Smart Power Grid
April 2015
Tantalum surface mount capacitors with a solid electrolyte have been the favorite capacitor technology choice in many electronic devices for more than five decades, thanks to their stability, high reliability, and superior volumetric efficiency. The traditional manganese dioxide (MnO2) cathode material provides go
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Date:
04/30/2015
Electric motors collectively consume a substantial portion of global electricity. According to the research firm IHS Technology, 96% of a motor’s lifetime costs are represented by pure electricity costs. Regulators have imposed more stringent energy standards for them, and manufacturers are scrutinizing th
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Date:
04/30/2015
The use of power diodes and Thyristors in applications such as small and large appliances, such as UPS systems, AC/DC rectifiers, and variable speed motor drives is the primary source of harmonic distortion in AC grid or mains current. Due to the source impedance of the mains power, the harmonic load current cau
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Date:
04/30/2015
Like many steel mills throughout the world, a recent TMEIC customer in Tuscaloosa was searching for a solution to increase production at its facility. An aging steel rolling Steckel mill, powered by large DC motors and controlled by variable speed DC drives was limiting the full production potential of the mill. Fi
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Date:
04/30/2015
The Wave Energy Prize is a public prize challenge sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE)‘s Water Power Program. The prize is designed to increase the diversity of organizations involved in Wave Energy Converter (WEC) technology development, while motivating and inspiring existing stakeholders. DOE en
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Date:
04/29/2015
Alex Lidow, Efficient Power Conversion
Enhancement-mode gallium nitride transistors have been commercially available for over five years. Commercially available gallium nitride (GaN) FETs are designed to be both higher performance and lower cost than state-of-the-art silicon-based power MOSFETs. This achievement marks the first time in 60
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Date:
04/29/2015
Software is playing an increasingly prominent role in networking at a system architecture level, but it also has growing importance in the future in the delivery of power. Digital control, the use of power-optimization software algorithms and the concept of the Software Defined Power Architecture are all being se
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Date:
04/29/2015
Advances in multilayer ceramic capacitor (MLCC) technology now offer designers a high-capacitance alternative to traditional electrolytic capacitors. New high-value MLCCs provide the advantages of lower equivalent series resistance (ESR) and inductance (ESL) than electrolytics, and demonstrated mean time to fa
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Date:
04/29/2015
The technique of paralleling power converters and phase shifting their outputs is not new, and “interleaving” (as it is known) has been used in a number of applications to reduce the size of input and output capacitors. These include the 42V/14V DC-DC converters found in dual-voltage vehicle electrical systems and
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Date:
04/29/2015
Inverters remain a key R&D focus for power electronics
Inverters will remain a key R&D focus for power electronics for the next 5 to 10 years! The power electronics industry becomes “inverter-centric” because of:
• The adoption of electrification in the transportation (from car to busses to trains and planes)
• The need for power conversion optimization f
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Date:
04/28/2015
As part of the Obama Administration’s all-of-the-above energy strategy, the Energy Department announced five projects selected for a total of $2 million for the first part of the multiphase Frontier Observatory for Research in Geothermal Energy (FORGE) effort. This field laboratory, dedicated to cutting-edge re
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Date:
04/28/2015
Vivint Solar Nationally Deploys SolarEdge’s DC Optimized Inverters with Rapid Shutdown and Revenue-Grade Metering
SolarEdge Technologies, a leader in PV inverters, power optimizers, and module-level monitoring services, today announced an expanded supply arrangement with Vivint Solar, a leading provider of distributed solar energy systems. Vivint Solar will purchase and install SolarEdge’s optimized DC inverters with in
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Date:
04/28/2015
As part of Joining Forces, an initiative launched by First Lady Michelle Obama and Dr. Jill Biden to rally support for U.S. service members, veterans and their families, the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA) committed to having 50,000 veterans working in solar by 2020. The First Lady shared the news at
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Date:
04/24/2015
Other World Computing (OWC), a leading zero-emissions Mac and PC technology company, announced on Earth Day that as part of the company’s sustainability program, it will soon produce enough on-site wind and solar power to cover all energy needs for four facilities in three states (Illinois, Texas and Nevada), be
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Date:
04/24/2015
The Energy Department announced winners of its second annual Race to Zero Student Design Competition, a collegiate competition engaging university students to design zero energy-ready homes. A zero energy-ready home is a high-performance home that is so energy efficient it can offset all or most of its annual en
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Date:
04/24/2015
Military personnel participating in Solar Ready Vets learn how to how to size and install solar energy systems, connect electricity to the grid, and interpret and comply with local building codes
On April 3, President Obama announced the expansion of SunShot’s Solar Ready Vets program to a total of 10 military bases. The announcement was made at Hill Air Force Base in Utah, which will be the fourth installation to host the training. Programs are already in place at Camp Pendleton in California, Fort Ca
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Date:
04/16/2015
By tailoring the properties of the paper to the differing insulation requirements of windings within the transformer, significant gains can be made in both cost and efficiency
A seminar at the forthcoming CWIEME Berlin exhibition will reveal how cellulose paper and mineral oil insulating systems in distribution transformers can still meet today’s ever-tightening cost and efficiency restrictions – thanks to a few smart modifications.
