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Distributed Energy Conference
Renewable Energy Direct
October 18-21, 2021
Upcoming
Event
2021 National Conference on Energy Efficiency as a Resource
ACEEE
October 19-21, 2021
News
Opra, green methanol expert Silent-Power announce distribution agreement
DIESEL & GAS TURBINE WORLDWIDE
Oct 14, 2021
Silent-Power AG (with its business unit Econimo) specializes in zero carbon CHP solutions using green methanol as fuel. While offering turnkey CHP solutions, they also guarantee a long-term supply of methanol to their customers at agreed rates providing an alternative to fossil fuel and its increasing emission-related cost.
After successful combustion tests on methanol and studies on how to provide a methanol-powered OP16 gas turbine, Opra and Silent-Power have now signed a distribution agreement making OP16 the exclusive core technology for Econimo’s product in the range above 1 MW.
“We are proud to extend our ECONIMO product line together with Opra with the new ECONIMO 5000, offering 5 MW CHP performance. We are looking forward to the immediate market introduction to supply clean energy to commercial customers for hotels, business buildings, factories and island operations. What has begun in 2016 with experiments on a small 30 kW turbine, will now step by step be extended to become a family of commercial ECONIMO products for global carbon-neutral power supply,” said Marco Glattfelder, project manager ECONIMO Products, Silent-Power.
Opra is a leading developer and manufacturer of advanced gas turbine-based generator sets in the 1.8 MW power range. The OP16 gas turbine has an industrial, all-radial design that provides robustness, reliability, highest efficiency, and low emissions, the company said.
“As a carbon-neutral fuel, which is safe and easy to transport, handle and store, methanol will play an important role in the energy transition. We are looking forward to successful cooperation with Silent Power (Econimo) supporting our involvement in methanol-driven CHP projects,” said Matteo Bellemo, Opra Regional Sales Manager
Silent- Power has won the Swiss Innovation Award 2016 “Idee Suisse” and is focusing on the introduction of CO2 neutral energy economy based on emission free green or synthetic methanol. One important milestone is the joint development and market introduction of the ECONIMO product line, small and midsize CHP solutions based on proven gas turbine technology, that can supply electrical as well as heating energy, close to consumers, eco-friendly, and usable for grid stabilization as well as power independency.
News
New Gaseous Hydrogen Reactor
Coates International
Oct 13, 2021
Advanced Hydrogen Power, Ltd. and Coates International, Ltd. have been working on this new Reactor Technology for approximately seven years and are now planning to establish production of this most Green Power Technology. Orders have already been received from Mexico and the USA.
Coates International has developed two natural gas powered CSRV systems, the C86GE engine and the C86GG generator, primarily for the purpose of on-site, industrial-grade power generation. The C86GE engine is a component of the C86GG power generator.
CSRV Natural Gas Industrial Power Generator
The C86GG is a fully-integrated natural gas power generator for on-site electrical power generation. Independent on-site electrical power generation is emerging as a viable cost-effective option for the industrial power user. Using on-site generators is not all that different from using the power from the utility company, but the one major difference is control. Power companies use remotely located generators to make power, but their generators are larger and they have to use a power distribution grid to get the power to the user.
On-site electrical power generation involves using a generator or series of generators to meet all or part of industrial facilities power requirements. Coates' advanced electrical generation equipment uses patented technology to provide electrical power that is reliable, safe, stable, efficient and environmentally friendly at a fraction of the cost of purchasing electricity from utility companies.
The complete generator system comes with C86GE engine, alternator, switch-gear, and radiator fully assembled on a heavy duty steel frame.
• 855 Cu. In. displacement
• Inline 6 cylinder
• HP 174 to 280 depending on the quality of the natural gas
• Patented worldwide CSRV technology
• Ultra low emissions
• CSRV system requires zero maintenance for the life of the engine
• Engine oil replacements are extended
• Low fuel consumption
Adaptable to natural gas, propane, digested land fill gas, hydrogen, and other fuels such as diesel putting out over 400 HP and putting out up to 300 KWH continuous power
News
Utilities Balk at Los Angeles County Plan for a Regional Microgrid Agency
Microgrid Knowledge
Oct 13, 2021
The county last month proposed a $41 million program that includes a regional microgrid agency to serve an area that encompasses roughly half of California’s population.
