North American Clean Energy November/December 2020 Issue

VOLUME 14 ISSUE 6

2021 WIND

BUYERS GUIDE Pg. 37

Treasure on the Ocean Floor Lower impact metals for EV batteries

Pg. 8

"A Structural Engineer Walks Onto a Roof..."

Assessing mechanical attachments for solar arrays Pg. 12

Read the Fine Print Battery warranty basics Pg. 26

Battery Behemoths Covid-19 impact on electric ships

Pg. 68

Maintaining Residential and Commercial Battery Storage System Capacity

Pg. 74

Pg. 20

Pg. 77

T I T A N

R a c k i n g

S e r i e s

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contents VOLUME 14

ISSUE 6

Performance 18 Proving Analyzing populations of I-V curves

2021 WIND

NOVEMBER•DECEMBER2020 Volume 14, Issue 6

BUYERS GUIDE Pg. 37

Treasure on the Ocean Floor Lower impact metals for EV batteries

Pg. 8

"A Structural Engineer Walks Onto a Roof..."

PUBLISHER

Ian Stuart istuart@nacleanenergy.com

Assessing mechanical attachments for solar arrays Pg. 12

Read the Fine Print Battery warranty basics Pg. 26

Battery Behemoths Covid-19 impact on electric ships

ASSOCIATE PUBLISHER

Pg. 68

Maintaining Residential and Commercial Battery Storage System Capacity

Quinn Stuart quinn@nacleanenergy.com

Pg. 74

EDITORS

Pg. 20

NACE_NovDec2020-FINAL.indd 1

Jill Walters editor@nacleanenergy.com

Pg. 77

Meg Lugaric meg@nacleanenergy.com

2020-10-26 2:13 PM

On our cover…

Cover photo courtesy of Tim West while installing a DeTect HARRIER Aircraft Detection Lighting System (ADLS). DeTect’s ADLS systems are deployed worldwide.

ART DIRECTOR

product: 29 Solar PVpallet LLC

spotlight: 36 Solar Maintenance

DeTect /// detect-inc.com

46

2021 Wind Buyers Guide Laminated Wood Services

News bites

8

Top story

10

Solar energy

35

Solar spotlight: Maintenance

37

2021 Wind Buyers Guide

68

Energy storage

76

Energy efficiency

78

SALES

Ian Stuart istuart@nacleanenergy.com Quinn Stuart quinn@nacleanenergy.com Don McIntosh dmcintosh@nacleanenergy.com Keaton Spence keaton@nacleanenergy.com

departments 6

Chris Van Boeyen production@nacleanenergy.com

CIRCULATION MANAGER

James Vail circulation@nacleanenergy.com ACCOUNTING

Alison Bell abell@nacleanenergy.com

Storage product: 70 Energy Mersen

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Events calendar & advertiser’s list

can be made at circulation@nacleanenergy.com.

How Thin Plate Pure Lead (TPPL) Batteries Boost Renewable Energy Storage

North American Clean Energy accepts no responsibility or liability for reported claims made by manufacturers and/or distributors of products of services; the views and opinions expressed are those of the authors and not necessarily those of North American Clean Energy. No portion of this publication may be reproduced without the permission of the publishers.

8

Treasure on the Ocean Floor

Lower impact metals for EV batteries

10

The Digital Transformation of Solar Power Maintenance Practices

12

“A Structural Engineer Walks Onto a Roof…”

Assessing mechanical attachments for solar arrays

14

The Critical Link Between Energy & Income

16

Managing the Unpredictable in Solar Project Finance

18

4

Proving Performance

20

California Schools on Solar

22

Going Solar Using Payment Options

68 Battery Behemoths Covid-19 impact on electric ships

Editorial, Advertising, Production, and Circulation are at 255

70

Email: circulation@nacleanenergy.com

24 26

Solar as an Equity Building Asset Read the Fine Print

Battery warranty basics

28

Innovative Storage Will Shape Energy Transition

35

Solar spotlight:

Maintenance

37

Retrofit Solution Complies with Approaching NERC Requirements

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Maintaining Residential and Commercial Battery Storage System Capacity

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How Thin Plate Pure Lead (TPPL) Batteries Boost Renewable Energy Storage

74

How DER Management Will Help Drive the Clean Energy Transition

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Information will remain strictly confidential.

