Solar, Wind & Alternative Energy Monitor

Understanding the Smart Grid 2010

2010-09-03T17:27:00.000-07:00

Research and Markets has added the "Understanding the Smart Grid 2010" report to their offering. North America's electric system is facing serious challenges. Major questions exist about its ability to continue providing citizens and businesses with relatively clean, reliable, and affordable energy services. The recent downturn in the economy masks areas of grid congestion in numerous locations across America. The "information economy" requires a reliable, secure, and affordable electric system to grow and prosper. Unless substantial amounts of capital are invested over the next several decades in new generation, transmission, and distribution facilities, service quality will degrade and costs will go up. These investments will involve new technologies that improve the existing electric system, and advanced technologies that could revolutionize the electric grid.

This report discusses smart grid technologies and investments, and analyzes the impact the smart grid will have on the power industry. It examines the technologies needed for smart grid development, and profiles 68 smart grid technology providers. The report outlines 52 smart grid demonstration projects, including 32 DOE smart grid and storage projects. It profiles 54 utilities deploying the smart grid, and 34 industry organizations involved in smart grid development. It also provides details on 100 ARRA-Funded Smart Grid projects. The vision of the smart grid is to break down barriers between transmission and distribution, communications, and back office systems to create a fully integrated network that provides diagnosis and resolution of problems as they arise and enables real time exchange of information between the utility and its customers.

The power transmission and distribution system is being transformed into a smart grid that integrates a multitude of distributed energy resources, uses solid state electronics to manage and deliver power, and employs automated control systems. The power industry, trailing behind other economic sectors already revolutionized by computerization (e.g. retailing and manufacturing), will see inexpensive computing power and low cost bandwidth infuse every element of the grid with digital intelligence in coming decades. Advanced metering plays a major role in any smart grid infrastructure, and wireless applications are at the heart of advanced metering communications systems. The wireless communications networks that will support advanced metering systems in the future will provide faster and more accurate use, load, and disruption information, which will help utility companies plan and manage their resources more efficiently and effectively. Discover what companies are developing and deploying new technologies, and learn about cutting-edge smart grid programs in this comprehensive report.

Trends for Smart Grid Adoption - Intel, Google, Cisco & GE are all Investing

2010-07-12T16:01:00.000-07:00

Research and Markets announced the addition of the "Power Electronics: Trends for Smart Grid Adoption" report to their offering. Smart grid related to new architectures using communication devices and sensors. In this report, Yole suggests a three-layer definition for smart grid: a software layer, a communication & sensors layer and a power layer. This report details how the companies envision business opportunities in the Smart Grid world and covers a broad range of their potential applications. From startups to heavyweights, companies are betting that energy management will be the next big thing. Intel, Google, Cisco & GE, for instance, are all investing in tomorrows technologies to create the smart grid momentum. This report will provide you with the key points to understand and decode this fast-paced and emerging industry at the frontier of energy and telecommunications. As the electric grid 2.0 will be based on 3 main layers: Power, Communication, and Applications, we describe how this distribution could create great value and opportunities in the coming years. Also, as the renewable share of the energy mix is increasing, better integration of renewable and distributed energies (PV, Wind and Biogas energy, etc.) coupled to an evolution of the energy management system will be necessary. Electricity demand and electricity production will have to be well balanced in order to increase the grid efficiency while decreasing the number of power outages, a huge challenge considering tomorrows electric needs (electric cars, demographic pressure, etc.).

Energy Harvesting Technologies & Energy Storage: Worldwide Forecasts

2010-07-08T11:21:00.000-07:00

Research and Markets announced the addition of the "Energy Harvesting Technologies & Energy Storage: Worldwide Forecasts, Second Edition" report to their offering. Still, energy harvesting has emerged onto the power electronics scene and has offered increased revenue to companies that got in on the ground floor. Energy harvesting is an opportunistic technology that is being implemented in niche segments that have environmental challenges. It is similar to digital power in that it has broad application, making it more a solution than an enabler. If taken cumulatively over each year of the forecast period, worldwide unit sales of energy harvesting nodes will result in 630.5 million units being sold between 2010 and 2015.The growth of energy harvesting technologies parallels the growth of wireless sensor network (WSN) and wireless control systems in general. Such systems have had a slow but steady evolution, and there are currently hundreds of vendors in the WSN market. The market is set to take off, but at a slower pace than expected. The majority of sensors installed in the world are still wired, and some industry analysts project that over the next ten years, WSN will constitute no more than 10% of the wireless sensors that are sold. Challenges include rival standards and large numbers of competitors.

