Toronto, May 6, 2003 – (NYSE: CGT; TSX: CAE) CAE will perform the largest single power-plant simulator upgrade in the U.S. since 1992 on Detroit Edison’s Fermi 2 simulator in Monroe County, Michigan.
The project calls for a complete refurbishment of the nuclear power-plant simulator’s computers, instructor stations and simulation models. The upgrade, which will be completed in two-and-a-half years, is intended to improve the simulator’s training effectiveness and long-term performance, while reducing operating costs. The list price for similar upgrades is approximately C$6.5 million.
“The bottom line is that this will help us to provide improved training for our plant operators using better simulator models,” said William T. O’Connor, Detroit Edison’s vice-president of nuclear generation. “This is an important upgrade for us and CAE does have proven simulation technology.”
Detroit Edison is the seventh largest electric utility in the U.S., operating 10 base-load generating plants, including the Fermi 2 plant. The Fermi 2 simulator began operations October 1984. While other vendors have performed upgrades on the device, this is CAE’s first involvement with the simulator.
“The upgrade will include new state-of-the-art, user-friendly CAE Isis™ instructor stations, simulation models developed within CAE’s ROSE® simulation environment and a scalable Windows-based platform to replace the current computer system,” said Rashid Khan, CAE’s executive vice-president of marine and power systems. He added that “large-scale upgrades of power-plant simulators is an industry trend that’s expected to continue, as the nuclear industry focuses on its long-term generation targets and consequent simulator maintainability issues.”
The previous large-scale single power-plant simulator upgrade in the U.S. was the South Texas Project refurbishment that was also performed by CAE. Work began in 1992 and lasted three years.
CAE is a leading provider of integrated training solutions and advanced simulation and controls technologies to marine, civil aviation and military customers. The company generates annual revenues in excess of C$1 billion and employs more than 6,000 people in Canada, the United States and around the globe.