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Press ReleasesNOJA Power Switchgear Pty Ltd specialises in the research and development, manufacture, marketing, sales and service of medium voltage pole mounted switchgear products. We also design and assemble low voltage switchboards and motor control centres. November 2006PRESS RELEASEKeeping the lights and heaters on in Europe’s winterCold weather often means decreased accessibility to remote power distribution equipment due to environmental conditions. Heavy snow and untrafficable roads can mean heavy machinery and many hours to reach and service a fault in a distribution line.Lengthy breaks in supply are obviously undesirable to both service providers and consumers and so it is important that distribution networks use reliable intelligent switchgear which can be remotely monitored and controlled.
With winter now here, northern hemisphere temperatures have begun to drop and the install base of NOJA Power OSM Reclosers in countries like Finland will be operating in temperatures that reach -40°C. Rated for use in environmental extremes from -40°C to +55°C ambient temperature, the NOJA Power OSM27 recloser is being used in an ever widening range of locations for its automated intelligence, reliable reputation and wide feature set. In Finland where a lot of radial feeders are used, installing several reclosers in series to sectionalise faulted sections of line during heavy snow storms has helped utilities increase reliability. Each recloser location is carefully planned and protection is graded to maximize results. Remote control and monitoring is installed using GSM modems or VHF/UHF radio systems giving access to the full function of the auto reclosers control unit remotely. By isolating faults along feeders on the feeder and remote control to attempt remote close operations, reliability has increased significantly – and reliability provides many benefits. With reduced line crew deployment and revenue losses, the cost benefit to the service provider is obvious. Significantly, improved reliability is of immense benefit to the general community. Constant productivity, no loss of services and no extra inconveniences are of great value and calculated savings of up to €100,000 / annum / recloser installation have been estimated. Automation and remote control abilities are valuable capabilities of automatic reclosers. These features, which can significantly reduce costs associated with the maintenance of distribution networks, are particularly beneficial during harsh conditions. These benefits are significant to both business and the public. ### NOJA Power receives AEEMA Excellence in Exporting Award 2006The Australian Electrical & Electronics Manufacturers Association (AEEMA) has awarded
NOJA Power Switchgear their Excellence in Exporting Award 2006 at a gala dinner held on Wednesday 18th October 2006 at the Carlton Crest in Melbourne. NOJA Power was proud to accept the award which acknowledges the fact that the NOJA Power OSM pole mounted medium voltage switchgear products are now in service in more than 30 countries world wide. The award was presented by Dr John Zillman, President of the Australian Academy of Technological Sciences & Engineering (ATSE) and accepted by Mr Tony Stacey, NOJA Power’s Sales Director on behalf of the NOJA Power team. “We are particularly delighted to receive this award because it is judged and awarded by our peers” said Mr Neil O’Sullivan, Managing Director of NOJA Power. The award was sponsored by the Australian Government through its Business Division, AusIndustry, in the development of industry, tourism and resources which provides a range of incentives to help Australian manufacturers to become more innovative, investment ready and more internationally competitive. The Hon Ian Macfarlane MP, Minister for Industry, Tourism and Resources congratulated NOJA Power and said, “Innovative manufacturers such as NOJA Power Switchgear Pty Ltd make an extraordinary contribution and inspire others to succeed in a world that is increasingly competitive and technologically advanced.” Today NOJA Power is represented in more than 70 countries by exclusive Distributors and their products and services have a reputation of high reliability, leading edge technology and long life. NOJA Power also recently featured as a Finalist in the 2006 Premier of Queensland Export Awards and the Latin America Business Council Awards 2006. ### Trinidad & Tobago Electricity take delivery of NOJA Power OSM ReclosersNOJA Power has completed a contract to supply 55 x OSM15 reclosers to the Trinidad and Tobago Electricity Commission (T&TEC) in the West Indies. The OSM15-16-630-110 reclosers were supplied complete with the RC01ES recloser control.
