Tag Archives: Solar Power

Chicago Suburb Oak Park Joins International Solar-Powered Smart Grid Test

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The village of Oak Park, a suburb west of Chicago, was recently selected from a list of competing volunteer neighborhoods to be the test site for smart grid technology.

Duane Tilden‘s insight:

The project is a joint venture between the Korean Smart Grid Institute and the Institute for Sustainable Energy Development, and will involve placing a set of twelve or thirteen 3-kilowatt solar panels, along with a battery system, on the roofs of 100 residential and 100 multifamily buildings. They’ll also all be linked up to an electrical grid boasting smart meters, and once the test run of the system is over the building owners will get to keep the installations, worth $20,000 to $30,000 [each].

The [scenario for Oak Park homeowners] we talk about the most is this idea of collecting the solar energy during the day and storing it in the battery and then having the house run on the battery at night so you’re completely offline at night and the battery provides a phantom load — your clocks, TV.

The [average number of outages] for Oak Park is 45 minutes per year. What the number doesn’t tell you about is the stories I hear when [residents] call up on day three of still not having power. Then I get calls from restaurants. You’re talking about an entire week’s or month’s inventory gone.

See on thinkprogress.org

CanSIA 2012-Smart Grid Breakout Session

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CanSIA 2012-Smart Grid Breakout Session.

“At CanSIA Solar Canada in Toronto I [Joshua LaForge] attended a breakout session that focused on developing grid technologies for the integration of solar PV and other renewables. The speakers covered a broad range of topics, including weather forecasting for solar load balancing (Rhonda Wright-Hilbig, IESO), economic modelling of renewable penetration (Justin Malecki, Clearsky Advisors), and PV-pilot projects in isolated communities (PJ Fernandex, ABB and Scott Henneberry, Schneider Electric).”

Smart Grid May be Shortest Route to Obama’s Green Energy Goals – Forbes

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President Obama’s inaugural address listed climate change and renewable energy as among his top priorities in his second term. But one of the most critical means by which to achieve those goals was never mentioned: the smart grid.

Duane Tilden‘s insight:

[…] Collaboration is instrumental, although Yeager warns that some interests can deflect progress because they are unable to set aside their agendas.

“We have to change policies to enable innovation,” he previously told this writer. “Utilities will not do this by themselves. They will want more power sources and to make more money. They have no incentive to empower consumers. Until the incentives for utilities change, they will block the door and the public utility commissions will keep the status quo.”

Yeager likened it to the days before telecommunications reform: Innovation will remain pent up in a regulatory model that has no motivation to change. And nothing will happen unless regulators force utilities to adopt those smart grid technologies. …

[…] Whereas energy conservation has typically been a back-burner subject, today it is up front. That awareness in combination with a difficult economy means that people will continue to search out ways to cut energy consumption, and costs.

“It will get there, but the smart grid really is still being defined,” says Nosbaum, […]

The smart grid supports the Obama’s administration’s green initiatives. As such, the president allocated $4.5 billion in the 2009 stimulus plan to various projects. […]

Over time, DNV KEMA says that a total of $16 billion in incentives will be targeted to the smart grid. That, in turn, will multiply and create a total of $64 billion in projects tied to the efficient production, transport and use of energy. The consultancy adds that such investments will produce 280,000 new jobs.

See on www.forbes.com

NREL: News – NREL Teams Up on Three ARPA-E Projects to Optimize Electric Vehicle Battery Management and Controls

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Over the next three years, NREL engineers will work with teams led by Utah State University, Washington University, and Eaton Corporation to optimize utilization, life, and cost of lithium-ion (Li-ion) batteries for electric-drive vehicles (EDVs) through improved battery management and controls. The three projects are funded under the AMPED program with more than $7.4 million from DOE’s Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E).

Duane Tilden‘s insight:

The ultimate goal of these projects is to make EDVs viable options for a larger and wider population of drivers. The projects for each team are:

Power Management of Large Battery Packs – Utah State University ($3 million)

Objectives:    Reduction in battery size, 20% longer battery pack lifetime or 20% reduction in battery pack energy content and 50% increase in cold temperature charge rate […]
Battery Management System Design – Washington University ($2 million)

Objective:     20% increase in utilization of untapped Li-ion battery capacity at the cell level […]
Predictive Battery Management for Hybrid Vehicles -Eaton Corporation ($2.4 million)

Objective:    50% improvement in fuel economy of heavy-duty HEVs without sacrificing battery life […]

See on www.nrel.gov

Wing Power Energy focuses on micro-wind systems for cell towers, buildings – Boston Business Journal

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While large wind farms like the Cape Wind Project routinely take years to get approval and support, Wing Power Energy is focused on micro-wind systems – small generators that produce less than 10 kilowatts…

Duane Tilden‘s insight:

[…]Wing Power Energy’s technology is a vertical, four-blade wind propeller combined with a solar panel, which together can generate as much as 3.5 kilowatt hours of electricity.

Recently, the company put up a live demonstration in the City of Salem, consisting of three hybrid wind/solar turbines on the rooftop of a municipal parking garage powering 4G LTE enabled Verizon wireless equipment, including two video surveillance cameras, one digital signboard and a complete wireless network, completely off grid and running only on the power generated by the turbines. The company now has about 15 systems up and running or in the works around the country.

See on www.bizjournals.com

IRENA: Fossil fuel subsidies cause everlasting expenses and pollution

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Abu Dhabi: Decreasing costs of renewable energy sources may convince the world governments to minimise subsidies on polluting fossil fuels, a senior official of International Renewable Energy Agency (Irena) said here on Sunday.

Duane Tilden‘s insight:

World governments were ignoring the fact that although renewable energy sources require big initial investments, their long-term operational and maintenance costs are minimal, he [Frank Wouters, Deputy Director General of Irena] pointed out.

Effective policies are more important than subsidies for countries to scale up renewable energy on a large scale, experts participating in the assembly also pointed out.

Anywhere in the world, investment in renewable power generation depends on stable regulatory frameworks, transparent planning processes and clear procedures for connection to the grid, said the participants at a workshop as part of the assembly.

See on gulfnews.com

Pioneering Global Atlas for Renewable Energy Goes Online

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The world’s first open-access Global Atlas of renewable energy resources goes live today, announced at the annual general assembly of the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA).

Duane Tilden‘s insight:

–  “In the next 10 years we expect a huge rise in the investments in renewable energy. The Global Solar and Wind Atlas will help us make the right decisions,” says Martin Lidegaard, Danish Minister of Climate, Energy and Building, and President of the 3rd session of the IRENA Assembly.

–  Note to Editors

IRENA is mandated by 159 countries and the European Union to promote the sustainable use of all forms of renewable energy, and to serve as the global hub for renewable energy cooperation and information exchange. Formally established in 2011, IRENA is the first major international organization to be headquartered in the Middle East.

See on www.financialpost.com

French Firm Launches Floating Solar Power System to Market

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The Hydrélio system will be best used in unused stretches of water, such as quarry lakes, irrigation ponds, water treatment plant lagoons and dams, Ciel et Terre said. “This new floating solar power generation concept addresses the problems of land availability and landscape impacts that large-scale land-based solar power generation projects come up against,” it said. “It makes it possible to conserve land that can be put to other uses, and to convert unused stretches of water into spaces dedicated to renewable electricity production. These stretches of water cover substantial areas.”

See on thegreenenergyblog.com