Greener Mining Microgrid from Hitachi ABB … Sony and LF Energy’s New Trading Platform…Emera and Novonix to Develop Battery Pack
Greener mining from Hitachi ABB at microgrid in Indonesia
A new Hitachi ABB microgrid system is providing greener mining operations and continuous power for off-grid mining operations at Indo Tambangraya Megah’s (ITM) facility in Bontang, East Kalimantan.
The microgrid is the largest of its kind in Indonesia. It uses solar power to reduce ITM’s carbon footprint – a key milestone in the company’s commitment to reduce carbon emissions and reduce its operating costs.
Customized advanced controls stabilize the project and improve its energy efficiency. A made-to-order e-mesh and battery energy storage section is part of the package. The system is expected to produce 230 MWh from solar PV annually, resulting in 192 tons of CO2 reduction.
For energy-intensive industries such as mining, declining costs for renewable generation and energy storage make them attractive options, but secure and reliable power is critical to operations. Grid edge solutions unlock the potential to improve the environmental footprint and power quality as well as reduce energy costs.
Sony and LF Energy release peer-to-peer microgrid platform
Sony and LF Energy announced that Hyphae, a new microgrid initiative to automate the peer-to-peer distribution of renewable energy, will work automatically with both AC and DC grids. Their announcement also said that Hyphae will add critically needed grid resilience.
Hyphae will enable an LF Energy controller to work with Sony’s open-source controls to form a renewable peer-to-peer microgrid energy distribution system. The news release said that Hyphae’s peer-to-peer trading platform and automated microgrid controller increase innovation and decrease costs.
Using Hyphae’s energy trading system, very remote communities will be able to generate, store and distribute energy without connecting to large-scale power stations or electrical distribution networks.
LF Energy noted in the news release that it is now closer to its goal of building the first interoperable AC- and DC-ready microgrid that is self-contained, operational off-grid and able to connect to an electrical distribution network.
Emera Technologies and Novonix partner to develop energy storage
Emera Technologies and Novonix Battery Technology Solutions announced their partnership to develop battery pack systems to support microgrids that will provide solar power to homes.
In fall 2020, Emera Technologies announced Block Energy’s launch, the first utility-owned community microgrid platform, in partnership with homebuilder Lennar to implement the technology in a new residential community in Florida.
“This project brings the opportunity to partner on not only the development but also manufacturing of new battery systems with significant market opportunities. The target market is not limited to the United States but will also include a focus on opportunities and customers here in Canada,” said Chris Burns, co-founder and chief executive of Novonix.
“We’re really excited about this partnership and this project,” said Rob Bennett, president and CEO of Emera Technologies. “We’re developing something that doesn’t exist today, that will help provide people with cleaner, more reliable energy, and we’re able to capitalize on expertise at home in Nova Scotia to do that.”
Field tests in the coming months will help make final decisions around system specifics and design.
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