T&TEC selected the OSM15-200 Series product on the basis of a technically superior product, proven field reliability and a strong commitment to support, service and training. The OSM recloser has been proven to be extremely reliable since its introduction to the market. MTBF figures based on actual field reliability prove the OSM design is second to none for long in-service reliability. In addition the OSM and RC01ES control cubicle have been fully type tested to ANSI C37.60. Having a safe and environmentally friendly design was also important. The OSM recloser combines solid dielectric insulation with an arc vented stainless steel tank. This means no harmful gas or oil insulants are used while maintaining safety requirements during arc fault conditions. When the extensive list of functionality, reliability, safety and service features were considered together, the OSM recloser was easily the best choice for T&TEC’s requirements. ### September 2006PRESS RELEASENOJA Power welcomes new member to sales teamNOJA Power is pleased to announce the recent appointment of Shane Gorman to the position of Sales Engineer - Australia.
Shane brings a wealth of knowledge and experience in the application of medium voltage switchgear throughout Australia. He is excited about the prospect of servicing our Australian Electricity Utility customers with the OSM Recloser because of its unrivalled reliability record and advanced features and functionality which include full directional protection and automation capability in the standard product.
### August 2006PRESS RELEASEFiji Electricity Authority Remote Controls NOJA Power ReclosersFiji Electricity Authority (FEA) has an established Scada and remote control system generally using a radio network to provide the communications path.
Due to the nature of the radio network and the topology of the islands of Fiji, FEA has to overcome black spots in this communications infrastructure to remote control remotely installed NOJA Power reclosers. As a result a recent trial has been undertaken to install GSM modems in several devices to prove this form of Scada and remote control. The project was undertaken and FEA Engineer Rakesh Solanki who consulted with NOJA Power's Service Manager, Oleg Samarski to select and configure the equipment required. Wavecom GSM modems were chosen for the trial project and NOJA Power TELUS remote control PC based software was used at the master station end to establish remote communications. Engineer Rakesh Solanki commented that he found the GSM modem set up and Telus PC based master configuration relatively straight forward and was satisfied with the performance of the trial system. In order to provide a first stage of integration with FEA's control centre, the units have been set up to provide unsolicited text messaging to the control centre and then remote control is affected either at the control centre or at the remote station using a PC with the Telus software configured. This is considered a first step as far as the trial project is concerned and as FEA's master station supports DNP3 communications protocol, a second step will be to interface devices directly to FEA's master station using DNP3 unsolicited responses. ### July 2006PRESS RELEASENew Shipment to BangladeshQld, Australia, 11-07-2006.
This is the third contract of supply to Rural Electrification Board Bangladesh for the OSM recloser product. This shipment includes 43 only OSM15, 15kV automatic circuit reclosers complete with substation mounting frames. REB will install these reclosers in new rural zone substations to protect the outgoing 11kV overhead feeders. The OSM15 recloser is ideal for these rural zone substations due to its light weight, ease of installation without the need for heavy machinery as well as its 16kA interruption capacity, 630A continuous current rating and 30,000 full load operation rated life. ### June 2006PRESS RELEASEA GLOBAL BANK TO SUPPORT A GLOBAL BUSINESSQld, Australia, 14-06-2006 NOJA Power is an Australian owned company that manufacturers a range of pole mounted automatic circuit reclosers. Since inception NOJA Power has targeted its products for export and is a company that was born global. "ANZ for us is really the only Australian bank that seriously targets and supports Australian exporters to do global business", said Neil O'Sullivan, Managing Director, NOJA Power. NOJA Power researches, designs and manufactures medium voltage electrical switchgear. NOJA Power automatic circuit reclosers operate in the voltage ranges of 10,000 to 27,000 volts. This equipment is used by electrical utilities around the world to protect electrical distribution lines. Their core product is called an auto-recloser and is designed to trip when a fault occurs, then re-connect power automatically without human intervention. If the fault was temporary - such as a lightning strike - then the power will stay reconnected without any further action required. This helps to reduce costly and