Over 5 Million Smart Electric Meters To Be Rolled Out By Con Edison, Orange & Rockland Utilities

on April 3, 2016

microgrid mediaSmart Electric Meters are a necessary component of distributed energy systems, smart grids, and microgrids to communicate and manage power in both directions.

Regulated utilities Con Edison and Orange & Rockland (O&R) Utilities have chosen Silicon Valley-based Silver Springs Networks´ smart grid networking, data and control platform as they embark on the next phase of ambitious Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI) projects. The expected benefits range from boosting energy efficiency and reducing carbon emissions to delivering more reliable, resilient, convenient and lower cost energy, products and services to customers.

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Microgrid MediaOver 5 Million Smart Electric Meters To Be Rolled Out By Con Edison, Orange & Rockland Utilities

Could bread mould build a better rechargeable battery?

on April 3, 2016

energy harvesting journalA naturally occurring red bread mould could be the key to producing more sustainable electrochemical materials for use in rechargeable batteries, researchers at the University of Dundee have found.  

Fungi that turns bread mouldy may not seem the ideal candidate for a future power solution but the Dundee researchers, reporting in the Cell Press journal Current Biology, have evidence that might just change that.  

Their findings have shown for the first time that that the fungus Neurospora crassa – commonly known as red bread mould – can transform manganese into a mineral composite with favourable electrochemical properties.

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Energy Harvesting JournalCould bread mould build a better rechargeable battery?

New chemistries found for liquid batteries

on April 2, 2016

energy harvesting journalLiquid metal batteries, invented by MIT professor Donald Sadoway and his students a decade ago, are a promising candidate for making renewable energy more practical. The batteries, which can store large amounts of energy and thus even out the ups and downs of power production and power use, are in the process of being commercialized by a Cambridge-based startup company, Ambri.  

Now, Sadoway and his team have found yet another set of chemical constituents that could make the technology even more practical and affordable, and open up a whole family of potential variations that could make use of local resources.

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Energy Harvesting JournalNew chemistries found for liquid batteries

Alevo partners to develop 10-MW storage project in Texas

on April 2, 2016

Utility Drive

The Texas market has more installed wind power than any other state and has a rapidly expanding base of installed solar energy projects, and Georgetown is the first town in the state to move to 100% renewable energy by 2017.

The combination makes a good location for a new energy storage project that can modulate the intermittency of wind and solar power while selling regulation services to the Texas wholesale power market.

The Rabbit Hill project will also provide a transition for Ormat, a developer of geothermal power projects, into energy storage.

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Utility DiveAlevo partners to develop 10-MW storage project in Texas

SunEdison under US Department of Justice investigation

on April 2, 2016

PVTech

Embattled renewables firm SunEdison has disclosed that it has received a subpoena from the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) regarding the failed acquisition of Vivint Solar and related actions associated with its two yieldco subsidiaries.

SunEdison said in an SEC filing the following:

On March 28, 2016, SunEdison, Inc. (the “Company”) received a subpoena from the U.S. Department of Justice (the “DOJ”) seeking information and documentation relating to: (i) certain financing activities in connection with the Company’s acquisition of Vivint Solar, Inc., (ii) the conduct of a former non-executive employee who is alleged to have committed wrongdoing in connection with the Vivint termination negotiations, (iii) the previously disclosed investigations by the Company’s audit committee, (iv) intercompany transactions involving the Company and each of TerraForm Power Inc. and TerraForm Global Inc. and (v) the financing of the Company’s Uruguay projects in connection with project costs and equity contributions that remain to be contributed by the Company and the DOJ may have additional requests.

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PV-TechSunEdison under US Department of Justice investigation

Gas-Fired Generation Will Beat Coal in 2016, EIA Says

on April 1, 2016

power magazineThe Energy Information Administration (EIA) said in its March 8 Short-Term Energy Outlook that natural gas would supply the largest share of U.S. electricity in 2016, continuing its rise against coal.

