Smart Power Grid
December 2016
An aerial view of Rentech's Product Demonstration Unit (PDU) in Commerce City, Colorado
The Energy Department (DOE) announced the selection of six projects for up to $12.9 million in federal funding, entitled, “Project Definition for Pilot- and Demonstration-Scale Manufacturing of Biofuels, Bioproducts, and Biopower.” These projects, required to share the cost at a minimum of 50%, will develop an
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Date:
12/30/2016
The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has issued a pre-publication Federal Register final rule pertaining to energy conservation standards for uninterruptible power supplies, a class of battery chargers. (December 28, 2016).
This pre-publication final rule is subject to the procedures at 10 CFR 430.5.
The effect
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Date:
12/29/2016
The Energy Department (DoE) announced $18 million in support of five EV projects
The Energy Department (DoE) announced $18 million in support of five projects for research, development, and demonstration of innovative plug-in electric vehicle (PEV) and direct injection propane engine technologies, as well as community-based projects to accelerate the adoption of light, medium and heavy duty ve
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Date:
12/28/2016
Soft-PGS enhances thermal coupling
Panasonic Automotive & Industrial Systems Europe has launched a highly-compressible Thermal Interface Material (TIM) to reduce contact thermal resistance between rough surfaces in extremely thin spaces. Soft-PGS enhances the thermal coupling between heat producing devices (heat sources) and heat dissipation de
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Date:
12/28/2016
Gordon Butte Pumped Storage Hydro project
The Gordon Butte Pumped Storage Hydro project, located in Montana, has been issued a 50-year license to construct and operate by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC). Final design is to be completed in 2017 with construction anticipated to begin in 2018.
Gordon Butte Pumped Storage Hydro project,
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Date:
12/28/2016
Belgian investment firm Korys, owned by the Colruyt family, is investing in the Swedish renewable energy software maker Greenbyte. Greenbyte’s software supports wind energy and solar PV owners, operators and asset managers in capturing the full potential of renewable energy projects. Since its founding in 20
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Date:
12/27/2016
Wave energy converter (WEC) device
The Energy Department announced the award of up to $40 million, subject to appropriations, to design, permit, and construct an open-water, grid-connected national wave energy testing facility. The facility will be constructed in Newport, Oregon, by the Northwest National Marine Renewable Energy Center at Oregon St
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Date:
12/26/2016
Schaffner USA has significantly updated their web site to include the introduction of new products, like sine wave output filters, line and load reactors, active and passive harmonic filters, and more. The new data, makes it easy for viewers to learn about power quality issues and how to resolve them. Additional ne
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Date:
12/23/2016
Fully-functioning in-lab “Beta Core” energy storage system
Ambri, a developer of novel Liquid Metal Battery grid-scale energy storage technology, announced that it has completed the first testing period of its fully-functioning in-lab “Beta Core” energy storage system, which provides 20 kWh of energy storage with a peak capacity of 6 kW and contains 432 cells. The co
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Date:
12/23/2016
The plan to install charging infrastructure ensures the utility can provide the chargers to a wider range of customers
The highly-anticipated approval of PG&E's plan to install charging infrastructure means not just that more drivers will have refueling options, but that it ensures the utility can provide the chargers to a wider range of customers by ratebasing it.
The California Public Utilities Commission decision means PG&a
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Date:
12/21/2016
HeliaFilm with junction box
Heliatek is expanding its global presence by exhibiting at two major upcoming shows in the US and Europe.