inconvenient power interruptions experienced in electrical storms and other faults. Over the years a strong business relationship has developed between NOJA Power and ANZ. As a global exporter, NOJA Power requires a strong financial backing so it can grow its international business through generation of demand for its products. "The ANZ International Trade Services Division provides us with tremendous support. In most cases same day service is provided to issue bank guarantees or negotiate Letters of Credit which frankly are simply not available from any other bank" said NOJA Power's Finance Manager, Quynh Anh Le. ANZ also supports NOJA Power with a multi-option facility that ensures its day to day business and growth needs are continually met . Foreign exchange currency fluctuation risk and protection is also another important part of trading globally and once again ANZ Queensland based FX dealers are there to support NOJA Power with foreign exchange advice and forward exchange contracts to eliminate the FX risk. ANZ recognizes there are business and cultural requirements when carrying out international business and the risk associated with this must be managed while still maintaining competitiveness. "Here at ANZ we have developed suitable structured finance and banking arrangements for NOJA power so they can fund their continued growth," said ANZ Relationship Manager Establishing a global market for Australian products requires considerable effort and NOJA Power are pleased to work with ANZ who are easy to do business with and eager to support NOJA Power on the path to success. ### PRESS RELEASEMotor control centres come as standardQld, Australia, 8 June 2006 The Signature SE range of switchboards feature a flexible modular design with a wide range of compartment options. The Signature SE is ASTA certified to comply with BS EN 60439.1 and IEC 439.1 standards. It is also fully compliant with Australian Standard AS 3439.1 1993. The range’s features include IP55 rated, 2mm Zincanneal steel construction; internal arc fault chimneys as standard; operating voltage ratings of 380/415/690Vac; operating current ratings up to 4000A; and fault current ratings up to 100kA. Arc fault containment is a key part of the design: each module has arc-venting on the left hand side to allow ionised gases to expand in the unlikely event of a fault. Gases are vented through a hinged cover in the roof of the switchboard assembly. Testing and Certification Australia has conducted internal arcing fault testing to prove the integrity of the enclosure system under extreme fault conditions. Motor control centre switchboards are traditionally custom designed and manufactured, which increases delivery time. Noja Power has introduced a standardised design to speed the process and increase quality and reliability. The company has built a new facility at its head office to assemble, wire and test the switchboards. Qualified tradespeople and engineers with years of experience in low voltage switchboard manufacture make the boards in a process controlled by an ISO9001:2000 quality system. ### PRESS RELEASEStandard design for motor control centres improves qualityQld, Australia, 6 June 2006
NOJA Power has entered the motor control centre market with a standardised product designed to increase quality and reliability. Motor control centre switchboards have traditionally been custom designed and manufactured. This process lengthens the time it takes to deliver a final product and ultimately affects the overall build quality. NOJA Power has introduced a completely standardised design to eliminate these shortcomings. Before construction starts, a full set of engineering drawings are designed and approved. The metalwork is then manufactured with all holes and slots and then painted. The motor control drive modules are pre-designed and wired on a production line. These are standard units that are installed into the switchboard off the shelf. The customer simply specifies the size of drive required - there is no need to custom design the wiring. NOJA Power uses the same, proven, switchgear modules each time. NOJA says the modules are made in batches, each wired the same way, and any mistakes are rectified at the module testing phase, rather than after installing into the switchboard. Rather than try and force a custom design into a standard switchboard, NOJA Power strongly feels standard board designs should be fitted with standard, pre-designed modules. As a result customers can expect a high level of reliability and quality. ### May 2006PRESS RELEASEThink Motor Control Centres - Think NOJA PowerQld, Australia, 22 May 2006
The NOJA range of switchboards feature a flexible modular design with a wide range of compartment options. The NOJA range has been carefully designed for the Australian market. The modular design is fully ASTA certified to comply with both BS EN 60439.1 and IEC 439.1 standards. It is also fully compliant with Australian Standard AS 3439.1 1993.
