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Conergy's 'Elevated Ag Solar Structure' claims some firsts
Conergy recently completed construction and installation of a fixed tilt ground and
roof-mounted 510kW solar electric installation for Kirschenman Enterprises at their cold storage facility in California's San Joaquin Valley. Kirschenman is determined to do everything it can to increase the long term sustainability of its farming operations and as Conergy's press release states, the project included a number of firsts: This is the first solar system installed in the region using Conergy's Elevated Agricultural Solar Structure, which is 20 feet tall on the lowest edge and does not interfere with the loading dock operations beneath it. This is also the first solar system being installed for Kirschenman Enterprises and the result is both aesthetically pleasing and works well with the natural landscape. The Elevated Ag Solar Structure design is cutting edge and really works well for agricultural facilities that might not otherwise have the room for solar, notes Conergy Project Development Manager David Vincent, “It is a great concept and I expect to see many other agricultural facilities utilizing the design.” Read more about it >>
Ontario firm tackles novel Power-to-Gas project in Germany
Mississauga, Ontario-based Hydrogenics Corp. will work with E.ON – one of the UK's leading power and gas companies -- on a 'Power-to-Gas' project at Falkenhagen in northeast Germany. The 2 MW energy storage facility will use surplus renewable energy sources to produce hydrogen for storage in the country's existing natural gas pipeline network. As Hydrogenics describes it, Power-to-Gas is a novel way to store energy at utility scale, whereby surplus electrical grid power is converted into hydrogen gas. The hydrogen gas produced from the project will be injected into the regional natural gas pipeline,making the natural gas pipeline network a storage system for surplus electrical power generated from renewable resources. While Hydrogenics notes the amount of hydrogen injection is relatively small as a percentage of total pipeline capacity, these small quantities of hydrogen represent significant energy storage capacity and electrical grid support flexibility. "Over a 24 hour period, the Falkenhagen facility will be able to store over 30 MWh of energy," said Daryl Wilson, President and CEO of Hydrogenics. "Working with a world leader like E.ON to showcase how hydrogen's energy storage potential can be unlocked is a great validation for this capability and the compelling business case it offers." Read more about it >>
(Disclosure: SGN founder Jesse Berst is a member of the GridGlo Advisory Board.)
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| Well - the Nissan demo is silly |
| The Nissan demonstration is silly, because you have to purchase a car to go with your home battery energy load shifting system. The car is at work during the day when the A/C is needed, right? If you use it at night to run the lights, stove and dishwasher, it will be discharged in the morning so you can't get to work, right? Just market a home battery load shifting system that sits on a pad next to your A/C and be done with it. |
| Jerry Zoellner - 06/06/2012 - 09:07 |
| EV power |
| JZ, Tesla already makes a lithium backup system for solar . |
| Jim Stack - 06/06/2012 - 23:35 |
| Vehicle to Home |
| JZ, You ought to be able to set up your Nissan LEAF to (1)not discharge below the amount you need to get to work with [Note the average commute to work is about 10 miles, and the LEAF has almost a 100 mile pack], and (2) go back into charging mode once the power supply interruption is over, so if the juice comes back on at 3 AM, then it goes back to charging. This way, your expensive battery pack is used and useful every day, including during power outages, rather than buying a supplementary battery pack that sits there in the garage unused 99.9% of the time. |
| Chaz Garlow - 06/08/2012 - 13:58 |
| Battery wear and tear |
| Battery life is driven by the number of charge and discharge cycles, and the battery is a $7k-$10k replacement item on the car. The car battery might be useful during a blackout, but I would not use it on a regular basis, not without some serious compensation. This demonstration seems to be a desparation move by Nissan. |
| Paul D. Olivier - 06/27/2012 - 14:23 |
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