Solarbuzz Raises Global Photovoltaic 2010 Market Forecast to 15.2 GW

2010-06-30T15:42:00.000-07:00

Global photovoltaic demand continues to soar in 2010 and is currently projected to double over the rate of installations last year, according to Solarbuzz®, an international solar energy market research and consulting company. In the latest edition of the Solarbuzz® QUARTERLY Report, Solarbuzz has raised its 2010 market size to 15.2 GW, which compares with a revised 7.5 GW in 2009. Specifically, the last three quarters of 2010 are projected to generate 12.7 GW, driven by strong growth across Europe, but also in the United States, Japan, China and a range of smaller start-up markets. German market demand incorporates substantial volatility in Q/Q performance during 2010. This takes into account the uncertainty of policy adjustments in Germany that are planned for July 2010 and also January 2011. A 2010 market size of 8 GW in Germany is now in prospect, even taking account of a drop off in demand in Q3’10.

“Despite much uncertainty over policy outcomes, a challenging economic environment and inverter supply, the PV industry is once again demonstrating that consumers respond to supportive government policies,” said Craig Stevens, President of Solarbuzz. “The growth in demand is a response to major cuts in price levels afforded by lower manufacturing costs. As a result, module and inverter supply is just barely keeping up with demand.” Preliminary data on global industry revenues shows a drop of 40% to just over $12 billion in Q1’10, which was nearly four times the level one year earlier. Selected price rises late in Q2'10 have been seen from some Chinese manufacturers supplying to Europe. These moves helped to partially offset the decline in the euro over Q2’10. Within the PV chain, wafer prices have tightened in both euro and US dollar terms, while cell prices have tightened in euro terms only over the past six months.

Constellation Energy, GE, Qualcomm and Verizon Ventures Make in Smart Grid Company Consert Inc.

2010-06-29T15:15:00.000-07:00

Consert Inc. announced that Constellation Energy, GE Energy Financial Services, Qualcomm Incorporated, Verizon Ventures and private investors have invested $17.7 million to fund strategic marketing, North American sales and ongoing enhancements of Consert’s advanced smart grid software. Consert is currently providing municipal and cooperative electric utilities in North Carolina and Texas with a reliable, flexible and economical form of green operating reserves and energy management. Consert empowers consumers to manage their energy usage without compromising control, comfort or convenience through secure online energy profiles and home devices.“Consert has united the interests of utilities with those of consumers and small businesses,” said Consert CEO and President Jack Roberts. “This group of investors advances our vision of creating an integrated green energy solution with smart infrastructure, real-time communications, and intelligent in-home devices.” Wake Electric Membership Corporation in North Carolina just completed a pilot with Consert and now plans to extend the service to its member base. Its CEO, Jim Mangum, reported, “Our pilot participants realized energy savings ranging from 7 to 54 percent with an average of 17 percent and responded favorably about the ease-of-use of the Consert system. Consert gives energy conservation the attributes of generation and addresses utilities’ issues such as capacity, transmission, renewable portfolio standards and power variability from intermittent generation. Consert has the ability to solve energy issues quickly and cost-effectively and also offers advanced ancillary services such as wind and solar regulation.

“Demand side resources must be as reliable as generation assets to meet capacity obligations in today’s marketplace,” said Kathi Hyle, COO, Constellation Energy Resources and senior vice president, Constellation Energy. “The Consert solution meets this test and could benefit utilities, municipals and cooperatives nationwide. By providing measurable and verifiable capacity in the form of operating reserves for generating and distributing utilities, Consert creates a Virtual Peak Plant^SM that can defer or supplant the need for additional conventional power plants at a cost that is 70 to 80 percent less than the current capital cost of a new gas-fired peak plant with an equivalent operating cost that is 60 percent less.

Gallop Power, Gestamp Wind North America, and Banco Santander Enter Into Wind Project Partnership

2010-06-26T15:20:00.000-07:00

Flat Water Holdings, LLC (“Flat Water”) announced an equity partnership associated with the 60 MW Flat Water Wind project, a tri-party partnership between Gallop Power, LLC (“Gallop”), Gestamp Wind North America, Inc., a subsidiary of Gestamp Renewables (Gestamp Corporation), and Banco Santander, S.A. (“Santander”). Flat Water recently began construction of the Flat Water Wind Farm, located in Richardson County, Nebraska, and the project is expected to reach commercial operations by December 31, 2010. Under a long-term power purchase agreement, Omaha Public Power District (“OPPD”) will purchase the full output of the facility. Flat Water will employ GE 1.5 MW turbines and began electrical and civil construction work earlier this year.

Regarding the transaction, Stephen Wiley, president of Gallop Power, commented that the partnership with Gestamp Wind and Santander will provide significant benefits to the long-term viability of Flat Water. He added: “These two companies have been engaged in the energy renewable business for many years and have long track records of success. The skill and expertise of these two companies will only enhance the successful construction and operations of Flat Water. We look forward to providing OPPD with clean, renewable wind power for many years to come.” Javier Mateache, CEO of Gestamp Wind North America, headquartered in Houston, Texas, stated that Flat Water will become the company’s first operating project in the U.S. He added: “We are delighted to participate in such a solid project with complementary parties that add value to our core competencies. Our investment in Flat Water is another important step for Gestamp Wind in the U.S. energy market.”

