Don’t let a hurricane or polar vortex get your customers down. Explore stand-alone and battery backup systems using the industry-leading Sunny Island off-grid inverter, which is ideal for those who are prone to power outages or want more independence from the power grid.

If you are on the fence about adding AC-coupled systems to your business portfolio or have questions about using this unique product, then join us for a focused, informative and fun class that will cover the following topics:

The Sunny Island from SMA: Beating Mother Nature at her own game.

Thursday, August 21, 2014

9:00am PT

Duration: Approximately 1 hour 15 minutes

Cost: FREE

The Energy Department today announced a total of $4.4 million for two projects in Michigan and Pennsylvania to support the use of advanced materials and manufacturing techniques in the development of new “low-head” hydropower technologies.

The United States has major opportunities across the country to add new hydropower generating capabilities at low-head sites, which operate with a change in elevation between 2 and 20 meters, including waterways at existing non-powered dams, canals, and conduits. According to Energy Department assessments, there is a technical resource potential of more than 50 GW of potential capacity at these low-head sites.

• Eaton Corporation of Southfield, Michigan, will develop a turbine and generator system that uses lightweight advanced materials and advanced manufacturing techniques such as laser-assisted welding, surface treatments, and processing. The turbine will be designed to deliver a constant source of energy despite changes in water flow by using a system that operates efficiently across a range of ebbs and flows. The Eaton Corporation will design, fabricate, and test its turbine at 1/10th scale. 
• Pennsylvania State University will develop and demonstrate a low-head hydropower turbine and generator system prototype that combines lightweight, corrosion-resistant metallic components that can be produced through an additive manufacturing process. A condition-based monitoring system will also facilitate improved operation and maintenance.

Intellinder is a combination of a unique positional bar code pattern, etched on the cylinder’s piston rod, and a highly engineered optic reader.  With resolution of up to 0.001” and speeds to 40 inches/sec, integral health monitoring and the ease to incorporate true redundancy,   Intellinder^TM provides Power Gen engineers a superior alternative to their position monitoring needs.

By integrating a highly engineered sensor directly into the hydraulic, pneumatic or electromechanical actuator, this Parker innovation eliminates the time and cost associated with gun drilling, as well as unprotected external sensors with complex linkages. Cylinder feedback installation is virtually plug-and-play.  “The Intellinder sensor brings a unique competitive advantage to all of Parker’s cylinders,” said  Bruce Besch, Advanced Motion Products Manager for Parker’s Industrial Cylinder Division.  Besch  explains, “ Standard positioning technologies rely on magnetostrictive sensors, variable resistance sensors (string pots) and laser gauges. These all have limitations, including short strokes, dead zones, calibration needs, water ingression, temperature range restrictions, interference from contaminants, annoying electrical noise and time-consuming removal and repair.  These problems all add inefficiencies to power gen operations, which increases operational cost.  Parker Intellinder-enabled cylinders eliminate these issues and streamline operations.” 

The Intellinder Sensor signals absolute positioning, rather than position relative to the starting location of the rod. A position identifying bar code pattern is etched directly onto standard rods, with no alterations required to the cylinder’s piston, head or cap. The optic reader bolts to the cylinder head, and the position is communicated continually and directly to the controller.  Position reporting occurs at power-on and does not require calibration.  Parker’s design allows for full utilization of even double-rod cylinder applications, allowing customer utilization of both rod ends.

Intellinder feedback devices utilize serial bus connectivity, so multiple Intellinder cylinders can be networked together with a single cable back to the host controller.  True redundancy is achieved by simply adding multiple, non-contacting reader sensors to the cylinder.  Long cables up to 300 feet from the farthest cylinder to the output module, may be used. Analog output modules are protected to IP67 and do not need to be mounted in enclosures.

