PacStar Microgrid Lab: Alive and Generating Power

PacStar’s microgrid lab is well underway, with a solar on the roof, smart inverter, protection relay and loads installed.   This enables us to develop, integrate and test software against real devices, not just simulations.   Amazing how many steps even a small installation requires – engineering, permits, interconnection agreements with PGE, inspections, etc.

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IEA says we need 3x investment in clean energy innovation

The International Energy Agency just released a report showing we are far short of the clean energy progress required to limit the increase in global temperatures.   They call for a 3x investment in clean energy technologies in order to achieve the 40% reduction in fossil fuel emissions needed to limit global temperature increases to…

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Portland Energy Startup ESS Lands $250k from Wells Fargo Incubator

Energy Storage Systems continues their forward progress, landing additional finance.   Their cutting edge energy storage technology represents a step function in reducing cost, improving sustainability, and offering scaleability for commercial/industrial and grid scale energy storage. Portland energy startup lands $250k from Wells Fargo incubator – Portland Business Journal.

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Come See PacStar at Military & Government Microgrids Summit

PacStar is a sponsor/exhibitor of this event, and we’ll have a display showing our initiatives in microgrids, distributed energy resource management, and cyber security for energy equipment.   I’ll staff our display April 8-10th next week, so please come by and check out what we are up to! See here for details:  Military & Government…

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Announced: Smart Grid Demonstration Project Regional Symposium

Wednesday, April 1, 2015 | 8 a.m. – 4:30 p.m. Reception and dinner to follow Davenport Hotel Spokane, Washington More about the symposium The Pacific Northwest Smart Grid Demonstration Project is nearing completion after five years. Through the efforts of Battelle, the Bonneville Power Administration, eleven utilities from the five-state region, six project-level technology providers,…

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LBNL FLEXLAB – Impressive Facility Puts New Spin on Building Testing

]     I was recently fortunate to visit Lawrence Berkeley National Lab’s FLEXLAB, a new facility that enables comprehensive, high quality, controlled testing of building systems, materials and configurations.   Its impressive capabilities are detailed more here. Executive manager Cindy Regnier gave me the comprehensive walk through – and I was struck at how the…

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Amazing Regional Smart Grid Asset : PGE Smart Power Center

Portland General Electric Smart Power Center in Salem, Oregon.   Five Megawatts of LiON battery storage attached to the grid and serving a local neighborhood of homes, shopping malls and buildings.   Charges from the grid, and can instantaneously put a burst of power back onto the grid to help ensure reliability by: Smoothing spikes in…

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‘Tis the Season to Submit Grant Proposals

This week is a big push for US Department of Energy grant concept proposals.   If all goes well, SDS will have been instrumental in four concept papers submitted for “Funding Opportunities” on behalf of a variety of clean tech/smart grid teams of companies.   Teaming partners include universities, manufacturers of grid scale energy storage…

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