EDF EN Canada Inc. Commences Construction of 36 Megawatts of Solar PV in Ontario

2010-06-25T17:16:00.000-07:00

EDF EN Canada Inc. announced that construction has commenced on three solar photovoltaic projects totalling 36 MW(dc). The Elmsley Solar Project, located near Lombardy in the Township of Rideau Lakes, comprises two 12 MW(dc) sites utilizing Suntech panels. The 12 MW(dc) St. Isidore Project is located near the town of St. Isidore in the Municipality of the Nation and will consist of First Solar panels. All three sites are being developed under the Government of Ontario’s Renewable Energy Standard Offer Program (RESOP), which encourages renewable energy production to help replace coal-fired generation.

Together these projects will generate clean electricity for nearly 10,500 homes and employ approximately 350 people during the design, engineering and construction process. The projects will deliver local electricity service via connections to the Hydro One distribution grid, expected by the end of 2010. Jon Kieran, Director of Solar Development for EDF EN Canada, said, “We are pleased to launch the construction phase of these valuable projects. Once again, EDF EN Canada is applying its resources and expertise to help Ontario achieve renewable energy goals. These projects follow on the success of the Arnprior Solar Project in Ottawa, which went into service in 2009. When all five RESOP sites are completed we will have contributed about 60 MW(dc) of solar energy to the distribution grid. We look forward to a successful partnership with White Construction Canada Corp, our general contractor, to bring these projects to completion.”

New Breakthrough Increases Solar Cell Conversion Efficiency to 66%

2010-06-24T14:52:00.000-07:00

Researchers from the University of Texas in Austin and the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis have discovered a process that can be used to increase the conversion efficiency of solar cells up to 66%. The process transfers hot electrons from quantum dots to an electron acceptor. In typical semiconductor solar cells, photons with energies above the semiconductor’s bandgap generate hot electrons, and much of the energy from the hot electrons is lost through heat before it can be captured and used for electricity. This new process uses quantum dots to slow down the cooling process of hot electrons and then captures and transfers them. This allows the addition of energy that is currently lost as heat in conventional solar cells.

“This is a dramatic leap forward in making solar power more cost efficient,” stated Robert Hines, President of Evolution Solar. “This has the potential to double solar power output and cut solar payback times in half.” Evolution Solar is currently building a solar demonstration site in partnership with Texas Southern University, to be located at the University’s Houston Campus. Evolution Solar is also developing a solar demonstration project with the City of Brookshire, Texas. These projects should help Evolution Solar acquire new business in a sector that is growing to compete in the energy industry, which includes BP, Xcel Energy Inc., Penn West Energy Trust and the Encana Corporation.

Nation’s First “Smart Grid” White Spaces Network Trial

2010-06-23T17:30:00.000-07:00

Spectrum Bridge, Inc, in partnership with Plumas-Sierra Rural Electric Cooperative & Telecommunications (PSREC) and Google, announced today that Plumas-Sierra County, CA has launched the nation’s first “Smart Grid” wireless network trial utilizing TV White Spaces spectrum. With its outstanding propagation characteristics, ability to penetrate foliage and non-line of sight connectivity, PSREC chose TV White Spaces to enable “Smart Grid” technologies to investigate more efficient ways to manage its supply-and-demand of electricity, improve System Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) with PSREC Substations and provide broadband Internet access to underserved areas. TV White Spaces are unused TV broadcast channels made available by the recent transition from Analog to Digital TV. As part of the National Broadband Plan, the FCC has declared that TV White Spaces are well suited for wireless data networks and can be used to deliver cost effective broadband connectivity for a wide variety of consumer, business and government applications.Lori Rice, Chief Operating Officer at PSREC, summarized the results of their experience so far, “Plumas, Lassen and Sierra Counties are located in the Sierra Nevada Mountains and present some very technical challenges with respect to wireless coverage. The ability to use White Space has proven to be an effective option for dealing with difficult terrain and offers another option for wireless connectivity.”

PSREC currently employs a wide variety of wireless solutions across multiple frequency bands, but still faces challenges in some areas due to challenging terrain. The applications deployed for the Plumas-Sierra “Smart Grid” wireless network trial deliver real-time broadband connectivity to remote substations and switchgear, allowing PSREC System Operators to manage the Electrical system remotely, request critical data from substations, manage power flow and protect the system and employees while maintaining the local grid. The wireless network is also providing broadband access to an underserved community. In addition, PSREC has also deployed Google’s PowerMeter technology, an energy monitoring tool that helps consumers save energy and money using information provided by a smart meter. With the White Spaces network and Google PowerMeter, consumers can view real-time detailed energy consumption data from anywhere, online.

