an O&M cost of $0.0026/kWh for the Excel over a five year test program. This is less than half the O&M costs that have been typically reported for grid-intertied photovoltaic systems (eg, PG&E test program).

Another utility, Pacific Power & Light, through its subsidiary OnSite Energy, installed leading remote wind turbine products (3 kW Northern Power Systems HR-3, 10 kW BWC Excel, and 17.5 kW Jacobs 10-23) on a telecommunications site at Duncan Mountain, Idaho in November, 1984 for the purposes of product and technology evaluation. The site is very remote and accessible only by helicopter during the winter. Since installation, over fourteen years now, the BWC Excel has achieved nearly 100% availability. The next most reliable turbine in the PP&L test program had an 84% availability in the first five years. The other turbines at the site have now been decommissioned and the Excel is providing prime power to the telecommunications facility.

The BWC Excel is the best selling wind turbine in the size range of 2-20 kW in the world. Over 600 units have been installed in more than 30 countries.

Solar PV Systems

When you decide to go solar, you'll sleep better knowing you've made the enlightened choice that helps to preserve the environment and leaves a cleaner world for your children. Better yet, you'll applaud your sound financial decision every month when your lower utility bills arrive. You'll reduce the amount of energy you purchase from your utility, lower your electricity costs every day, and provide a measure of protection against future utility rate increases. Who says daylight savings only lasts six months a year?

The Brilliant Benefits of Solar

Solar Lowers Your Utility Bills