2021 Wind Buyers Guide

Analyzing populations of I-V curves

NOVEMBER•DECEMBER2020 /// www.nacleanenergy.com

Printed on paper with 90% recycled fiber.

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editor's note

news bites

I NORMALLY WAIT UNTIL THE LAST MINUTE TO WRITE

my editor’s note so I can be sure to include the latest news and developments before we go to print. But you know what? I just don’t care anymore. It’s so tiring – literally mentally exhausting – to watch and listen to all that’s going on in the world right now. So many of my friends and colleagues can barely find the energy to drag themselves out of bed in the morning to do their jobs, assuming they even know what day it is. The way I see it, there are plenty of people choosing to make activism their life’s work. Not that I can completely ignore it.

We’re still aware (at least at the periphery of our conscious minds), but for many of us, it’s all we can do to just be still. To watch the grass grow. I say to all of you: stand up my fellow, brain-addled, armchair quarterbacks! Join me in looking no further than your own back yard for inspiration and motivation. In fact, let’s take it a step further, back to where it all begins: grass roots.

Good or bad, every idea started in someone’s brain. Every. Single. Idea.

That means that you, as a free-thinking individual with your own mind, are priceless. We all depend on one another – our very existence demands it.

Don’t be shy about sharing the crazy things going on in your head. You may think you have nothing new to bring to the conversation. But “new” isn’t the goal - one idea piggybacks on another until something magical happens.

Case in point, the groovy and (for some of us, embarrassing) 1970s. Masaru Ibuka, Sony's co-founder, traveled often for business and would find himself lugging Sony's bulky TC-D5 cassette recorder around to listen to music. He asked Norio Ohga, then Executive Deputy President, to design a playbackonly stereo version, optimized for use with headphones. Ibuka brought the result — a compact, high-quality music player — to Chairman Akio Morita and reportedly said, "Try this. Don't you think a stereo cassette player that you can listen to while walking around is a good idea?"1 Whether you lived in the United States at the time and called it the “SoundAbout”, or proudly showed off your new “Stowaway” in the United Kingdom, you must remember the first time you experienced that “aha!” moment.

Why didn’t someone think of it sooner? Maybe someone did, and that person spent the rest of his or her life kicking themselves for not sharing their big idea. Hindsight is quite an accomplished butt kicker.

We’re blessed to work in an industry that changes rapidly, where we can use each other’s minor ideas to leapfrog to the next major innovation.

Remember to find gratitude in your failures, and revel in the successes of those around you. And, at your next trade show (whenever that may be) don’t overlook that unassuming solitary guy with the greasy hair and high waters, hanging out at his little booth – there’s a chance he just may hold the key to the next big thing.

“It is common to overlook what is near by keeping the eye fixed on something remote.”

– Samuel Johnson

Meg 1

McDonald's introduced a flagship restaurant located west of Disney on Buena Vista Drive, Orlando, FL. The opening of this restaurant demonstrates the company's steadfast commitment to sustainability and energy efficiency as it will become a Zero Energy Building, the first Zero Emissions restaurant in the US. Onyx Solar designed and manufactured the photovoltaic glass installed on the outside porch. They are made of two layers of ¼" fully tempered glass, where the interior light comes in a light gray color. The average light transmittance achieved is 36%, which enhances the interior-exterior connection by allowing additional light to enter the porch dining room. It is an installation of 192 crystalline silicon glass units of 291W/unit with gray finish, which represents a total installed power of 55.80kWp. Each unit contains 66 monocrystalline silicon solar cells embedded in the glass. It measures 6.8ft x 3.8ft (2057mm x 1117mm) and is UL1703 listed. McDonald's wanted to have an efficient restaurant, with 100% green energy and without CO2 emissions into the atmosphere.

McDonald's also wanted to educate everyone who uses it, so inside, users will be able to watch videos about the project, as well as techniques and changes they can make in their lives to help fight climate change. Solar power plays a key role in achieving this goal as the restaurant installed 465m2 of photovoltaic glass in the outdoor porch skylights, which will produce 79,000kWh/year.

