photovoltaics
A technology that combines solar energy generation with smart-grid communications has won the top title in two categories of TechAmerica Foundation’s American Technology Awards. New Jersey-based Petra Solar’s SunWave system is a smart-grid-enabled photovoltaic module that can be mounted directly onto utility distribution and streetlight poles to deliver
high concentrating photovoltaics
What’s the next big technology in solar energy? Siemens is banking on high concentrating photovoltaics (HCPV), which uses lenses to focus sunlight onto small, ultra-efficient solar cells. Seeing a bright future in the alternative to conventional photovoltaics, Siemens has taken a 16-percent minority stake in the HCPV company Semprius,
utilities
The growing share of renewable-energy sources and advances in power grid technologies are driving an era of “unprecedented” change to our energy infrastructure. The was the prevailing opinion of attendees at the Fourth Annual Utility of the Future Leadership Forum, held in Denver last week by energy and utilities consulting
energy efficiency
The US Department of Energy is providing more than $30 million to train undergraduate- and graduate-level engineering students in manufacturing efficiency to help them become the nation’s next generation of industrial energy efficiency experts. Through the Industrial Assessment Center program, university teams across the country will gain practical training
utilities
A “hands-off” heating and cooling strategy, an improved method for electronic power conversion and a system that “fingerprints” energy on the power grid have all been named the most promising clean-technology solutions focused on utilities. EcoFactor, Ideal Power Converters and Power Tagging were chosen as the top three technologies from
Utility companies now have a new option for assessing their security risks and complying with the reliability standards set by the North American Electric Reliability Corporation: software developed by the New York-based cyber security firm Wiznucleus. The software is already being used by a number of nuclear power plants and
energy management
A boutique hotel chain hopes to save a bundle on electricity costs with the help of a wireless energy management system. Amsterdam Hospitality, which operates hotels in New York City, New Jersey and North Carolina, is installing a system from Evolve Guest Controls designed to improve the efficiency of a
electric cars
Europe’s first commercial battery switch station is set to debut in Denmark later this month. The technology, the brainchild of the electric-car business Better Place, enables drivers of plug-in vehicles to quickly exchanges depleted batteries for fresh ones rather than having to wait for a battery to recharge. The
photovoltaics
A $359 million conditional loan guarantee from the US Department of Energy (DOE) will pave the way for a unique photovoltaic (PV) solar power plant in Arizona. Mesquite Solar 1, to be located in Maricopa County about 45 miles west of Phoenix, will be one of the first utility-scale PV
smart metering
The UK’s second-largest energy supply company is preparing to roll out both smart electricity and gas meters to its customer base. Scottish and Southern Energy Supply Limited (SSE), which serves more than 10 million customers throughout Great Britain, plans to complete the first phase of its metering deployment by
energy regulations
US energy regulators are looking at ways to make it easier for new energy services — in particular electricity storage and smart-grid technologies — to enter the energy market. In a new Notice of Inquiry (NOI), the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) asks whether the agency should change its policy for so-called
photovoltaics
Retail and real estate markets in the US might still be sluggish, but the solar energy industry is one of the fastest-growing sectors around. The total capacity of grid-connected solar-electric installations now exceed 2.85 gigawatts (GW), enough to power nearly 600,000 US homes, according to the Solar Energy