Called the Regional Public Agency Microgrid Program, the entity would create a centralized resource to help local governments and public agencies implement microgrids. It also would immediately construct three microgrids, totaling 15.95 MW.
In a joint filing, the state’s three major investor-owned utilities — Pacific Gas & Electric, San Diego Gas & Electric and Southern California Edison (SCE) — criticized the idea, describing it as speculative and saying it could lead to cost-shifting.
“It appears that the county is simply requesting that customers across the state contribute financially to the county’s preferred resource plan, without demonstrating the specific need, benefit or cost-effectiveness of that investment,” the utilities said in the filing before the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC).
The utilities’ argument centers around the idea that the microgrids might be located in the service area of one utility while ratepayers from another utility foot the bill for it. As proposed, the agency would receive part of its funding through SCE. The utilities postulated that the agency might build microgrids in the area served by a different utility, the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power, a municipal utility. If that were the case, ratepayers of the municipal utility would benefit from the microgrid without paying for it, the utilities argued.
But Los Angeles County countered that the utilities mischaracterized its proposal.
The microgrids would, in fact, be located within the service territory of SCE, the county said. And they would be paid for not only through SCE ratepayer funds, but also by leveraging power purchase agreements, energy service company financing and incentives, such as the state’s Self Generation Incentive Program. The first three microgrids built by the agency would leverage $51,500,000 of non-ratepayer funds (65% of project costs), according to the county.
How can microgrid developers bring projects to fruition easier, faster and cheaper? Join Microgrid Knowledge for an educational webinar Oct. 27 at 2 p.m. EST, Click here to register.
In all, Los Angeles County is asking the commission to authorize $23 million in funding over two years for the agency, with the remaining $18 million to build the three initial microgrids.
To mitigate the risk to ratepayers, the county plans to attach 84% of the agency’s annual budget to performance-based incentives that would require verification of incremental installed capacity.
The overall strategy not only empowers public agencies to pursue clean energy “but also fuels market development exponentially faster than previously approved approaches,” the county said.
News
Electricity for the people, heat for the plants
Horti-Daily
Oct 12, 2021
Although eNature feeds 100% of the electricity to the local grid, thermal energy recovered from the CHP plant will be utilized in the greenhouse. Should there not be any demand for heat in the greenhouse, while the electricity price in the grid is high enough for the plant to run, heat recovered from the engines is stored in a large buffer tank and can then be used at a later time.
News
Combined Heat and Power in Integrated Resource Planning: Examples and Planning Considerations Report
SEE Action Network
Oct 12, 2021
Significant potential exists for increasing CHP installations across the U.S. While about 81 GW of CHP capacity is in operation today, an estimated 149 GW of technically viable capacity remains to be developed. As states and utilities explore scenarios to meet energy-related goals, CHP can continue to provide value and help balance key priorities, including: 1) providing efficient and reliable electricity and thermal energy to the U.S. industrial sector; 2) increasing our power system’s resilience to support our nation’s critical infrastructure; 3) supporting grid
integration of wind, solar, and energy storage technologies; and 4) helping the U.S. maintain its global leadership position in reducing carbon dioxide and other emissions while keeping electricity prices affordable.
An integrated resource plan (IRP) is a utility plan for meeting forecasted annual peak and energy demand through a combination of supply-side and demand-side resources over a specified future period. When developing plans for future resource options, utilities can gain value from evaluating CHP as a grid resource on the supply side, as an energy efficiency resource on the demand side, or as an overall resource solution. A handful of recent state policy activities have encouraged the consideration of CHP in utility resource plans. Policymakers in some states have
updated statutory requirements or other rules to explicitly require consideration of CHP in future integrated resource plans; in other states, stakeholders have intervened in utility commission proceedings to discuss consideration of CHP and ensure utilities conduct an adequate review of CHP as a resource.