Intellinder-enabled cylinders include hydraulic, pneumatic and electro-mechanical designs that are rugged, and engineered to sustain performance in harsh environment power gen actuation applications, including hydroelectric plant and dams, gas turbines, wind turbine rotors and solar panel tracking.  Intellinder-enabled cylinder and actuation system features and benefits include:

• Environmental:
• Extreme operating temperature rating (-40^o to 221^o F)
• Sustains performance in applications exposed to vibration, dust, gravel, corrosives, chemicals, axial load, side load, and immersion
• Remains impervious to electronic noise and has been tested to ensure signal strength in the most rigorous applications.
• Construction: 
• Steel and stainless construction available as NFPA tie rod or round line design
• Universal across a wide range of cylinder bore and rod diameters, with stroke lengths up to 20 feet
• Multiple Intellinder-enabled cylinders can be connected to a single bus, offering reduced installation and commissioning costs — Installation is virtually plug-and-play
• Intellinder sensor : Exterior mount, non-pressurized, non-contacting sensor that is easy to replace
• CAN communication to signal conditioning electronics allow long cable runs

The Combined Heat and Power Association (CHPA), the leading advocate of an integrated approach to delivering energy services using combined heat and power and district heating and cooling, has selected new board members.

Chris Marsland, technical director for ENER-G Combined Power Ltd ,has joined the CHPA board. As part of his role, he is chair of the CHPA Small Buildings Forum. As a chartered engineer and member of the Institute of Engineering and Technology (IET), Marsland is responsible for the engineering content of all   ENER-G’s global CHP projects. He is also chairman of the Technical Committee for the Association of Manufacturers and Suppliers of Power Generating Systems (AMPS), which is part of a major research consortium examining the use of CHP Virtual Power Plants.

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Siemens Wind Power and Renewables has published four new Environmental Product Declaration (EPD) brochures, each representing one of the company’s four product platforms, covering both geared and direct drive wind turbines for offshore and onshore projects. The figures are based on Life Cycle Assessments (LCAs) of four defined wind power projects: two offshore wind plants with 80 wind turbines, and two onshore wind projects with 20 wind turbines. The new brochures offer valuable figures of the environmental performance of Siemens’ products.

Central to LCAs is the energy payback time calculation — the length of time the wind power plant has to operate in order to produce as much energy as it will consume during its entire lifecycle. For instance, In an onshore wind power plant with an average wind speed of 8.5 meters per second, the energy payback time of a Siemens SWT-3.2-113 wind turbine is 4.5 months. This figure is based on a 20-turbine project, including a 13 kilometer grid transmission connection, and all the efforts involved covering material use, manufacturing, installation, operation and maintenance as well as dismantling and end-of-lifetime treatment.

The offshore Life Cycle Assessment based on a project with 80 Siemens D6 wind turbines shows another interesting environmental performance: During its estimated lifetime, it produces 53 million mWh and saves 45 million tons of CO₂, which is equal to the amount of CO₂ absorbed by a forest with an area of 1,286 km2 over 25 years. This figure corresponds to a CO₂ emission of only seven grams per kilowatt-hour (g/kWh) compared to the 865 g/kWh found with average global fossil power production.

The EPD brochures on the four Siemens Product Platforms (G2, D3, G4 and D6) are now available for download.

NRG, the second-largest conventional power generation company in the US, recently held a groundbreaking ceremony for the company’s new “ultra-green,” grid-resilient corporate headquarters in Princeton. The new headquarters, which was developed in collaboration with and is enabled by a long-term lease with Boston Properties, is expected to open in 2016.

Having outgrown its current location, NRG is seizing the opportunity to design, develop and inhabit a new facility that incorporates the cutting-edge resource technologies that characterize the NRG vision. The three-floor, 130,000-square-foot headquarters seamlessly integrates a host of renewable energy technologies and efficiency measures, both established and cutting-edge.

NRG says its new headquarters will be a showcase for one of the most trailblazing resource-efficient, grid-resilient designs achievable by corporate America today. The location will incorporate, among other technologies:

• Two on-site solar fields, with roughly 765 kW of capacity;
• High-efficiency LED lighting combined with daylight harvesting to reduce indoor lighting needs and energy use by roughly one-third;
• 12,000 gallons of rainwater harvesting capacity to reduce city water use by 80%;
• More than 30 electric vehicle charging stations with the infrastructure for EV-to-grid (eV2g) “back-feed” capability;
• Off-grid capabilities and significant additional energy efficiency provided through dual-fuel generators and combined heat and power (CHP) systems for heating and cooling;
• Grid power — to the extent it is used — will be 100% renewable energy through one of NRG’s green retail subsidiaries.

