Recent capacitor developments promise to improve pitch controls

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Excerpt: Lead acid batteries often get tapped for backup pitch-control power because they are inexpensive. But they come with serious drawbacks in excess weight and a relatively short life, which boosts maintenance costs. A good replacement may be in the next generation of ultracapacitors. One version …

Generator company has ideas for lowering cost of energy

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Excerpt: As wind and solar compete as serious contenders in generating more energy, energy produced must be as cheap, if not cheaper, than that of fossil-based sources, and the quality of energy equally as high, says The Switch in recent news. The company says the formula for lowering the cost of solar a …

Continuous motion silicone cables work at -65°C

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Excerpt: Highly flexible silicone cables are for continuous motion and harsh weather. Ideal in wind turbines, these UV resistant cables are an alternative to PVC and thermoplastic rubber jacketed cables that do not provide reliability in severe environment conditions. Developer Cicoil’s exclusive cryst …

1,000 ohm RTD temperature sensing I/O module

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Excerpt: A two-channel, isolated analog input module is ready for use with 1,000 ohm platinum resistance temperature detectors (RTDs). With the SNAP-AIRTD-1K, Opto 22's line of SNAP I/O modules now includes RTD input modules for use with 10-ohm copper, 100-ohm platinum, and 1,000-ohm platinum RTD probes. …

Advanced lead-acid battery ready for RE tasks

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Excerpt: A manufacturer of deep-cycle batteries expands its product offering with the launch of Industrial flooded line of batteries for renewable energy (RE) and backup-power applications. Intended to support large daily loads where the batteries are cycled regularly, Trojan Battery’s deep-cycle indus …

Thin encoder mounts directly to motor shafts

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Excerpt: To meet the motor industry’s needs for a thin and reliable rotary encoder for tight spaces, Leine & Linde introduces the 700 Series. These encoders feature a thin design and a large hollow shaft of up to 25.4 mm which allows mounting them directly on a motor's shaft without an intermediate …

Six principles for building cost-effective wind turbine generators

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Excerpt: The six principles are intended for wind-turbine manufacturers that are expanding in the growing U.S. market. Following the principles will assist the companies in delivering cost-effective, safer equipment that is compliant with appropriate standards. The paper is authored by Industry Consul …

Shape-shifting blades promise more efficient turbines

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Excerpt: A set of three blades with active surfaces and sensors will allow writing controls that tailor blade shape to wind conditions, and ideally capture more energy than conventional designs. By:  Christian Fritz, Senior Product Manager for Advance Machine Control at National Instruments, www.Ni.co …

Analyzers measure energy wasted from power-quality issues and more

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Excerpt:   A manufacturer of portable electronic test and measurement equipment announces the availability of the Fluke 430 Series II Three Phase Power Analyzers. The tools use a patented algorithm to measure energy wasted by power quality issues and quantify its cost. By providing ROI data neede …

New research on complex terrain, firmware upgrades improve data quality, and more

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Excerpt: Triton is a sonar-based wind sensor for measuring speed and direction at hub height and higher. Equipment users at a recent AWEA Wind Resource and Project Energy Assessment workshop learned about remote sensing research and the latest product developments — and gave feedback to developer Secon …