DARPA Awards Ascent Solar Team Multi-Million Dollar Contract for Portable Photovoltaics

2010-06-22T15:04:00.002-07:00

Ascent Solar Technologies announced today that the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) has selected their team for an award under the Low-Cost Lightweight Portable Photovoltaics (PoP) solicitation. The ASTI-led program, entitled “Flexible High-performance Tandem-junction PV Array”, consists of three gated phases, the first of which is 18 months and has an approximate contract value of $3.8M. The entire program is anticipated to continue over the next 54 months. The goal of PoP is to demonstrate low-cost, lightweight photovoltaics (PV) that can stand up to battle conditions and environmental extremes while delivering a power conversion efficiency of 20% or greater by the end of the program.

“We are excited that DARPA selected our team for the PoP project,” stated Farhad Moghadam, President and CEO of Ascent Solar. ”In order to meet the aggressive goals of performance, capacity, and military toughness, our team has put together a definitive plan that combines our flexible CIGS production experience and existing MILSTD 810G military product, advanced high-temperature substrates from QinetiQ, the combined expertise in multijunction thin film technology from ASTI and IEC, films for optical and electrical enhancement from Brewer and Cambrios, and enhanced packaging technologies being developed by ITN and ASTI. The outcome of the program dovetails nicely with our existing technology improvement pathway for our flexible thin film monolithically integrated CIGS-based PV modules at 20% module efficiency for the Department of Defense (DoD).”ASTI leads a highly-talented team of small businesses (ITN Energy Systems, Littleton, CO, Cambrios Technologies Company, Sunnyvale, CA, Brewer Science, Rolla, MO), large business (QinetiQ North America-TSG, Boston, MA) and academia (Institute of Energy Conversion (IEC), Newark, DE) partners to leverage their collective expertise with dedicated funding from DARPA to meet the highly aggressive goals of the PoP program.

DARPA Awards Ascent Solar Team Multi-Million Dollar Contract for High-Efficiency Low-Cost Portable Photovoltaics

2010-06-22T15:04:00.000-07:00

Cisco 'Connected Grid' Portfolio for the Energy Smart Grid

2010-06-12T16:22:00.000-07:00

Cisco announced the first offerings in its new Connected Grid portfolio of smart grid communications solutions that will help utilities more reliably and efficiently deliver electric power from generation facilities to businesses and homes, resulting in better energy management, as well as economic and environmental benefits. The purpose-built, ruggedized routers and switches form a resilient, manageable and highly secure network solution for the substation to integrate Internet Protocol (IP)-based communications with the power grid for intelligent grid monitoring and control. These technologies build on existing Cisco® Smart Grid offerings and represent the latest in the company's efforts to deliver end-to-end solutions that help utility customers address grid reliability, industry compliance and operational expenses.

The Cisco 2010 Connected Grid Router (CGR 2010) and Cisco 2520 Connected Grid Switch (CGS 2520) are purpose-built for the most demanding utility substation environments. They are designed specifically for the Smart Grid communications infrastructure and are the first in Cisco's new Connected Grid portfolio, a family of products that will deliver highly secure, end-to-end and standards-based communications solutions for the smart grid from generation facilities to businesses and homes. Together, the Cisco CGR 2010 and Cisco CGS 2520 form a secure communications infrastructure to capture and analyze information in near-real-time from multiple intelligent electronic devices in the substation. This helps utility operators better manage and maintain power transmission and distribution equipment, as well as increase the reliability of power delivery by quickly identifying, isolating, diagnosing and, at times, automatically repairing faults. This will also help utilities better integrate renewable energy into the grid.

GLWN’s Advanced Wind Workshop - Preview (June 16)

2010-06-11T14:19:00.000-07:00

GLWN will host GLWN’s first Advanced Wind Workshop designed to help wind farm developers, turbine designers, component manufacturers, and engineering, construction, operations, maintenance and logistics firms build connections to support and expand the region’s wind industry. The program will be held Wednesday, June 16th from 8:00 AM to 3:00 PM at the National Composite Center in Kettering, Ohio and will feature industry experts from firms including Minster Wind and Twenty First Century Energy, LLC in small group panel presentations to permit high value discussion and networking time.

According to Ed Weston, Director of GLWN, “We designed this new Advanced WIND Workshop to encourage collaboration. GLWN helps build connections to grow the domestic supply chain and jobs in wind industry. This workshop will help U.S. manufacturers, wind turbine designers, wind farm developers, construction, operations, engineering, logistics, and maintenance firms by speeding up the process between the development phase, and the manufacturing, construction, and installation phases, as well as support long-term wind turbine operations and maintenance which is important to the sustaining the U.S. wind industry. This GLWN workshop will provide new product and supplier information, while creating opportunities for participants to build collaborations that will create jobs and ultimately help close gaps in the domestic supply chain.” Register online at www.glwn.org or call 216.588.1440, ext. 101 to attend GLWN's full-day Advanced Wind Workshop, which also includes lunch and a tour of the National Composite Center.

