Phoenix Contact introduces new surge protection devices for 1,500 volts

article originally published in www.sunwindenergy.com, on June 26th, 2015

Large photovoltaic systems are increasingly using a higher operating voltage of 1,500 V, which makes transmitting the electricity to the inverter more cost-effective. Phoenix Contact has now introduced the new VAL-MB product range of type 1/2 lightning / surge arresters for this application area. The devices in this product range are suitable for the higher generator voltage.

The manufacturer emphasises that the devices are specifically designed to fulfil the requirements of DC applications and are certified by the Dutch KEMA (DNV GL). The protection devices feature longer cable insertion funnels and higher protective shafts for the screws to improve protection against arcing. The product range includes type 1/2 lightning/surge arresters as well as simple type 2 surge protection devices for generator voltages of 600, 1,000 and 1,500 V DC. Phoenix Contact supplies the devices with or without remote indication contact. The manufacturer specifies a short-circuit rating of 2000 A for this range of surge arresters, and they can be used at altitudes of up to 6,000 metres above sea level.

Surge protection for a generator voltage of up to 1,500 V DC (Photo: Phoenix Contact)

Electrical power converter allows grid to easily accept power from renewable energy

Article originally published in www.sciencedaily.com, on April 27th, 2015

Innovations in this field are critical as the United States moves toward integration of renewable energy sources to the national power grid.

The U.S. Department of Energy pursued and was granted a U.S. patent for the technology and is now seeking licensing opportunities for potential commercialization."It is very gratifying when doctoral students who invest many hours working on various research ideas are rewarded with a patent," Balda said. "At the same time, it is an indication of research work that several faculty members and their students are doing in the field of future energy systems."

The availability and use of renewable energy sources, such as solar, geothermal and wind, and their associated harvesting systems increase the need for new power converters that can efficiently convert diverse energy sources to work across modern electrical grid systems. Current renewable energy conversion systems are bulky, inefficient and struggle to accept multiple inputs from diverse sources.

The researchers' high-frequency matrix converter addresses these shortcomings. Its simplified control system uses power converters to allow connection of a variety of power sources to a small, high-frequency transformer. Then, using a high-frequency matrix converter, it produces stable electricity ready to be supplied to the electrical grid system.

The research was sponsored by a Department of Energy grant.

Video of the "Mega" Floating Solar System

Japan has floating solar power plants in Hyogo Prefecture

Article originally published in http://techxplore.com/, on April 27th, 2015.

Kyocera is in the news this month. Two floating solar power plants in two reservoirs in Kato City, Hyogo Prefecture, Japan, are complete. This is a joint venture. The two players are Kyocera and Century Tokyo Leasing, which is in the business of equipment leasing. Construction started last year in September. They use 255-watt Kyocera modules, 11,256 modules in total.

The 11,256 Kyocera modules are affixed to specially developed floating platforms, attachedto the lakebeds, said RenewablesBiz.com.

The plants are on Nishihira Pond and Higashihira Pond. Capacity on Nishihira is 1.7MW. Capacity on Higashihira is 1.2MW. Tom Kenning reported in PV-Tech.org, which covers the solar PV supply chain, that, combined, the plants will generate enough to power 920households.

The electricity generated will be sold to the local utility, Kansai Electric Power, through Japan's feed-in-tariff system. BusinessGreen commented that the feed-in-tariff system "has played a key role in establishing Japan as one of the world's largest solar markets in recent years." Liat Clark in Wired.co.uk made the observation that "Solar power is booming in Japan; the nation doubled its solar power capacity within two years of the 2011 Fukushima nuclear disaster, and is now a world leader along with China and the US."

What is the advantage of a "floating" solar power system design? Kyocera said the cooling effect of the water results in more electricity generated than with ground-mount and rooftop systems. Also, by shading the water, they reduce reservoir water evaporation and algae growth.

The platforms use high-density polyethylene, which can withstand ultraviolet rays and resist corrosion. The floating plants are said to be engineered to withstand typhoon conditions.