Modular Design IP55 Rated 2mm Zincanneal Steel construction Internal arc fault chimneys included as standard Operating Voltage Ratings of - 380/415/690 VAC Operating Current Ratings up to 4000A Fault Current Ratings up to 100kA Arc fault containment is a key part of the design. Each module contains arc-venting in the left hand side to allow ionised gases to expand in the unlikely event of a fault. Gases are vented out through a hinged cover in the roof of the switchboard assembly. Internal arcing fault testing has been conducted by Testing and Certification Australia to prove the integrity of the enclosure system under the most extreme fault conditions. NOJA Power has built a new facility at its head office to assemble, wire and test the switchboards. Construction is undertaken by qualified tradespeople and engineers with years of experience in low voltage switchboards. The entire process is controlled by an ISO9001:2000 quality system. ### PRESS RELEASE132kV Substation Protection and SCADA control projectQld, Australia, 10-05-2006. NOJA Power has been awarded a contract to manufacture, assemble and test Twenty Two x 19" Rack type - Protection and RTU Panels for a number of - 132 kV / 66 kV Substation construction projects in Queensland Australia.
Utilising NOJA's Engineering, Fabricating and Testing resources the panels final design and layout will be completed at the NOJA Power Switchgear factory at Murarrie, with a Secondary Systems Routine Testing performed prior to dispatch to site. With construction of the panels in NOJA's Low Voltage Motor Control Centre and Switchgear Assembly facility, an expedited delivery of these panels is a paramount customer requirement, to which NOJA is able to respond. ### PRESS RELEASEReliable power thanks To NOJA Power reclosersQld, Australia, 9 May 2006
Conditions are now reduced to short outages in isolated areas of the network allowing the mine to operate efficiently with minimum interruptions. The central cause of all this fuss was the extremely large population of bats living in the immediate vicinity. Before the reclosers were installed they would fly into the lines, causing a fault that would trip the circuit breaker back at the substation resulting in the loss of an entire feeder. This feeder not only supplied parts of the mine, but also the accommodation village nearby. Mines are generally temporary constructions, and the cost of running feeders underground for any significant length of time cannot be justified. On the other hand, the bats are protected and cannot simply be culled to reduce the problem. Kimberley Nickel Mines looked into the problem and decided to install two reclosers on the sections most affected by the bat strike problem. Automatic circuit reclosers (ACR) are essentially circuit breakers designed to re-connect power after detecting and interrupting a fault. If the fault is temporary the reclose operation will succeed allowing power to be restored instantly without human intervention. Bats are usually incinerated when they come into contact with voltages of this level (11kV). When the recloser detects the fault it opens and lets the bat fall to the ground. This removes the fault and the reclose operation is generally successful. If a permanent fault is on the line, the recloser will open and close a number of times, depending on how it has been programmed and eventually isolate the section of network if the fault is of a permanent nature. The worst case now is that a small portion of the network may lose power while the fault is restored. In most cases, however, the interruption will only last a few seconds. Installation of the reclosers was undertaken by an electrical contractor. Kimberley Mine's electrical coordinator, Peter Jensen, then contacted NOJA Power directly to help with commissioning. Although reclosers are a common sight in electrical utility networks, they are not so common in small privately owned networks. NOJA Power pride themselves on superior service and support and are always ready to help customers who need to properly commission their new recloser. Due to the remote location of the mine, all training and commissioning advice was delivered over the phone and online using email. NOJA Power's service manager, Oleg Samarski, was supplied information on the substation circuit breaker settings, transfomer sizes and other network information. From this he calculated appropriate settings that accounted for proper protection coordination and transformer inrush currents. These were delivered to Peter Jensen as a downloadable configuration file. "Commissioning a recloser as flexible as ours can be difficult if you have never worked with one before," Oleg said. "We are always happy to help customers get the most out of our reclosers for their particular situation. In this situation we were able to solve a considerable technical issue without the need to visit the site ourselves." All NOJA Power reclosers have extensive configuration settings, data logging and measurement capabilities. These can be viewed locally at the control cubicle attached to the recloser, or on a PC using a software package called TELUS which is supplied free of charge. Peter Jensen used this tool to load the new configuration into