Headquartered in Cleveland, Ohio, GLWN – is an international wind energy supply chain advisory group and network of manufacturers and suppliers whose mission is to increase the domestic content of North America’s wind turbines and to grow the supply chain for the wind industry. The network connects OEMs with manufacturers to support business expansion, investment and new jobs in the wind sector. Launched as Great Lakes WIND Network, GLWN is now a Global WIND Network comprised over 1,500 suppliers to the wind industry. Started in 2007, GLWN is an initiative of WIRE-Net, which is a non-profit economic development organization with a membership of 230 manufacturing-related companies that employ 10,000 people.

Solexant Lands $41.5M Series C Round Funding to Build Nanocrystal Ultrathin-film Solar Cells

2010-06-07T14:03:00.000-07:00

Solexant Corp. announced the $41.5M first close of a Series C financing round following the successful completion of a 2MW pilot line operating at the company’s headquarters. The round, led by Olympus Capital Partners, includes two other new investors, DBL Investors and Birchmere Ventures, with strong support from existing investors Trident Capital, Firelake Capital, Medley Partners and X/Seed. Rami Elkhatib, general partner of Olympus Capital Partners, and Cynthia Ringo, managing partner of DBL Investors, will join Solexant’s board of directors.

“Solexant’s winning combination of breakthrough technology and manufacturing coupled with the management team’s ability to prove the commercial application of its nanocrystal ultrathin-film solar cell technology in a very capital-efficient way, impressed us immediately and maps ideally to our investment strategy,” said Rami Elkhatib, general partner of Olympus Capital Partners and new Solexant board member. “We’re very passionate about investing in sound companies like Solexant that can bring transformative solutions to important clean tech markets. With its unique thin film technology and cost-efficient production process, we’re confident Solexant will be a leader in the solar industry. ”Solexant utilizes an extremely capital efficient “roll-to-roll” manufacturing technique to produce the industry’s first nanocrystal ultrathin-film solar cell. This method allows for more efficient use of equipment space, as well as higher throughput and lower labor costs than competing thin film companies. The company’s production process brings down the solar module manufacturing cost and total balance of systems (BOS) cost to below those of other thin film competitors.

Nine New Members Join PRIME Alliance to Develop Multi-Vendor Solution for Smart Grids

2010-05-29T13:42:00.000-07:00

Nine new members have joined the PRIME Alliance (PoweRline Intelligent Metering Evolution) as utility provider Iberdrola is poised to deploy the first 100,000 multi-vendor, PRIME-compliant meters. The Alliance announces today new members ADD Grup, ČEZ Měření, s.r.o., Circutor, EDP, Fujitsu Microelectronics, Iskraemeco/Metrega, ORBIS, SAC and SAGEMCOM. The PRIME Alliance is focused on the development of a new open, public and non-proprietary Power Line Communications (PLC) solution that will support real-time smart metering functionalities and enable the building of the electricity networks of the future, or Smart Grids.“Having important semiconductor solutions suppliers, metering companies, utilities and system integrators joining the Alliance underlines the importance and recognition of PRIME as the future standard for power line communication-based smart meters enabling the smart grid vision,” said Tom Willie, PRIME Alliance vice chairman from member company Current Group.

The goal of the Alliance is to provide a framework in which vendors of meters, data concentrators, in-home devices and chipsets, could access fully open physical layer (PHY) and Medium Access Control (MAC) specifications in order to design fully interoperable solutions, which would allow multiple vendors to be operational within the same distribution network in one common system platform. Iberdrola selected seven meter vendors and four manufacturers of PLC data concentrators for the first PRIME deployment through a competitive tender processes. Each employs one of the four possible interoperable PRIME chip solutions. PRIME smart meter deployments by other PRIME Alliance utility members are expected to follow shortly. Visit the PRIME press room for member details

Worldwide partnership between Air Liquide and Sixtron for crystalline-Si solar cells

2010-05-10T16:47:00.000-07:00

Air Liquide and Sixtron Advanced Materials today announced an exclusive partnership to promote and distribute advanced coating materials to crystalline silicon (“c-Si”) solar cell manufacturers worldwide. This innovative Silexium™ technology will enable crystalline solar panel producers – which today represent around 70% of all photovoltaic manufacturers – to improve the performance of their solar cells and reduce costs/W_p without significant up-front capital investment.

Sixtron is a Canadian company whose focus is developing scalable and cost-effective industrial coating systems that improve the performance of solar cells. The Silexium process solution combines proprietary precursor molecules with the SunBox™ gas generation system to deposit new solar cell films.This exclusive agreement will allow Air Liquide to complement its existing dedicated offer of advanced precursor materials and propose a new value-adding gas solution to its c-Si photovoltaic customers worldwide. The agreement will leverage Air Liquide’s leading position in the photovoltaic industry supply chain. Manufacturers of c-Si solar cells in more than 20 countries already benefit from Air Liquide materials management and on-site services infrastructure, enabling them to now rapidly deploy Silexium™ technology to mass production. Peter Tyszewicz, President and CEO of Sixtron, said: “Air Liquide’s number one market position will allow Sixtron to support the crystalline-silicon solar industry as it improves cell efficiency and reduces costs.”

