Powering the Construction of a Nuclear Processing Facility

With an estimated value of $6.5 billion, the (UPF) is the US Department of Energy’s biggest investment in Tennessee since World War 2. Located in Oak Ridge, the design consists of a multi-building, state of the art complex that will support the natio

Background

With an estimated value of $6.5 billion, the (UPF) is the US Department of Energy’s biggest investment in Tennessee since World War 2. Located in Oak Ridge, the design consists of a multi-building, state of the art complex that will support the nation’s nuclear weapons stockpile and provide fuel for various U.S. Navy vehicles. 

Customer Needs

One of the many contractors hired for the complex project was experiencing a frequent pain point on the job site. Throughout the area, they had dozens of 50 amp portable distribution units (PDU’s), which all sourced their power from generators. Part of the project’s protocol, however, was to shut the generators down at the end of the workday. When the contractor arrived the next morning, the PDU’s would not power up. This forced employees to turn on each unit and reset each GCFI module prior to being able to work, which was a drain on time and money. 

Resolution

To resolve this problem, Ericson offered to send an Ericson Compact 50A to the customer for their evaluation. They worked with the contractor to design a unit with a Plug N Play configuration tailored to the project’s specific needs, which was a better option than renting equipment and hoping it would meet their requirements. Unlike its competitors, the Compact 50A does not have plastic flip lids or individual GCFI modules, and can be set up twice as quickly. The Compact 50A PDUs also require less maintenance than traditional spider boxes and are available in multiple panel configurations to handle a variety of project types. 

The PDU successfully powered up every morning due to its auto-resetting GFCI capability, decreasing downtime in the morning. Due to this feature, the product’s durable, rugged, construction, and Ericson’s ability to meet a tight delivery schedule, the customer plans to purchase additional units to streamline the rest of the project.