Microgrid Order for Capstone Turbine, Plus News From Fluidic Energy and More

Dec. 5, 2016
Capstone Turbine receives major microgrid order…Asia Climate Partners invests $20M in Fluidic Energy…Powin Energy wins university contract…Envision Solar International EV chargers headed to Fresno

Capstone Turbine receives major microgrid order

Capstone Turbine received a large order for its low-emission microturbine systems from long-time oil and gas customer Horizon Power Systems to help boost products using a growing microgrid system.

Horizon Power Systems, Capstone’s distributor for the Eagle Ford, Permian, Barnett, Mancos, San Juan and Wattenberg shale plays, placed a sixteen unit follow-on order for a C800, two C600s, and multiple C65 and C30 microturbines.

The order, which will be installed at various locations within the San Juan basin, totals in excess of 2.6 MW. It is set to be commissioned in three phases beginning this month. The clean power generated by the new microturbines will be used to power artificial lifts and help with the transfer of oil and water to points across the production field.

“Despite the prolonged slump in the energy industry, oil and gas producers continue to look for ways to reduce their operational costs and meet the increasingly stringent flaring requirements, which is a long term catalyst for our business,” said Darren Jamison, president and CEO at Capstone.

Jamison went on to note that this is the biggest oil and gas order Capstone Turbine has received in almost a year.

Asia Climate Partners invests $20M in Fluidic Energy

Fluidic Energy, which specializes in microgrid energy storage solutions, received a significant $20 million investment from Asia Climate Partners (ACP) as the last month of the year got underway.

ACP, a mid-market private equity fund dedicated to clean energy in the Asia-Pacific region, is a joint venture between the Asian Development Bank, ORIX and Robeco.

ACP hopes its support of Fluidic Energy’s low cast energy storage technology will work to grow renewable energy access in Southeast Asia, while also replacing diesel gensets.

“Energy storage is a key enabler of widespread decentralized renewable energy generation, and we see enormous potential in our core countries like India, Indonesia and the Philippines, that have high penetration of diesel generation and low electrification rates,” said Duarte Da Silva, managing director at ACP.

Fluidic energy has a strong presence in Asia, where 600 million people are living without electricity.

“We focused much of our commercialization strategy on Asia for the first several years simply because there was a problem that we knew we could help fix,” said Steve Scharnhorst, CEO of Fluidic Energy.

Powin Energy wins university contract

Washington Clean Energy Testbeds facility in Seattle. Photo credit: Chernoff Thompson Architects

The University of Washington has made a significant investment in renewable energy via a purchase of a battery energy storage system (BESS) from Powin Energy.

The university ordered the 30 kW/40 kWh BESS to install at its new Washington Clean Energy Testbeds facility in Seattle. It will be used for research, demonstration, grid simulation and educational purposes. The testbeds will open in early 2017 and offer fee-for-use facilities featuring high-tech, high-quality instruments that are normally unavailable to researchers and businesses.

“Powin Energy’s battery energy storage system will be a critical tool for research and innovation at our new Washington Clean Energy Testbeds,” said Venkat Subramanian, University of Washington professor of chemical engineering and clean energy. “We look forward to having our students, faculty, and the clean-tech community use the Powin BESS to measure the performance of energy devices and algorithms when integrated into real and simulated system environments.”

Subramanian plans to use the BESS to test the limits of battery management systems in order to determine how important they are to the longevity of power storage. This research will be sponsored in part by Powin Energy, which will develop the test protocols under which the battery packs will be used and share access to the resulting data.

Envision Solar International EV chargers headed to Fresno

The Fresno County Rural Transit Agency (FCRTA) has made an order for 13 of Envision Solar International’s solar powered electric vehicle chargers. The group of EV ARC⢠units will be purchased against the California state contract awarded to Envision Solar in 2015 and renewed this year.

The deployment of the new EV chargers is the first countywide deployment of solar powered EV charging, as well as the first to focus on disadvantaged communities.

The units will work to charge EVs and will also contain emergency power panels, which can be utilized in the case of blackouts or brownouts. First responders can also utilize them as a reliable source of emergency power.

“This is one of the most innovative and meaningful deployments of EV ARC products yet,” said Desmond Wheatley, CEO of Envision Solar. “We are delighted that our products will not only help to clean the air and make fueling less economically burdensome for the hard working people of Fresno County, but also keep them safe during the times when they need electricity the most.”

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About the Author

Sarah Rubenoff

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