Francisco Martins, Vice-President World Business Line Electronics of the Air Liquide Group, said: “This global partnership with Sixtron demonstrates Air Liquide strategic interest to provide its photovoltaic customers with the safest, most advanced and lowest cost-of-ownership Gases & Precursors solutions in the market. The photovoltaic market is at the crossroads of Energy and the Environment, two growth drivers of the Air Liquide group.” This past January Sixtron announced its Silexium technology, a silane-free antireflective passivation coating that nearly eliminates LID in solar cells. LID is a long-standing issue in the solar industry, reducing monocrystalline solar cell efficiency by up to 5 percent when first exposed to sunlight. Solar cells with a Silexium antireflective passivation coating exhibit as much as 88 percent less LID than solar cells with traditional silane-based SiN coatings.

Evolution Solar Completes Engineering of Breakthrough of Corrosion-resistant Solar Panel

2010-04-22T12:18:00.000-07:00

Evolution Solar Corp. has completed the development and manufacture of a unique corrosion-resistant solar panel, which is expected to give the company a marketing edge in winning projects located on islands or near the ocean. The new systems are resistant to salt water and accumulate water condensation – which not only extends the product’s life, it is also becoming a new requirement for some projects – such as those located in Bermuda.

“We are glad that we are on the front line of developing these panels,” said Robert Hines, President of EVSO. “We anticipate that this will translate into greater sales and more projects for Evolution Solar.”These panels were built for the Company in China and are currently being shipped to the US for marketing and for installations by Evolution Solar.

Evolution Solar is currently building a solar demonstration site in partnership with Texas Southern University, to be located at the University’s Houston Campus. The project should help Evolution Solar acquire new projects in a sector that is growing to compete in the energy industry, which contains LDK Solar (NYSE: LDK), Trina Solar (NYSE: TSL), Valero Energy Corporation (NYSE: VLO) and BP (NYSE: BP). Evolution Solar Corporation, (EVSO), commercializes leading edge alternative solar energy technologies and related photovoltaic technologies, equipment and next generation appliances. Evolution Solar is an emerging industry leader capitalizing on its understanding of solar technology and supporting the development of alternative energy plans for large corporations and government organizations. Evolution Solar is also an expert consultant agency to organizations in their strategic and procurement plans for alternative energy contracts with public utilities.

ICT Development - Smart Grid: Progress and Issues

2010-04-15T13:36:00.000-07:00

Research and Markets announced the addition of the "ICT Development - Smart Grid: Progress and Issues" report to their offering. This report continues and updates the Practel, Inc. project to research and to analyze Smart Grid ICT. In particular, it addresses the following subjects: Electrical Smart Grid allows the utilitys products to be efficiently distributed, measured and controlled; and the infrastructure to be automated and integrated with both existing systems and new energy sources. Highly flexible and adaptive, the ICT-enabled Smart Grid will generate new business models, new energy management services, new tariff structures and new ways to engage and collaborate with consumers.

ICT standardization. So far, this process is supported by multiple organizations, such IEEE, ETSI, as well as various industry groups. The process itself is in the emerging state, and needs to be more coordinated.

ICT status. This part of the report addresses the current and future views on the ICT development. It analyzes the structure and characteristics of the Smart Grid ICT, security issues, the role of Smart Meters and other. Market prospectus is also included; the industry players product portfolios are surveyed. There are several Smart Grid projects in development or early introduction state all around the globe; samples of these projects are discussed

ICT and HAN. Home Area Networks are an important part of Smart Grid ICT. For HAN implementation, short-reach communication is required. The most probable candidates for supporting HAN wireless connectivity are ZigBee and Z-Wave technologies. The detailed technological and marketing analysis of these short-reach radios is provided.

Green ICT. One of the major benefits that Smart Grid ICT brings is reduction of pollutants. The report concentrates on the analysis of HAN nodes that utilize power harvesting technologies.

Chinese Wind Power Heads Offshore

2010-04-05T14:32:00.000-07:00

China's offshore winds are slower than Europe's because they cross Asia before striking out to sea, whereas the North Sea's winds travel an unimpeded transatlantic path. But 40 percent of China's population lives along the eastern seaboard. China is building a transmission supergrid to bring in hydroelectric, coal, and wind power from western China, but Meyer says leaders of coastal provinces see offshore development as a means of local investment. "China still has a very locally protectionist economy. There's an interest from provincial governments to support the coastal economy and jobs by supporting a wind industry in their backyard," says Sebastian Meyer, Azure's research director.

