Colorado’s Public Utilities Commission is reviewing Xcel Energy’s plans for ensuring solar and other renewable sources remain part of the state’s power mix as regulators debate rules for compliance with a renewable energy law approved by voters. A key issue at Monday’s public comment session is expected to be an Xcel proposal for what it […]
Power Electronic Tips
Utility Shelves Plan to Build $750M Plant
Consumers Energy said Thursday that it’s holding off on building a $750 million, 700-megawatt natural gas-fired power plant in Genesee County and is buying a 540-megawatt plant in Jackson. The Jackson-based CMS Energy Corp. unit first announced plans for the Flint-area plant in December 2012. Construction in Thetford Township was to have started in 2015 […]
Wind Turbine Maker to Close PA Plant
The Spanish wind turbine manufacturer Gamesa says it will close its western Pennsylvania plant and eliminate the 62 remaining jobs. Gamesa USA officials said Tuesday that the closure of the 8-year-old plant was prompted by a shift in the market from Pennsylvania and the Midwest to the southwestern United States. They said the company had […]
Advancing the ‘Net Metering’ Bill
The Vermont House voted overwhelmingly Wednesday to sharply expand a 16-year-old program that allows electric customers to generate their own electricity, ship it to the power company and roll back their monthly bills, sometimes to zero. The bill would allow “net metering” for self-generating customers to expand nearly four-fold. Current law requires utilities to accept […]
Engineer Brings New Twist to Sodium-Ion Battery Technology
A Kansas State University engineer has made a breakthrough in rechargeable battery applications. Gurpreet Singh, assistant professor of mechanical and nuclear engineering, and his student researchers are the first to demonstrate that a composite paper — made of interleaved molybdenum disulfide and graphene nanosheets — can be both an active material to efficiently store sodium […]
AC/DC power supplies offer international compliance and low leakage current
[[{“fid”:”36651″,”view_mode”:”default”,”fields”:{“field_file_image_alt_text[und][0][value]”:””,”field_file_image_title_text[und][0][value]”:””},”type”:”media”,”attributes”:{“height”:300,”width”:300,”style”:”float: right; margin: 5px;”,”title”:”MSP-600 series”,”class”:”media-element file-default”}}]]Sunpower (Berkshire, England) has announced its new MSP-600 series of AC/DC medical enclosed type power supplies. These 600 W products comprise an extension to Sunpower’s well-established MSP-100, MSP-200, MSP-300 and MSP-450 series. This introduction is in response to the demand for high-wattage, reliable medical power supplies. The MSP-600 series complies […]
Uninterruptible power system supports energy efficient 400 volt installations
Mitsubishi Electric (Cypress, CA) announces its new 9950A UPS that provides mission-critical operations with an efficient UPS design for 400 volt power distribution infrastructures. Widely adopted in Europe and Asia, the 230/400 volt power distribution approach has gained traction in high-density data centers in North America due to significant increases in energy efficiencies — reducing a […]
Building Codes in China Tested for Energy Savings
China can build its way to a more energy efficient future — one house, apartment and retail store at a time — by improving the rules regulating these structures, according to a study by the Department of Energy’s Pacific Northwest National Laboratory. PNNL scientists at the Joint Global Change Research Institute, a partnership with the […]
Synfuels Plant to Add $402M Fertilizer Facility
Dakota Gasification Co. is moving forward with plans to add a $402 million urea fertilizer production facility at its Great Plains Synfuels Plant in western North Dakota. The board of directors for the Bismarck-based company approved the move this week. The board in October 2012 launched a study of the idea, and it wrapped up […]
Theory May Lead to More Efficient Solar Cells
A new theoretical model developed by professors at the University of Houston (UH) and Université de Montréal may hold the key to methods for developing better materials for solar cells. Eric Bittner, a John and Rebecca Moores Professor of Chemistry and Physics in UH’s College of Natural Sciences and Mathematics, and Carlos Silva, an associate […]