GIC Mitigation

SolidGround® often referred to as a GIC Blocker, Neutral Blocking Device (NBD), Neutral Earthing Device (NED), Neutral Insertion Device (NID) or a Capacitive GIC Reduction device (GRD) is a grid stability and harmonics mitigation system. It is the ground induced currents (GIC) and the induced harmonics from E3 HEMP and GMD that threaten the largest irreplaceable equipment such as transformers, large power generators and high voltage circuit breakers. SolidGround® blocks GIC at the point of entry (neutral of transformers) and prevents half-cycle saturation, harmonic generation and reactive power consumption. SolidGround® has been extensively studied, validated, installed and has been continuously operating as designed at Critical Infrastructure substations for over ten years.

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• 2026 Oak Ridge/Sandia Lab - Distance relays operate property w/ SolidGround NBD design

• 2025 New SolidGround® Model (4th Gen.) is completed

• 2025 NERC Report on “Gannon Storm” highlights SolidGround® GIC Blockers (Slide 4)

• 2024 Critical Infrastructure Protection News - SolidGround® is the tested solution

• 2024 Secure the Grid Coalition - comments to Secretary of Energy re: SolidGround®

• 2023 Western Area Power Administration installs SolidGround® on a 345kV Transformer

• 2023 Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) installs SolidGround® on a 500kV Transformer

• 2022 SolidGround® circuit study - effectively dampens potential ferroresonance, Malaysia

• 2020 Center for Security Policy - Neutral Blocking (NBDs) as immediate priority (p.4-6)

• 2020 Foundation for Resilient Societies - prioritize GMD/E3 protection (NBD’s p.50-51, 63)

• 2020 Oak Ridge Lab - Distance protection relays operate properly w/ SolidGround® NBD’s

• 2019 Presidential Executive Order 13744 - SolidGround® selected for DOE/EPRI projects

• 2019 American Transmission Company Update on the Performance of SolidGround®

• 2019 EPRI Technical Report - Mitigation for EMP - highlights SolidGround® (Fig. 5-12)

• 2019 U.S. Senate Committee - Testimony on SolidGround® - American Transmission Co.

• 2018 PowerWorld/Emprimus - SolidGround® for GMD and EMP mitigation

• 2018 Janney recommends SolidGround® to protect transformers from EMP/GMD (p. 10)

• 2018 U.S. Senate Committee - Testimony on SolidGround® - Idaho National Laboratory

• 2017 PowerWorld/ATC/Emprimus - SolidGround® Operational Performance on 345kV grid

• 2017 American Transmission Company Presentation on the Performance of SolidGround®

• 2015 EPRI-Geomagnetically-Induced Current (GIC) Reduction Device Application Guide

• 2014 EPRI-Geomagnetic Disturbance (GMD) Neutral Blocking Device Analysis

• 2014 Southern CA Edison/DTRA/ABB/Emprimus - SolidGround® protection against GMD

• 2014 DTRA/PowerWorld/Emprimus GMD Modeling w/ SolidGround®, Live Grid Testing

• 2013 American Transmission Company GIC grid protection - purchases SolidGround®

• 2013 Presentation - PowerWorld Grid Modeling with GIC and SolidGround®

• 2013 ABB, Inc. - highlights SolidGround® to protect transformers feeding Data Centers

THREAT: GMD and E3 HEMP

• 2026 The sun is stronger than our electric grid - we are defenseless against it (Fox News)

• 2025 Within 72 hours, the American Population will break down (Sirotin Intelligence)

• 2025 IEC Standard 61000-2-9 increased E3 HEMP to 85 V/km, duration up to 1000 sec.

• 2024 Solar Superflares once per Century, analyzing 56,450 sun like stars - Max-Planck

• 2024 Earth overdue-solar superflare that could take down power supplies, Daily Telegraph

• 2024 The superstorms from space that could end modern life, BBC, O’Callaghan

• 2021 Department of Energy - HEMP Waveform Benchmarks (E3a - 80 V/km, E3b - 50 V/km)

• 2019 Observations warn Carrington level GMD’s occur more frequently, Space Weather

• 2019 U.S. Senate Roundtable - Small GMDs cause $10 Billion in loss/year, Kasper, PhD

• 2018 DoD declassified - Recommended E3 HEMP Waveform for U.S. (85 V/km)

• 2018 DoD declassified - Commission Report to Assess Threat to U.S. - EMP Attack, Vol. 1

• 2017 Risk-Based National Infrastructure Protection Priorities for EMP and GMD, Baker

• 2017 Examination of NERC GMD Standards/Ground Models/Geo-Electric Fields, Radasky

• 2017 High Consequence Scenarios for North Korean Atmospheric Nuclear Tests

• 2017 Quantifying daily economic impact of extreme space weather, Oughton

• 2016 AIG, University of Cambridge Centre for Risk Studies Helios Solar Storm Scenario

• 2015 Testimony before U.S. House Committee on National Security re EMP(E3), Baker

• 2015 Zurich-Study on Electrical Claims and Space Weather-Schrijver-Dobbins

• 2014 EPRI-Analysis of Geomagnetic Disturbance (GMD) Related Harmonic

• 2014 Assessing the Impact of Space Weather on the Electric Grid-Schrijver-Space_Weather

• 2013 Lloyd's-Solar Storm Risk to the North American Electric Grid

• 2012 Space Weather-Generation of 100-year GIC scenarios, Pulkkinen

• 2012 GMD Modeling - A Method for Large Scale System Studies, Overbye

• 2011 Quantifying extreme behavior in GMD (6,000 nT/min.), Space Weather, Thomson

• 2010 Geomagnetic Storms and Their Impacts on the U.S. Power Grid, Kappenman

• 2010 Late-Time (E3) High Altitude EMP and its impact on Power Grid-Metatech

• 2008 Report of the Commission to Assess Threat to U.S. from an EMP Attack