Proven and reliable, mineral oil-impregnated paper has
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Date:
04/16/2015
The IEEE Power Electronics Society (PELS) announces a Call for Papers for the COBEP/SPEC conference to be held 29 November to 2 December 2015 at the Hotel Praia Centro, Fortaleza, Brazil. The 1st SPEC will be held from November 29th to December 2nd, 2015, along with the 13th Brazilian Power Electronics Conference –
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Date:
04/15/2015
Market forecasts for thermal interface materials 2015-2025 - see the report for a full breakdown by applications and type
Recent research conducted by analysts IDTechEx finds that the thermal interface materials (TIM) market - including tapes, adhesives, greases, gels, pastes, elastomeric pads, phase change materials, graphite, solders, compressible materials and liquid metals - will grow from $1.7 billion in 2015 to $3.7 billion in
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Date:
04/15/2015
Industry 4.0 specialist IntelliSense.io will showcase the latest upgrades to their Intelligent Factory solution at Hannover Messe. IntelliSense.io specialises in delivering 'Optimisation as a Service' with rapid ROI and no upfront capital investment for process industries. IntelliSense.io solutions are used by E
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Date:
04/14/2015
Louisiana became a Top 20 solar state for the first time last year
Powered by a rapidly-growing residential market, Louisiana became a Top 20 solar state for the first time last year, according to the recently-released U.S. Solar Market Insight 2014 Year in Review. It was the fifth straight year that Louisiana showed strong growth in solar installations.
In 2014, Louisiana
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Date:
04/14/2015
The Port of Hamburg is currently undergoing a metamorphosis: it is becoming a ‘smart port’. Some 40,000 lorries pass through the port every day, and thanks to the ‘Internet of Things’, a new road management system, consisting of sensors on roads and in parking spaces connected via the internet, is now he
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Date:
04/10/2015
SunShot Catalyst prize competition
The SunShot Catalyst prize competition connects American innovators to the tools, capabilities, data assets, and resources developed by the Energy Department and its national laboratories. The competition leverages each of these assets to launch cutting-edge solar companies and tackle time-sensitive market challenges. Ca
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Date:
04/08/2015
Today, the U.S. solar industry employs 174,000 Americans nationwide
Led by a booming residential market, Maryland more than doubled its amount of installed solar capacity in 2014, according to the recently-released U.S. Solar Market Insight 2014 Year in Review. In addition, Maryland also had nearly half, 48 percent, of its new electrical capacity last year come from solar energy.
In 2014, Mar
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Date:
04/08/2015
Saft is supplying two large battery systems to Shanghai Electric Group Company Limited
Saft, a leading designer and manufacturer of high-tech industrial batteries, is supplying two large battery systems to Shanghai Electric Group Company Limited, one of China’s largest equipment manufacturing conglomerates, for a high profile power plant expansion project in Khulna, Bangladesh’s third largest ci
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Date:
04/08/2015
In a decision that’s certain to help to speed up America’s transition to a clean energy future, President Obama announced that the Department of Energy (DOE) will launch a new initiative to train 75,000 Americans – including military veterans – to enter the solar workforce by 2020. The President made th
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Date:
04/06/2015
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