the recloser. After the recloser had been in service for a while the data log was downloaded and analysed. It was discovered that the recloser had cleared many temporary faults due to bat-strike. In order to reduce the number of interruptions, it was decided to further fine-tune the protection settings to coordinate even closer with the main substation circuit breaker. Reviewing the protection coordination based on actual in service data proved to be invaluable in improving the overall reliability of the power supply. By raising the phase to phase fault current pick levels to just below the substation settings allowed a greater number of bats to hit the lines and fall off without having the recloser interrupt the fault at all. The settings have now been adjusted so finely that interruptions have been reduced to the absolute minimum possible given the circumstances. ### PRESS RELEASENOJA Power helps to see the lightQld, Australia, 8 May 2006
From the start NOJA Power focussed their design on a number of key areas. All electronics were designed to be immune to Electro Magnetic Interference - a common problem with poorly designed medium voltage switchgear. Power consumption has been kept extremely low using the latest low-power components. A significant amount of effort went into accurate signal analysis so advanced power quality measurements could be included in the final product. Finally, SCADA connectivity was designed in from the very beginning with a focus on easy configuration and multiple interface options. NOJA Power's Engineering Manager, Mr Jay Manne, believes NOJA Power has developed a world class product. "This development project drew on over a century of combined experience in servicing the Electricity Supply Industry and in the development of electronic systems. Our goal was to produce a family of products that exceeded market expectations through innovative engineering and the appropriate application of new technologies," he said. NOJA Power committed a large amount of resources to the project and was supported every step of the way by Ausindustry with a Research and Development Start Grant. This scheme funds up to 50% of the cost of a project and is only awarded after a competitive round of grant submissions. This valuable assistance has allowed NOJA Power to successfully develop a recloser product with 100% Australian owned Intellectual Property. ### PRESS RELEASELive line work: Is your switchgear fault contained?Qld, Australia, 8 May 2006
According to NOJA Power's Managing Director, Mr Neil O'Sullivan, the answer is to use reclosers that are arc fault contained and vented in accordance with the requirements of IEC60298 Annex AA. "Not all reclosers on the market today are arc-fault contained and this should concern those responsible for the safety of live-line workers", he said. "Although some SF6 gas insulated products are arc-vented, these are increasingly avoided due to the associated health and greenhouse gas issues." "NOJA Power has the only arc-vented, solid dielectric, SF6 free, product on the market today" "In situations where SF6 gas is not desirable, and installation is to be live-line, our reclosers are the only safe choice", he said. Pole mounted switchgear have evolved dramatically over the years. Early switchgear used oil for interruption and insulation. The next generation of products used vacuum interruption with oil insulation. Sulphur hexafluoride (SF6) gas was then discovered and used for interruption and insulation. It was then found that SF6 gas is a greenhouse gas and the by-products created when using SF6 gas for interrupting arcs is carcinogenic and can cause cancer. The challenge for pole mounted switchgear manufacturers has been to find safe, viable, long life alternatives to using oil and SF6 gas in their products. This has seen the introduction of a range of vacuum interrupted solid dielectric products into the market. The majority of these products use vacuum interrupters embedded inside cyclo-aliphatic epoxy resin poles which are exposed to the environment. Magnetic actuator type mechanisms are used on each pole to actuate the device. The actuators are normally encased in a mild steel or stainless steel housing which also provides the base plate for mounting the cyclo-aliphatic resin pole. This type of switchgear design is available from several manufacturers and while it has achieved the goal of eliminating the use of harmful insulants such as SF6 and oil, is this really a safer, longer life product? The main problem with this design is that while it does address the environmental issues it does not address safety and long life issues in an acceptable manner. These types of products do not provide arc fault containment and venting in accordance with the requirements of IEC60298 Annex AA. It can be said that with three separate poles it is not possible to achieve a phase to phase arc fault and therefore arc fault containment is not required. However, it is still possible to achieve a phase to ground fault and this can propagate. If this occurs, arc fault containment is essential for the safety of anyone in the immediate vicinity. Unfortunately, the design described above lacks this essential feature. This particular concern must be