Highview Power, which provides long-duration energy storage solutions, will be collaborating with SNC-Lavalin to deploy energy storage solutions for utility-scale applications in North America. This alliance between the liquid air energy storage (LAES) provider and professional services and project management company will address the rapidly growing utility-scale energy storage market that is expected to be […]
FERC approves new rules for electric storage participation
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) voted to remove barriers to the participation of electric storage resources in the capacity, energy and ancillary services markets operated by Regional Transmission Organizations and Independent System Operators. This order will enhance competition and promote greater efficiency in the nation’s electric wholesale markets, and will help support the resilience […]
Grid-tied residential storage expected to overtake off-grid this year
After walking the SPI show floor, there’s no denying the residential storage market is developing quickly. In fact, GTM expects that 2017 will be the first ever in which grid-tied residential battery storage system deployments outnumber new off-grid and grid-independent systems across the United States. According to its report, U.S. Residential Battery Storage Playbook 2017, the U.S. […]
JLM Energy announces $25-million project finance investment
JLM Energy, a renewable energy technology company, announced today that it has secured $25 million to finance distributed energy storage projects for Commercial & Industrial (C&I) customers. The investment was arranged by GoldenSet Capital Partners as subadvisor to the North Sky Alliance Fund II. CohnReznick Capital was the advisor to JLM Energy in this transaction. This […]
Monitor pumps water from transformer oil, warns of spills
The SEEwater Wind Turbine Transformer Oil Containment System provides oil spill monitoring for electric utilities. The Oil Smart System allows pumping water from transformer oil containment areas and underground vaults into waterways and the environment without the risk of pumping oil. The system combines automatic water-pump control along with the high liquid alarm function to…
Clean Energy College Sees First Graduates
Ecotech Institute, which says it’s the first and only college entirely focused on preparing America’s workforce for careers in clean technology and sustainability, will hold its first graduation on Thursday, June 21, 2012. Forty-two students will receive their associate’s degrees, which prepares them for a career in the clean technology industry. The graduates will receive…
These folks will monitor your wind system for you
S&C Electric Company offers asset monitoring services for critical electric grid equipment in wind projects. These services include PureWave CBM Condition-Based Monitoring for the company’s PureWave family of power quality products. PureWave CBM, powered by AlsoEnergy’s cloud-based software platform, can help equipment owners improve the reliability of their power systems and extend equipment life. Additionally,…
Satellite Communicator for Remote Wind Project Locations
The inReach satellite communicator From DeLorme allows cell phone messaging in areas without service. With 90% of the Earth’s surface lacking any cell phone service, inReach is the first affordable communication solution for anyone who works, travels or engages in outdoor activities in off the grid environments. It’s even applicable for techs on wind or solar…
AWEA 2012 Show Recap
Despite comments from many attendees saying booth traffic was slow, I think AWEA’s Windpower 2012 was a success. I even have the blisters to prove it. AWEA hosted the show in Atlanta, a major manufacturing hub, and consisted of two huge halls with well over 1,000 exhibitors. The “slow” traffic can be attributed to the state…
Michigan composites company exports to Spain
Energetx Composites of Holland, Michigan, is exporting a complete set of 45.3 meter wind blade molds from its Michigan facility. The molds are shipping to Aeroblade, based in Minano, Spain. Energetx Composites is using an identical mold set in its Holland facility to manufacture the same 45.3 meter wind blade for the North American market.…
Wind Reliability: Maintenance-free hydraulic accumulators
Wind turbine pitch, yaw, and brake systems use either electric or hydraulic actuation. The hydraulic systems use high-pressure, gas-charged hydraulic accumulators. Typically, either a bladder or a piston accumulator is used. Maintenance-free, metal bellows accumulators can offer an advantage in these applications. A piston accumulator consists of a cylindrical metal body with end caps and…
Wind software simplifies simulations of wind blades fast
The top images present the 3D mesh in the FEA program in its global view (white) and a close up of its edge. The bottom 2D mesh was generated in the VABS program. Variation Asymptotical Beam Sectional Analysis (VABS) is an efficient high-fidelity cross-sectional analysis program and a unique tool capable of realistic modeling of…
Evaluating 100-m wind blades
Moog Industrial Group will supply a test system to Narec (National Renewable Energy Centre) to evaluate and test wind turbine blades at their new 100 m (328 ft) blade testing facility in Blyth, Northumberland, UK. Opening this summer, the independent facility will be used by manufacturers of turbine blades to test prototype blade designs and…
New Wind App: Wind Turbine Cost Model
After previously launching Wind Expert, Michael Blaize is at it again with his new Wind Turbine Cost Model. The app brings a detailed and advanced model to evaluate the cost of any horizontal wind turbines above 750kW. Based on the validated NREL cost model, Wind expert Wind Turbine Cost Model gives an in-depth understanding of…
First Wind awards 16 grants for wind projects
Students from sixteen high schools across the country will be awarded a scholarship through First Wind’s Scholars program. The 2012 recipients were selected from the program’s most competitive pool in its three-year history, and represented project host communities in Hawaii, Maine, New York, Utah, Vermont and Washington and the company’s Boston headquarters. A total of…
Wind News: Utility models wind plants and hydro to spot integration problems
A Canadian utility committed to using renewable energy, mainly hydroelectric and wind power, says it conducts simulations of its far-flung equipment to smooth power flow to the grid. Hydro-Québec engineers also say simulations forecast power output and ensure safe, reliable operation of the overall power system. Another task for the simulations is to determine how…
Wind News: A wind app for professionals
A new application called Wind expert brings together a large range of wind turbine products, and allows calculating wind farm performance and a financial analysis. The app or software features a database of links to relevant associations, toolkits, government incentives and in-depth market reports. The app was created Michael Blaize, an engineer who has spent…
Wind News: “Is that copper cable stolen?” Now the wind cable can answer
Thieves have been targeting a variety of copper consumers lately, including electrical substations. They steal copper grounding cable because is an easy target. Stealing the material puts the thief in danger of electrocution, and far worse, causes major damage to the substation, leaving high-voltage cables ungrounded, putting utility crews and the general public at risk…
Wind News: How high-strength rebar lowers wind foundation costs
The construction industry has a few ideas for taking cost out of wind turbine and wind transmission-tower foundations with the simplest of components: reinforcing bar. For instance, most rebar in foundations is a grade 60, meaning it has a tensile strength of 60 ksi (60,000 psi break strength). But boosting the steel strength to 97…
Wind News: Line size and life goals become contentious transmission issues
Upgrading the grid has been an issue for some time considering that most lines are well over 20 years old and deliver power at relatively low voltage levels. A panelist at a recent AWEA Wind Transmission Conference remarked that one stretch of cable in his service area was built in the Taft administration and needs…