According to NRG, these features will dramatically reduce electricity, water and fuel use relative to a similar-sized corporate office. The 765 kW solar array is expected to produce around 980 MWh of clean electricity per year, displacing approximately 588 tons of CO2 annually. According to NRG, that’s equivalent to the energy related emissions of 50 houses. In addition to the financial and environmental benefits that come from resource efficiency, these technologies will provide an educational and inspiring workplace for more than 500 employees onsite.

“As the largest competitive generator in the country, we have the responsibility to continue reducing our carbon footprint in the medium and long term through innovation and ingenuity,” said Mauricio Gutierrez, NRG’s COO. “With the construction of our new headquarters, we will showcase the distributed energy solutions available to businesses committed to sustainability across America.”

Long-term sustainability goals

The groundbreaking announcement coincides with NRG Energy’s ambitious sustainability goals, which dovetail with the company’s continued corporate growth strategy. The core of NRG’s sustainability goals is to:

• Reduce the company’s carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions 50% by 2030; 90% by 2050 below a 2014 baseline;
• Leverage and grow core generation capabilities in a sustainable, lower carbon manner;
• Substantially grow business and shareholder value during this transformation into the nation’s leading provider of reliable, clean, sustainable energy.

“Having already reduced our CO2 emissions by 40% since 2005, we see a clear path to further dramatic long-term reduction as we vigorously pursue our multi-faceted, long-term sustainable growth strategy,” said David Crane, NRG’s CEO. “As the U.S. transitions to a renewables-driven, increasingly distributed, grid-resilient energy system, we expect to be a leader both in clean energy and in converting the CO2 emissions of our conventional generation from a liability to a profitable by-product.”

To accomplish its objectives, NRG intends to continue its leadership role in the development, ownership and operations of renewable generation, cost-effective carbon capture and sequestration (CCS), energy storage and low carbon distributed energy resources.

“Our portfolio allows us to pursue everything from fuel conversions and carbon capture and sequestration, to renewables and distributed technologies,” Gutierrez added. “We have already started to demonstrate our lower carbon strategies with our asset revitalization program and with NRG Carbon 360, our carbon capture business that includes our Petra Nova project at WA Parish, southwest of Houston.”

NRG believes distributed energy resources will play an increasingly important role in the company’s growth. These include distributed solar, efficient co-generation and electric vehicle networks, along with smart systems to manage them all intelligently and efficiently. Through this ongoing renewal and repowering of its generation fleet, NRG says it is committed to the continued delivery of reliable, efficient power in an increasingly environmentally sustainable and profitable manner.

New natural gas generation will also play a role in supporting renewable integration while ensuring reliability and fuel resource diversity, Guiterrez noted.
 

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Renewable energy project developer One Planet Africa has announced today the appointment of Ambassador Charles R. Stith to the company’s board.  Ambassador Stith, who is considered to be one of America’s leading experts on development issues in Sub-Saharan Africa, will bring to One Planet Africa decades of experience and relationships in the region. 

The new plants will be built on the island of Negros in the Philippines, for San Carlos Solar Energy, Inc. (SaCaSol), a joint venture between European-based investment and advisory firm, ThomasLloyd and Bronzeoak Philippines. 

1. The Philippines is rapidly increasing energy generation in order to reduce electricity prices, which are the fifth highest in the world. Electricity market data indicate that average spot electricity prices decline as solar power generation increases, due to reduced consumption of expensive diesel. Yields from solar panels in the Philippines are roughly equivalent to those in Miami or Cairo. The Philippines government is therefore supporting solar through a feed-in-tariff of 0.21 USD / 0.17 Euros per kWh of grid-connected PV.