taken into consideration with the ever increasing live line installation practices used by electricity utilities around the world when installing new medium voltage plant and equipment. A combined insulation system with arc fault containment is the answer. Electrical breakdown in air occurs when an electrical field exceeds 2.4kV per mm. In practical applications, in order to achieve a minimum 125kV BIL (required for 27kV switchgear), a 200-300mm clearance is required due to the non-even distribution of electrical fields. However if this air gap has a barrier placed between the two electrodes this greatly reduces the clearances required. The dielectric strength of a combined insulation system is higher than that of the insulating material itself. This effect is generated by the barrier hindering the chain reaction of molecule ionisation required for electrical breakdown across air. The combined insulation system must also provide the mechanical strength to withstand the forces associated with arc fault containment and fault level interruption. The insulation system must also be IP66 water proof and shaped to ensure electrical fields are minimised to withstand the required BIL/flashover levels. Various insulation materials are used within this design and are chosen for their different properties: Silicon for joins and flexible areas, polymers for rigid structures that provide strength. High pressure processes are used for each material to eliminate voids that can lead to partial discharge problems. NOJA Power's patented Arc fault containment and venting is achieved by manufacturing the tank from 304 grade stainless steel and providing an arc vent in the pole side of the tank. Pole mounted medium voltage auto reclosers will continue to play a critical role in the future of electricity distribution overhead line protection. Pole mounted auto reclosers offering a longer life and solid dielectric insulation systems with arc fault containment and venting should be specified by all electricity utilities when considering future recloser purchase specifications. ### April 2006PRESS RELEASELow voltage switchboardsQld, Australia, 27 April 2006 The "Signature SE" range of switchboards feature a flexible modular design with a wide range of compartment options. The Signature SE has been carefully designed for the Australian market. The modular design is fully ASTA certified to comply with both BS EN 60439.1 and IEC 439.1 standards. It is also fully compliant with Australian Standard AS 3439.1 1993.
Features include: * Modular design * IP55 rated * 2mm Zincanneal steel construction * Internal arc fault chimneys included as standard * Operating voltage ratings of - 380/415/690Vac * Operating current ratings up to 4000A * Fault current ratings up to 100kA. Arc fault containment is a key part of the design. Each module contains arc-venting in the left hand side to allow ionised gases to expand in the unlikely event of a fault. Gases are vented out through a hinged cover in the roof of the switchboard assembly. Internal arcing fault testing has been conducted by Testing and Certification Australia to prove the integrity of the enclosure system under the most extreme fault conditions. NOJA Power has built a new facility at its head office to assemble, wire and test the switchboards. Construction is undertaken by qualified tradespeople and engineers with years of experience in low voltage switchboards. The entire process is controlled by an ISO9001:2000 quality system. ### PRESS RELEASEScottish Power Awards Three Year Supply Contract To NOJA PowerQld, Australia, 22-04-2006 NOJA Power will supply an estimated 450 reclosers during the course of the contract. The reclosers will be used in the Scottish Power network as part of their ongoing reliability improvement program.
The OSM15-200 recloser was selected by SP Power after a detailed engineering evaluation had been conducted. Their decision was based on the advanced features offered, including:
Functionality was also very important with SP Power. The integral voltage measurement on all six bushings had many benefits as did the extensive protection, data logging and automation capabilities. The evaluation and award was a team process involving all stakeholders in the decision. Trial installations were conducted and these were followed up with detailed review and question/answer sessions. SCADA integration and remote control were also tested and reviewed. The RC control and communications cubicle will use a Radius SCADA radio to communicate back to the master using DNP3 communications protocol on board the integral RTU. Some additional functionality was required after the review. SP Power and NOJA Power engineers worked together to implement these during the initial contract process. Training and support is a key element in any successful recloser purchase and this is a particular strength of NOJA Power's approach. Detailed training for SP Power staff has been fully supported by NOJA Power's service department as part of the contract. NOJA Power reclosers are exclusively supplied in the UK by Matthew Blythe and Sons who are providing SP Power with local contact and support for the OSM recloser. ### |
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