This is not the last you will hear of floating plants. Liat Clark in Wired.co.uk said "floating solar power plants are having a moment in the sun." He said some "are starting to appear in the UK, while larger scale projects are also planned in California's wine country." BusinessGreen also mentioned plans for arrays on reservoirs in California. Last year, Young-Kwan Choi of the Korea Water Resources Corporation, discussed at length Floating PV Systems in terms of power generation and environmental impact. He wrote that the floating PV system demonstrated in his paper was a new way of generating solar energy, using the water surface that is available on dams, reservoirs and other bodies of water. "This method has an advantage that allows efficient use of the nation's soil without bringing damages to the environment." His paper compared and analyzed the empirical data of the floating PV system that K-water installed with that of the existing overland PV. The author verified that the generating efficiency of floating PV system was superior by 11 percent and more (the floating PV system has 11 percent better generation efficiency than overland equivalents.)

His paper was published in the International Journal of Software Engineering and Its Applications.

Kyocera TCL completes work on floating mega-solar plants

Article originally published in http://www.greentechlead.com/, on april 21st 2015

Kyocera TCL Solar has completed construction of two floating mega-solar power plants in Kato city, Hyogo Prefecture, Japan.

The joint venture company formed by Kyocera and Century Tokyo Leasing had inaugurated the project in March.

The company has stated that the power plants at Nishihira Pond and Higashihira Pond will be jointly generating 3,300 megawatt hours (MWh) a year.

The electricity generated will be adequate to power about 920 households.

Kyocera TCL Solar has used Ciel et Terre’s Hydrelio floating solar platforms to develop both installations.

These have a proven record of success in operation in France, according to the company.

Besides, Ciel et Terre’s floating platforms are recyclable, utilizing high-density polyethylene which can withstand ultraviolet rays and corrosion.

Kyocera TCL Solar is also developing a 13.4-megawatt floating solar power plant on the Yamakura Dam reservoir, Japan.

The Kyocera Group will be responsible for the supply of solar modules and related equipment in addition to construction, operation and maintenance.

The project will consist of nearly 50,000 Kyocera modules installed over water’s surface covering 180,000 square metres.

The plant will generate around 15,635 megawatt hours of electricity annually, which should be adequate to power almost 4,700 homes.

The generated electricity will be sold to Tokyo Electric Power Company.

The plant will be the largest floating solar installation in the world, once completed by the scheduled time of March 2016, the company claimed in a recent statement.

Ajith Kumar S

editor@greentechlead.com

Floating Solar Takes To The Open Sea

Article originally published in cleantechnica.com, on April 20th 2015

Like many other island countries, Malta is dependent on oil to meet much of its electricity needs. As an EU member, however, the country is required to produce at least 10% of its energy from renewables by 2020.

Sometime back, Malta was considering floating wind farms to increase renewables in its electricity mix. Given its location, solar power is also a good option. However, scarcity of land virtually rules out any plans to build large scale ground mounted solar plants.

Now you might argue why not build rooftop solar, but then to quote the Joker — Where’s the fun in that? Why not build the solar plants out in the seas?

Considering the attractive proposition of putting floating solar farms at sea, the Malta Council for Science and Technology has funded a 3 year project to look into the matter.

The EUR 200,000 project is led by Professor Luciano Mule’Stagno of the Institute for Sustainable Energy at the University of Malta, with Pandia Energy and General Membrane Ltd. as the industrial partners.

The project has been named ‘SolAqua’, and will test the technical and financial feasibility of floating solar panels in the open sea.

We have talked at length of the benefits of floating solar plants in several posts, and how several countries including Australia, Brazil, India, Japan, Korea, and the US have been setting up such plants in various sizes.

The reflection of the water surface and the cooling effect of the sea can increase the electricity yield from the solar panels in floating solar systems. But what makes SolAqua important is its ambition to take to the seas. A lot of the initial floating solar plants came up on still water bodies, perhaps the bravest commercial attempt (yet to be executed) has been announced by Brazil and India, who would be looking to install floating solar in dam reservoirs.