The International Consumer Electronics Show (International CES) will take place from the 5th to the 8th of January 2017 in Las Vegas. This show recognizes innovative concepts and products illustrating t
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Date:
12/19/2016
Solar in Your Community Challenge
The Solar in Your Community Challenge is a $5 million prize competition funded by the SunShot Initiative that aims to expand solar electricity access. Specifically, it focuses on low-and moderate-income (LMI) households and nonprofits that haven’t been able to take advantage of the booming solar market. Challenge pa
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Date:
12/19/2016
Alix Paultre
In this PSDcast, Eaton's Art Mulligan talks to Alix Paultre of Power Systems Design on cloud infrastructures. For all the vaunted wireless functionality provided by the cloud, there needs to be a lot of hardware behind the scenes doing the heavy lifting. Eaton's PredictPulse is a a next-generation remote moni
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Date:
12/16/2016
An overview of various smart grid subsystems
Analog Devices announced a collaboration with the China Electric Power Research Institute (CEPRI) to improve reliability of smart substations, the “nerve centers” of modern electrical grids. New electronics and sensor technologies are enabling resilient and flexible grids to meet the evolving needs of how en
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Date:
12/15/2016
Governor Perry comes from a state long-associated with the oil industry, but he also has a successful track record of promoting wind power. When Perry took office as governor, Texas had 116 megawatts of wind power, but it now boasts 18,000 megawatts, making it the country’s largest wind producer. If the incoming Se
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Date:
12/13/2016
KILOVAC K1K contactors
TE Connectivity, a leader in connectivity and sensors, recently released its KILOVAC K1K high-voltage contactor. Designed for harsh environments, these contactors offer exceptional performance in new-technology higher voltage and current battery systems and energy storage systems. This contactor is among the sm
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Date:
12/13/2016
Jonah Teeter-Balin of AeroVironment
In this PSDcast Jonah Teeter-Balin of AeroVironment talks to Alix Paultre of Power Systems Design about grid-tied storage. The conversation covers ther recent Battery Show, Grid tied stationary energy storage for frequency response and load management, and how many small suppliers are focusing on battery subcomponents an
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Date:
12/09/2016
The SunShot Prize: Solar in Your Community Challenge is a prize competition that aims to expand solar electricity access to all Americans
The SunShot Prize: Solar in Your Community Challenge is a prize competition that aims to expand solar electricity access to all Americans, especially underserved segments such as low- and moderate-income (LMI) households, state, local, and tribal governments, and nonprofit organizations. In order to make solar mo
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Date:
12/09/2016
Conrad Connect allows the management of smart devices across different vendor
Conrad Business Supplies introduced Conrad Connect, an innovative platform that allows users to connect smart devices from different manufacturers and displays data on an easy-to-use, intuitive dashboard. The platform is ideal for operations managers and maintenance workers to record user data, monitor and manage ma
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Date:
12/09/2016
Clean energy now costs less than dirty energy
A new NRDC report finds that the transition from fossil fuels to clean energy is irrevocably underway. But don’t take our word for it—ask the nation’s electric utilities who have already made long-term business plans based on that reality.
Several major utilities interviewed by S&P Global Market In
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Date:
12/09/2016
An example of a hybrid storage system using batteries and thermal energy
Battery storage combined with low carbon power generation is the solution to ‘black swan events’ says RES and Lloyd’s Register, as Australia re-designs its energy policy following the blackout that affected 1.7 million South Australia residents. Technology and innovation raises the game on how battery st
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Date:
12/07/2016
In today’s data acquisition systems (DAQs), performance boundaries are continually being pushed. System designers require higher speed, lower noise, and better total harmonic distortion (THD) performance; all of which are possible but none of which are free. These performance improvements typically co
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Date:
12/07/2016
As a part of the Obama Administration’s effort to cut energy waste in America’s buildings, the Energy Department launched the Better Buildings Zero Energy Schools Accelerator. Six school districts, two states and several national organizations are working collaboratively to develop zero energy design that is
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Date:
12/06/2016
The New York City Energy Efficiency Corporation has made a 10-year project loan of more than $1 million to the energy storage company Demand Energy, bringing large-scale battery storage technology to a privately owned low-income housing development in Brooklyn, NY. Demand Energy's lithium-ion battery system wil
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Date:
12/06/2016
Advanced simulation software is helping Tokamak Energy to develop a pioneering clean energy power plant based on nuclear fusion. Using the electromagnetic design and analysis facilities provided by the Cobham Technical Services Opera software, critical design issues are being resolved at an early stage to help pr
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Date:
12/05/2016
The creepage distance is the shortest path between two conductors along the surface of an isolator (typically a PCB)
When designing a switch-mode power supply (SMPS) operating losses and the ability to dissipate heat are critical selection criteria for MOSFETs. The standard TO-220 package is generally good at dissipating heat and the wide range of heatsinks and forced-air cooling options available can easily improve this. Le
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Date:
12/04/2016
Nathan Tracy of TE Connectivity
In this PSDcast, Nathan Tracy of TE Connectivity talks to Alix Paultre of Power Systems Design about the Open Compute project and the hardware infrastructures involved. The company recently designed a new family of bus bar clip and cable assemblies to meet the Open Compute Project (OCP) distribution architecture, pr
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Date:
12/01/2016
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