Onyx Solar /// www.onyxsolar.com

Utensils that fit In your wallet, not the ocean

Green energy company GoSun, known for their solar ovens and appliances, has turned their attention to eradicating single-use plastic with their new product, Flatware. The average American throws away over 322 plastic utensils every year. Flatware is a pop out travel utensil set that aims to target single-use plastic head on by providing a spoon and fork in a practical, clean, and stylish package. Flatware ticks all the environmentally friendly boxes, it’s reusable, portable, and durable. The design packs a full utensil set into the footprint of a credit card, just 4mm thick, and 3.3" x 2" when packed into its included carry case. To use the set, just slide the stainless steel fork and spoon out of their sleeves and click into place. When finished, retract the spoon and fork ends into their stainless steel handles for mess-free storage. The Flatware set is made of durable 301 stainless and disassembles for easy cleaning.

GoSun /// www.gosun.co

http://content.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,1907884,00.html

Creating the clean earth of tomorrow

In Our Livable World: Creating the Clean Earth of Tomorrow, author Marc Schaus journeys to the frontlines of the climatechange fight and the bold scientific innovations that will be central to a national and global clean energy revolution.

Schaus gives real talk on the challenges, interviews the innovators central to the battle, and reveals how revolutionary technology is ushering in a much-needed acceleration toward clean and sustainable energy.

Diversion Books /// www.diversionbooks.com

6

The first zero emissions restaurant in the USA

NOVEMBER•DECEMBER2020 /// www.nacleanenergy.com

Solar is going to the dogs

OMCO Solar completed a “pawesome” and unique solar array for Pedigree Ovens.

The custom solar array, in the shape of a paw print and dog bone will fuel all of the Harvard, IL based plant’s energy needs. Offset is 1456 tons of greenhouse gas each year. OMCO Solar created the mounting and racking for the installation, and the project was completed by the development team at Simpleray, the contractors at Althoff Industries, the module manufacturer’s at HT-SAAE, and the inverter manufacturer’s at SMA-America.

OMCO Solar /// www.omcosolar.com

news advertorial bites

Eliminating Power Quality Issues in Skyscrapers with Harmonic Filters

by Eduardo Drehmer

I

magine you need to update wiring in the 2.5-million-square-foot Empire State Building. You would need to pay at least $200 a drop for wiring (likely more when you add in the labor of a skilled electrician). The project would cost more than 100 times the cost per square feet that it takes to update wiring in the average home!

Grid current

Load current

Main

Compensation current

Powerful Challenges Skyscrapers and other large buildings tend to utilize many power electronics systems that support nonlinear loads such as those required by UPS systems, servers and related computing equipment, variable speed drives, lighting, PoE networks, and monitors. Add in numerous other cables and potential pollutants that share nearby space, and you end up with harmonics pollution in the power network. This leads to significant supply voltage deterioration and quality, a major concern for building operators.

Dangerous Pollution There are several dangers that are caused by harmonic pollution. The nonlinear current draw results in harmonics that cause distortion in the sinusoidal voltage. This distortion often causes interference for other loads.

Harmonics are integer multiples of the basic frequency (ie. the line frequency of 50 Hz or 60 Hz). Harmonics have fluctuating amplitudes that may extend into the upper kHz range. Aside from its negative effect on power quality, harmonic pollution can also be dangerous. Common negative effects include: • Poor power grid quality • Malfunctions of power loads • High inadmissible currents • Inadvertent current load on the neutral conductor • Accumulative harmonic currents (of the 3rd, 9th, 15th, 21st orders, and so forth) • Phase asymmetry (especially with single-phase switch-mode power supplies) • New generations of harmonics In some cases, harmonics can damage sensitive computing or medical devices to the point where they become unusable. This is a concern especially for data networks, servers and computers, where a malfunction of any of these devices can lead to corrupted data, causing untold financial damages to both devices and data.

