Siemens will install world's largest commercial power quality system in Arizona

<%=company1%>, will install the world's largest commercial power quality system at a semiconductor wafer fab manufacturing facility in Arizona, the company announced last week. With two medium voltage Dynamic Voltage Restorer (DVR) systems already in place for two years to protect the existing electrical load of the wafer fab facility, a new dual DVR MV (medium voltage) system will be added to serve a plant expansion now underway. The new system is scheduled to go online by late summer 2001 and will have by far the world's largest protected electrical load.

The DVR technology will provide whole plant protection from potentially crippling voltage sags and swells for the 200mm wafer fab facility, said John Kessinger, general manager of the FACTS & Power Quality Division of Siemens Power Transmission & Distribution.

"Typical wafer fabs can lose anywhere from $100,000 to over $1 million each time a voltage sag disrupts their manufacturing processes," Kessinger said. "DVR systems can quickly pay for themselves by preventing process interruptions caused by sags, and improved manufacturing uptime can enhance overall competitiveness in the semiconductor market."

He noted that consistent power quality levels are essential to any critical process facility using sensitive electronics.

The DVR system guards against voltage disturbances for large electrical loads by providing what is "missing" in the incoming voltage. Sensitive load applications receive a restored waveform even though an event – a voltage sag or swell  has occurred. In the short span of 2 milliseconds, the appropriate voltage waveform components are synthesized and injected through a series injection transformer to restore the voltage waveform. The incoming voltage disturbance is corrected and the potential impact on the precision manufacturing process is avoided. The system also compensates for phase shift during a voltage sag event.

Edited by Stephen Heiser