Hitachi, a key player in the microgrid market, has set a target to reduce carbon dioxide 80 percent across the company’s value chain as part of a new long-term environmental strategy.
Called “Hitachi Environmental Innovation 2050,” the plan also calls for a 50 percent improvement in the efficiency of the use of water and other resources by 2050 compared with 2010.The global giant says it will work to minimize the impact on natural capital and build a low-carbon society, a resource efficient society, and a society harmonized with nature.
The company is known for taking a long-term view, and sees the environmental goals as in line with its Social Innovation Business, a forward-looking effort to construct social infrastructure.
More on Hitachi microgrids here.
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New Siemens partnership brings greater visibility to grid health
Siemens has formed a partnership with Space-Time Insight to deliver real-time visual analytics to improve grid reliability in North America. The agreement brings together Siemens Spectrum Power Software with Space-Time Insight’s Visual Analytics Applications.
Siemens says that the pairing will give utilities a better ability to predict and identify possible failures on their system. The data collected by the Siemens Spectrum Power SCADA platform will be analyzed and visualized in Space-Time Insight’s applications. Engineers will receive detailed insight into possible asset failures, including susceptibility to weather conditions.
Utilities also will now be able to model asset health and potential failures, avoiding outages and improving resiliency for customers.
“Joining Space-Time Insight’s visual analytics with our advanced SCADA platform makes information even more valuable and actionable for a utility,” said Mike Carlson, president of Siemens Digital Grid.
More on Siemens microgrids here.
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S&C Electric’s Minster project wins SEPA Award
An S&C Electric project in Minster, Ohio has been named public power project of the year by the Smart Electric Power Alliance.
The solar plus storage project provides the Village of Minster and its partners with four different revenue streams: frequency regulation; transmission & distribution cost deferral; power quality improvements; and peak demand shaving.
S&C Electric commissioned a 7 MW/3 MWh LG Chem battery system for the project, which also includes a 4.2 MW solar installation
The project will receive a 2016 Solar Power Player Awards from SEPA at Solar Power International in Las Vegas on September 16.
More on S&C Electric microgrids here.
ABB microgrids sail and fly
ABB, which recently made the news with a flying microgrid, is now offering a new all-in-one microgrid solution for ships. The company says the ship microgrid takes advantage of smart circuit breakers to improve efficiency and productivity.
“Modern ships are essentially islanded microgrids that need innovative solutions to manage the power on board in the best way possible,” said Giuseppe Scali, global product manager for ABB’s low-voltage air-circuit breakers. “ABB’s all-in-one protection and control solution does this by embedding all the software and intelligence inside a smart circuit breaker designed for marine applications.”
Next-generation ships will use more advanced microgrid technologies to overcome current power distribution challenges, according to ABB.
The company quotes estimates by the International Maritime Organization (IMO) that better energy management on board all ships can improve power consumption and reduce carbon dioxide emissions by up to 10 percent.
Electrical distribution on a ship is an islanded microgrid connecting multiple power generators and energy storage systems, which manages directional power flows – often with negligible transmission lines. By using smart technologies to protect, connect and control the electrical system, ships can operate more efficiently and productively, says ABB.
ABB’s Emax 2 low-voltage circuit breaker also is significantly lighter than traditional equipment, and is the only one available that uses both communication bus and electrical connections to prevent, detect and isolate electrical faults, according to ABB.
‘’Smart devices will play an increasingly important role in the efficient running of ship microgrids,” said Alberto Pagano, global industry segment manager for ABB’s protection and connection business. ‘The financial costs of non-productive time for ships are also a factor – a typical drill ship can lose $12 million a year due to operational downtime.’’
More on ABB microgrids here.
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Axiom Exergy to install energy storage at NYC grocery stores
Owners of grocery stores and other cold storage facilities in parts of Brooklyn and Queens can now receive incentives from Con Edison’s Neighborhood Program for installing Axiom Exergy’s thermal energy storage system.
The ‘battery’ stores cooling instead of electricity to help businesses manage their energy usage, reduce demand charges on their electric bills, and prevent food spoilage.
Over $5 million dollars worth (between 1.5 and 2 MW) of refrigeration battery systems are set to be installed at supermarkets and other businesses in the area. The energy storage systems will have the capacity to shift 6-8 MWh of energy.
“By deploying Refrigeration Battery systems, these locations can convert power-hungry refrigeration systems into intelligent ‘batteries’ that can respond dynamically to the needs of the facility and the grid operator, taking into account energy prices, weather patterns, and grid programs like demand response,” said Amrit Robbins, president and co-Founder of Axiom Exergy.
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