Tower Power Quality Given the sheer size and complexity of the electrical loads and systems of large buildings, quality is crucial in ensuring lowest possible energy consumption, avoiding overheating, minimizing equipment damage and malfunction, and reducing costs, production, and process downtimes.

Current Waveform on Grid Side

Current Harmonic Spectrum

Load

PQSine active harmonic filter Figure 2: Active harmonic filter ensures a sinusoidal current draw to reduce harmonics

Power Conditioning As you might imagine, Skyscrapers have a very complex load profile that reduces harmonic distortion across an extremely broad frequency spectrum that also involves dynamic reactive power compensation. As a result, complete power conditioning solutions, such as TDK’s PQSine S series, that incorporate active harmonic filtering is optimal to address these complex loads.

A detailed analysis of the building’s power network must be performed to design such a complex power conditioning solution. Distributors and manufacturers that specialize in power quality will work together with application engineers during the construction phase to analyze the load on the overall building. In nearly all cases, the analysis will identify significantly elevated THD levels and transient harmonics in all feeders of a building's network. In a typical office tower distortion is especially high in the 3rd, 5th, 7th, 11th and 13th harmonics.

High Performance and Reliability Most power conditioning solutions are designed for 3-phase grids and require both high performance and reliability. Such solutions can be used with or without neutral conductors and enable harmonics to be detected and filtered in the 2500 Hz/3000 Hz range (50th order).

It is essential to ensure balancing of the loads to all three phases as is the case for TDK’s PQSine active harmonic filters. Using a 4-wire device, neural conductor currents can also be compensated with minimal line resonance. This ensures the high performance and reliability that is required.

When designing an optimized active harmonic filtering solution engineers should create or select a solution with the following key features: Dual-function harmonic and reactive power compensation; Intelligent switching; Near-real-time reaction speed; Modular expansion; Self-monitoring.

Active harmonic filters such as the PQSine S series, should be installed in parallel to the polluting loads so they can analyze the line current and associated harmonics.

In turn, they can then generate a compensation current to neutralize the harmonic currents and feeds a compensation current into the grid in real-time, effectively canceling any nonlinearity of the load current. By following these best practices, engineers can address a wide range of nonlinear loads and eliminate power quality issues in skyscrapers and other large commercial buildings.

Eduardo Drehmer is Director of Marketing at TDK Electronics; Film Capacitors and Power Quality Solutions.

Figure 1: Typical performance analysis of a power supply system showing the presence of significant harmonic distortion in all harmonics, especially in the 3rd, 5th, 7th, 11th and 13th orders.

www.tdk-electronics.tdk.com North American Clean Energy

7

top story

Treasure on the Ocean Floor Lower impact metals for EV batteries

by Gerard Barron

Since the midpoint of the decade, the world has undergone a sea change in attitudes towards electric vehicles. Global sales surpassed 1 million electric vehicles (EV) for the first time - doubling in 2019. Better battery chemistries have increased range and, with costs falling fast (about 90 percent in eight years), consumers are responding.

The transport sector contributes approximately a fifth of global greenhouse gasses; transportation emissions continue to outpace all other sectors. Decarbonizing these systems can provide a significant boost to global efforts to reduce emissions. To do this, however, we need batteries. A lot of them.

While society might do everything right – electrifying the entire global vehicle fleet, building tens of thousands of solar and wind farms, adding terawatts of energy storage capacity – unless we get serious about decarbonizing supply chains, we could get it all wrong.

Minerals are the lifeblood of the clean energy economy: Demand is projected to rise some 500 percent by 20501. For base metals such as manganese, nickel, cobalt, and copper, the timeframe is tighter still, with shortages predicted by 2025.

The battery boom is causing companies to scramble to secure new sources of the metals critical to low-carbon technologies. Mega manufacturers have pleaded for miners to ramp up the supply of nickel (a vital ingredient in EV batteries) in an environmentally sensitive way, promising big contracts for those who can deliver.

The COVID crisis, meanwhile, has exposed the mineral supply chains for the brittle linkages they are. America is highly dependent on external sources to meet its critical mineral needs, importing more than half of its annual consumption in 31 of 35 minerals, including manganese, cobalt and nickel. This has left the U.S. shockingly absent from global EV supply chains, with no clear roadmap.