The Chinese offshore wind situation is analogous to that in the United States, where eastern states advocate offshore wind over construction of an interstate supergrid delivering western wind power. For example, last week, Cape Wind, which has proposed a wind farm off Nantucket, announced it had ordered 130 turbines. The difference is that China's first offshore wind farm, installed by top Chinese turbine producer Sinovel, is about to start generating electricity, whereas Cape Wind has been waiting for its federal permit since it gained state and local permits in 2008. U.S. Interior Secretary Ken Salazar has promised a decision on Cape Wind by the end of this month. China's National Energy Administration and National Oceanic Administration issued joint regulations for offshore wind farm development in January in a bid to accelerate the industry. See the MIT Tech Reivew for complete details

GE and Michigan’s Consumers Energy WiMAX Smart Meter Pilot Gives Utility Real-Time Power to Understand and Optimize Energy Delivery

2010-03-29T16:39:00.000-07:00

A pilot program employing WiMax 4G communications and GE smart meters has worked to allow Consumers Energy’s Michigan customers to get the best out of their energy delivery infrastructure. This is the first-ever U.S. smart grid pilotprogram using this technology. The pilot seeks to demonstrate how real-time, wireless communications between meters in the home and the utility’s network management and control systems can improve efficiency and reliability for all.

“This infrastructure solution could be significant in its ability to provide far more real-time information and updates to distributed intelligent metering devices over utility equipment lifespans,” said Wayne Longcore, director of Enterprise Architecture and Standards for Consumers Energy.

The Michigan pilot is the latest step in GE Energy’s smart grid development program. GE has collaborated with a number of utilities around the world, including Consumers Energy and American Electric Power (AEP) in the United States, to fine-tune smart meter capabilities using this technology. This pilot is especially timely, given the Federal Communications Commission’s March 17 National Broadband Plan announcement, which recognized a clear need for improving the communications infrastructure to modernize the electric grid. GE’s pilot falls directly in line with the plan’s call for a potent, clearly defined reliable and integrated infrastructure to strengthen America’s energy future and enable the promise of the smart grid to become reality. “This pilot helps Consumers Energy evaluate the immediate benefits of smart metering, while providing the company with a powerful platform to adopt additional smart grid technologies to further increase energy efficiency, improve reliability, empower consumers with information and more-easily integrate cleaner energy sources,” said Bob Gilligan, vice president—digital energy for GE Energy Services. “Deploying better ways to move information is key to finding smarter, more efficient and more reliable ways to move electricity.” Visit the GE press room for complete details of this pilot program

Smart Grid Opportunities: The Impact of Government Policies & Regulations

2010-03-12T15:19:00.000-08:00

Smart Grids represent a complete rethinking of the electricity grid technology and deployment for the needs of the 21st Century. They promise enhanced energy efficiency at a time when everyone expects energy prices to increase and they promise enhanced grid security at a time when the world remains concerned about terrorist attacks. Smart Grids also imply a modernization of the traditional grid to accommodate the unique energy generation patterns associated with alternative energy sources. US Smart Grid Market Opportunities: The Impact of Government Policies and Regulations

NanoMarkets believes that Smart Grids currently represents a major opportunity for a wide variety of businesses ranging from transmission equipment firms, through manufacturers of communications and metering equipment, down to firms that make advanced materials. However, like all major infrastructure projects, the new business revenues that are likely to flow from the deployment of Smart Grids will depend heavily on government policy. And governments in the U.S., Canada, Europe, China and Australia, among other nations and regions, are now following similar visions as a way of addressing energy independence, climate change and network survivability issues. Review the abstract or order this report via the Research and Markets web site

As a result, NanoMarkets believes that to fully exploit the opportunities that Smart Grids present, firms will have to have an in depth understanding of the commercial impact of government Smart Grid policies. Only through such an understanding will businesses be able to distinguish between hype and real revenue potential and be able to set realistic time frames and strategies for their Smart Grid businesses. Smart Grid firms will also have to think beyond legislation and regulation specifically aimed at Smart Grids; there will also be impacts on Smart Grid businesses stemming from more general approaches to energy policy, as we all as from communications and national defense policies.

On-Ramp Wireless & NURI Provide Wireless Connectivity for the NextGen Smart Grid

2010-03-11T16:10:00.000-08:00

On-Ramp Wireless and NURI Telecom will develop a cost-efficient single technology wireless network metering solution. The solution will enable connectivity for hard-to-reach meters, which can represent up to 10 percent of a single Smart Grid meter deployment, to help Smart Grid suppliers ensure 100 percent connectivity. Presently, there is no cost effective method for connecting to hard-to-reach meters. More problematically, the issue becomes apparent only after live deployment. On-Ramp’s Ultra-Link Processing™ (ULP) system alleviates these costs for providers, and ultimately consumers, as it is the first system to demodulate signals below the noise floor while effectively maintaining high network capacity. Overall, the ULP system provides a significant network coverage and capacity advantage compared with competing free-spectrum systems.