EIA data from 2015 showed that gas and coal pulled into a near-tie on the year, with coal generating 1,356 TWh, for a 33.2% share, while gas-fired generation produced 1,335 TWh, accounting for 32.7% of the total. But gas pulled ahead over the second half of the year, edging coal 34.8% to 32% from July through December.

In its most recent projections, the EIA predicts that trend will continue at least through 2016. Coal is expected to fall to 32% while natural gas will supply 33.4%. The slightly reduced share for gas will be made up by growth in renewable generation (Figure 1).

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Power MagazineGas-Fired Generation Will Beat Coal in 2016, EIA Says

£6.8 million grant to develop next-generation lithium batteries

on April 1, 2016

energy harvesting journal

A new research consortium involving Professor Saiful Islam from the University of Bath’s Department of Chemistry has been awarded £6.8 million by the Engineering & Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) to explore and develop next-generation lithium batteries.  

Building upon the portable revolution The new Programme Grant will fund a five-year project entitled “Enabling Next-Generation Lithium Batteries” to carry out research on new battery technologies, similar to those that have helped to power the worldwide portable revolution in mobile phones, laptops and tablet computers.  

The multidisciplinary team is led by Professor Peter Bruce FRS based at the University of Oxford, and consists of chemistry, engineering and materials groups at the Universities of Bath, Cambridge and Leeds, and at Imperial College London. Bath will receive around £800,000 of the £6.8 million total.

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Energy Harvesting Journal£6.8 million grant to develop next-generation lithium batteries

Solid electrolytes open doors to solid-state batteries

on April 1, 2016

energy harvesting journal

Japanese scientists have synthesized two crystal materials that show great promise as solid electrolytes. All-solid-state batteries built using the solid electrolytes exhibit excellent properties, including high power and high energy densities, and could be used in long-distance electric vehicles.  

High power batteries are desirable for numerous applications, including the electric vehicles of the future. These batteries must be rechargeable, remain safe to store and use at variable temperatures, and retain charge for a considerable length of time. Now, Yuki Kato and Ryoji Kanno in collaboration with colleagues from Toyota Motor Corporation, Tokyo Institute of Technology and High Energy Accelerator Research Organization Japan (KEK), have successfully designed and trialled novel, high power all-solid-state batteries with promising results.

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Energy Harvesting JournalSolid electrolytes open doors to solid-state batteries

Sorry, But Don’t Expect Your Tesla Model 3 To Cost Under $30k

on March 31, 2016

wired

TONIGHT, ELON MUSK unveils the Model 3, Tesla Motors’long-awaited, affordable sedan.

Musk has already shared the car’s key attributes: A 200-mile range and a $35,000 price that will drop to $27,500 or less after tax credits kick in. Tesla has long promised to change the world, and this is the car designed to bring electric vehicles to the masses and save humanity from climate catastrophe.

So the enormous hype surrounding this car is little surprise. Telsa inspires tremendous passion, so much so that people have been lining up outside Tesla stores to get their names as high as possible on the preorder list.

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WiredSorry, But Don’t Expect Your Tesla Model 3 To Cost Under $30k

The $2.5 Billion U.S. Power Line That No State Can Stop

on March 31, 2016

bloomberg

A $2.5-billion transmission line carrying wind power to the U.S. Southeast is coming — whether state regulators there like it or not.

On Friday, the U.S. Energy Department used a decade-old statute to clear Clean Line Energy Partners LLC’s 705-mile (1,134-kilometer) power line for construction over any objections from the states involved.

The Energy Department’s approval of the line, proposed to carry 4,000 megawatts of power from the wind-rich Oklahoma panhandle through Arkansas and into Tennessee, marks the first time the 2005 statute has been used to bypass state approval and push through an interstate transmission project.

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BloombergThe $2.5 Billion U.S. Power Line That No State Can Stop

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