Examples of utility consideration of CHP in IRPs show that some utilities indicate a preference for owning CHP assets, while others do not take a position on ownership in their consideration of the costs and benefits of CHP.
Modeling assumptions needed to characterize CHP in an IRP include: 1) resource potential; 2) customer thermal loads; and 3) CHP system characteristics. Traditionally, utilities have compared the cost-effectiveness of CHP to other resources through reference to levelized cost of electricity (LCOE). However, many features of CHP, such as increased resilience, lower emissions, or state economic development are more challenging to value in traditional cost-benefit frameworks. New planning frameworks that consider the full range of CHP attributes may indicate that CHP can be a useful solution that minimizes system costs and maximizes customer benefits.
With an understanding of the role CHP can play in future resource planning, states and local governments can benefit from actions that: 1) evaluate how CHP is treated in state planning rules; 2) explore the role of CHP in electric utility planning; 3) provide guidance on utility ownership of CHP as a component of the rate base; 4) revise IRP rules to ensure inclusion of CHP; 5) issue guidance on modeling frameworks that value the benefits of CHP; 6) encourage collaboration across state agencies; and 7) require utilities to solicit stakeholder input in developing
resource plans. Similarly, utilities may consider moves to: 1) identify CHP potential in their service territory; 2) assess CHP interest in their service territory; 3) conduct feasibility assessments; 4) issue a Request for Proposals (RFPs) for CHP projects; 5) develop a project priority pipeline; and 6) measure CHP’s long-term benefits in
integrated resource planning.
Combined Heat & Power eCatalog of Recognized Package CHP Systems
Packaged CHP Systems:
Rigorous Recognition Process
The Packaged Combined Heat and Power Catalog (eCatalog) is a voluntary public/private partnership designed to increase deployment of CHP in commercial, institutional and multi-family buildings and manufacturing plants. The core of the eCatalog are CHP Packagers who commit to provide pre-engineered and tested Packaged CHP systems that meet or exceed DOE performance requirements and CHP Solution Providers who commit to provide responsible installation, commissioning, maintenance and service of recognized Packaged CHP systems and also provide a single point of project responsibility.
Customer Engagement Partners: Incentivizing CHP in Your Area
Maximize Your CHP Investment When You Install Recognized Systems
An essential element in market success of energy efficient technologies, such as CHP, is a robust customer engagement partner to educate end-users and provide assistance through the project development process. States, localities and utilities that are implementing programs and policies to increase the use of CHP in support of key economic, security, efficiency and environmental goals can integrate the eCatalog into their efforts by linking recognized CHP packages offered by Solution Providers or Packagers in their region to their programs. The eCatalog provides a unique platform for convening recognized CHP equipment and suppliers with state, local and utility market outreach, customer acquisition and incentive programs.
eCATALOG PACKAGED CHP SYSTEM PERFORMANCE
Packaged CHP System standardized1 electrical and thermal performance data presented for comparison in the eCatalog have been reviewed and recognized as accurate based on engineering data and available performance test data submitted by the Packagers. Emissions data presented in the eCatalog are based on either third-party emissions test results when available, or prime mover manufacture’s emissions certification data, both using standard EPA test methodologies or equivalent. When evaluating CHP performance for a particular project, it is important to use final performance data from the Packager or Solution Provider that reflects specific site conditions such as actual fuel characteristics, ambient temperatures and altitude, and thermal load temperatures or pressures. As an example, hot water thermal capacity ratings in the eCatalog are based on a standard hot water supply temperature of 180 F, with packager specified return temperatures for each system. Actual hot water available from a packaged CHP system for a project will depend on the specific temperature requirements of the hot water supply and return at the site, and may vary from data presented in the eCatalog.
“Even a small blip on the power grid can disrupt our production equipment and cause six to eight hours of lost production time. With the CHP systems, if there is a power blip we go into island mode and don't experience any disruption.”
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