“The hard-to-reach meter is one of the biggest challenges for providers in achieving a complete communication system within the Smart Grid,” said Mr. Choong Seon Hwang, vice president of engineering for NURI Telecom. “On-Ramp’s ULP technology has clearly demonstrated wireless connectivity in some of the most challenging environments. It has connected successfully in underground locations, many floors above the target and several kilometers away, which is simply impossible with any other single technology available today.”

NURI Telecom has pursued the Smart Grid comprehensively in hopes of powering its future growth and ultimately increasing energy efficiency. Its smart metering solution, AiMiR™, provides simultaneous automatic meter readings of electricity, water, gas and other measurements, to help consumers manage their resource consumption. Visit OnRamp's technology portal for an architectural overview

OASIS Blue Advances Open Standards for Smart Energy Grids, Intelligent Buildings, and Natural Resource Management

2010-03-09T12:12:00.000-08:00

The OASIS open standards consortium today announced the formation of a new Member Section, OASIS Blue, which will bring together a variety of open standards projects related to energy, intelligent buildings, and natural resources. OASIS Blue will leverage the innovation of existing electronic commerce standards and the power of the Internet to achieve meaningful sustainability. An international effort, OASIS Blue incorporates work that has identified as a central deliverable for the U.S. government's strategic Smart Grid initiative.

"We have a global imperative to develop new models for the mindful use of energy and other natural resources--models that support efficient, effective economic growth and enable rapid innovation," said David Chassin of Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, chair of the OASIS Blue Steering Committee. "OASIS Blue provides a safe, neutral environment where stakeholders can cooperate to define clear taxonomies and information-sharing protocols that will be recognized by the international standards community."

Several Technical Committees will coordinate efforts under OASIS Blue. The Energy Interoperation Technical Committee defines standards for the collaborative and transactive use of energy within demand response and distributed energy resources. The Energy Market Information Exchange (eMIX) Technical Committee works on exchanging pricing information and product definitions in energy markets . The Open Building Information Exchange (oBIX) Committee enables mechanical and electrical control systems in buildings to communicate with enterprise applications. OASIS Blue welcomes suggestions for forming new Committees related to its mission. The OASIS press portal includes complete standard details

Hanwha Commissions Spire's 30MW Solar Cell Manufacturing Line

2010-02-01T15:29:00.000-08:00

Spire Corporation announced its 30MW per year turnkey solar cell line has been accepted by Hanwha Chemical Corporation Ltd. of South Korea (Hanwha). The line exceeded both its efficiency and throughput specifications producing 15.8% efficient multi-crystalline silicon solar cells at the rate of more than 34MW per year.

“We knew Spire represented the best choice as a partner for this turnkey solar cell factory,” said a senior official of Hanwha about the commissioning of their new Spire-supplied cell line. “Their process technology and proven ability to deliver made them the company to work with. We have not been disappointed.”“We are very pleased with the performance of this solar cell line. Since Hanwha put their confidence in Spire, it was important for us to deliver a line that exceeded specifications. This is Hanwha’s debut to the solar cell market and this line makes them very competitive,” said Roger G. Little, Chairman and CEO of Spire Corporation. “Spire has been providing turnkey PV lines for over twenty years and is known principally for its module lines; the success of this line continues to demonstrate our ability to provide state-of-the-art cell lines as well.”

Facility Opens to Efficiently Convert Corncobs & Bioenergy Crops to Cellulosic Ethanol

2010-01-29T14:20:00.000-08:00

Leaders from DuPont Danisco Cellulosic Ethanol (DDCE), University of Tennessee and Genera Energy cut the ribbon on one of the world’s first cellulosic ethanol demonstration facilities, located in Vonore, Tenn. The 74,000-square-foot plant has started producing ethanol and will deliver low-cost, fully-integrated technology for commercial production of ethanol from agricultural residue and bioenergy crops, including corncobs and switchgrass.

“The Tennessee Biofuels Initiative already is creating new jobs and opportunities, and I believe the Vonore facility is going to be a real catalyst for additional economic activity in Tennessee,” said Bredesen. “I’m pleased with the progress of this partnership and believe this marks an important step forward in our state’s efforts to develop clean energy technology.”

“The world should be watching Tennessee,” said DDCE President and CEO Joe Skurla. “Here in Vonore, DDCE and Genera Energy are well ahead of the curve as we develop the entire value chain, from feedstock to production. We delivered on our promise to investors, customers and the industry by initiating start-up at the end of last year and are on track to provide the industry with investment-grade packages that meet demands for low-cost, scalability and sustainability.”

U.S. Representatives John J. Duncan Jr. (R-Tenn.) and Zach Wamp (R-Tenn.), state officials, leaders from DDCE, DuPont, Danisco, Genera Energy and the University of Tennessee commemorated the plant’s completion and production startup. It is a major achievement for DDCE, Tennessee’s Biofuels Initiative and for the cellulosic ethanol industry, which is under federal mandate to deliver 36 billion gallons of renewable fuel by 2022, of which 16 billion gallons must come from cellulosic sources.