But installing and operating floating solar in the open sea would be an entirely different beast to deal with. Factors that are being studied at the moment include sea-worthiness, the effect of salt drying on the panels on their output, cooling and reflection effects, and corrosion.

SolAqua is a three-phase project. Phase 1 which was launched in December 2014, involves testing a prototype consisting of rafts with flexible panels on top of them. From here the project will move on to test proprietary designs proposed by the University of Malta. Promising results will pave the path for commercialization of the idea.

Photo Credit: University of Malta via university website

FLOATING SOLAR PANELS: A VIABLE SOLUTION?

article published in www.alternative-energy-news.info/, on April 1st, 2015.

Since 2011, French Company Ciel & Terre has been developing large-scale floating solar solutions. Their innovative Hydrelio Floating PV system allows standard PV panels to be installed on large bodies of water such as: drinking water reservoirs, quarry lakes, irrigation canals, remediation and tailing ponds, and hydro electric dam reservoirs. This simple and affordable alternative to ground-mounted systems is particularly suitable for water-intensive industries who cannot afford to waste either land or water.

How it works:

The main float is constructed of high-density thermoplastic (HDPE) and is set at a 12 degree angle to support a standard 60 Cell PV solar module. A secondary non-slip HDPE float is then used to link the main floats together and provide a platform for maintenance and added buoyancy as illustrated below.

According to Ciel & Terre, the system is easy to install and dismantle, can be adapted to any electrical configuration, is scalable from low to high power generation, and requires no tools or heavy equipment. It is also eco-friendly, fully recyclable, has low environmental impact and is cost effective. To date the system has been installed in the UK, and a Japanese system will be installed by March 2016.

Watch the video:

What do you think? Is this a viable solution? Leave your comments below…

Battery energy storage project shows promise for electricity network

wth rising electricity prices one of the biggest issues facing households, Griffith University (Australia) research into energy storage and supply holds the promise of cheaper, better quality power for the low voltage (LV) electricity distribution network.

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According to the research from Griffith's School of Engineering and published in the journal Applied Energy, a forecast-based, three-phase battery energy storage scheduling and operation system provides benefits such as reduced peak demand, more efficient load balancing and better management of supply from solar photovoltaics (PV).

Researcher Mr Chris Bennett, working under the supervision of Associate Professor Rodney Stewart and Professor Jun Wei Lu, has developed and applied an intelligent scheduling system to a South-East Queensland-based LV distribution network servicing 128 residential customers.

"The low voltage network is a typical suburb of a few hundred homes where there is a single area transformer and recently there has been a substantial increase in the number of homes with installed residential solar PV in these settings," says Mr Bennett.

"Daily peak demand in residential networks typically occurs in the evenings in summer and both late morning and evening in winter. But because solar PV generation is dependent on incoming solar radiation, peak generation occurs during the middle of the day, typically when demand in the residential distribution network is low."

"This means there is an incongruity between when energy is generated and when it is required, which can lead to power supply and quality issues.

"However, with a battery energy storage (BES) system comprising Lithium Ion battery banks coupled with smart power control systems, such as STATCOMS, and featuring embedded intelligent forecasting software, we can better manage the LV network."

Associate Professor Stewart says the recent significant uptake of solar PV has in some locations created issues in the LV network, including surplus power being pushed up the grid, unbalanced phases and poor power quality.

"Our solution tackles these immediate issues while also setting the foundation for a future smart grid," he says.

"The two main advantages of intelligent BES in the LV network are that we can mitigate power quality issues attributed to fluctuations in generation from renewable energy sources such as PV, and we can store surplus energy gathered during the middle of the day and distribute it when it is needed in the evening peak period.

"If such a system was implemented across an entire city it would reduce wholesale peak generation charges, alleviate costly upgrades to the grid, reduce the average time of outages and improve power quality for customers."

Associate Professor Stewart and Mr Bennett agree that distributed energy resources and smart power control electronics can revolutionise the grid and reduce the price of electricity for customers.

Article published www.sciencedaily.com, on April 2, 2015.