There is some good news: A recent study2 shows that, while America trails both Asian heavyweights and European challengers in raw materials, cell capacity, and component manufacture, the U.S. has the potential to become a global leader, overtaking both China and Japan by 2025.

Proactive policy will be key if the U.S. is to catch up to its competitors. To ensure an integrated supply chain, a comprehensive strategy to source minerals outside of China’s orbit will be essential. But expanding supply is challenging and slow, and carries a heavy environmental and social cost.

Traditional mining for the necessary elements has garnered a (not entirely undeserved) reputation for being damaging and harmful to the environment. At a time for urgent climate action, however, the exploration of promising alternatives has been forestalled, with environmental groups espousing the notion that we can simply recycle more and consume less. However, given the ever-increasing demand, and too little metal stock in circulation to meet that demand, we can’t recycle what we don’t have.

There are hard choices to make in order to meet the vast resource needs of the clean energy transition, and we must take on board the hard lessons learned from hundreds of years of careless terrestrial resource extraction.

Peer-reviewed research3 has compared the full-scale lifecycle and climate change impacts of producing battery

8

NOVEMBER•DECEMBER2020 /// www.nacleanenergy.com

metals for one billion EVs from two different sources: land-based ores and deepsea polymetallic nodules.

On the one hand, terrestrial miners are hamstrung by resource-specific challenges like falling ore grades, where lower concentrations of metal lead to ever-increasing energy, material, and land requirements to produce the same amount of metal. As we dig deeper and wider, we do so to the detriment of both the planet and people.

Polymetallic nodules, by contrast, lie loose on the seabed in international waters.

These offer a rare opportunity to dramatically reduce the environmental impacts of sourcing battery metals (compared to mining metal deposits on land in some of the world’s most biodiverse regions) which also serve as massive global stores of carbon.

The benefits of these remarkable rocks are manifold: given that they sit unattached on the deep seafloor, we no longer must fell forests, remove precious, carbon-rich topsoil, and blast hard rock to get at the ore. And there is no known mechanism for carbon stored in deep-sea sediments to reach the atmosphere.

Nodules also contain rich concentrations of four metals required for EVs in a single ore, saving the need to excavate three types of ore from three different mines on land.

It’s akin to having an electric vehicle battery in a rock. It's also crucial to point out that nodules have no toxic levels of hazardous elements, hence no need for massive toxic tailings dams that must be maintained indefinitely and are bound to eventually fail4.

If we change the resource, we can change the game entirely. Sourcing critical base metals from deep-sea nodules can deliver one billion EV batteries, with a lower energy, land, and waste footprint. And it can reduce the climate change impacts of sourcing battery metals by up to 90 percent. If we are to retain any hope of limiting global warming to 1.5°C, such savings can make a massive difference.

It’s encouraging to see leading EV manufacturers spearhead the movement for transparency and reveal the lifetime carbon footprints of their vehicles. But if we’re to get this monumental shift right, we can’t stop there: It’s time we take a planetary perspective, calmly comparing our options, and analyzing the lifecycle impacts of each.

At a time of crisis, if we fail to keep a cool head, things will only get hotter.

Gerard Barron is CEO & Chairman of DeepGreen, which is producing metals from polymetallic rocks to power electric vehicles and clean energy.

DeepGreen /// deep.green https://www.worldbank.org/en/news/press-release/2020/05/11/mineral-production-tosoar-as-demand-for-clean-energy-increases 2 https://about.bnef.com/blog/china-dominates-the-lithium-ion-battery-supply-chain-buteurope-is-on-the-rise/ 3 https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0959652620338671?via%3Dihub 4 https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2019/02/09/world/americas/brazil-dam-collapse.html 1

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North American Clean Energy

9

solar energy

The Digital Transformation of Solar Power Maintenance Practices

by Steve Hanawalt

The DC array, made up of hundreds to millions of un-instrumented electrical circuits, houses the majority of solar production losses. Because of this, the biggest opportunity for improving solar plant performance lies within DC array. Whether the losses are in the PV modules themselves or downstream in the strings, conductors, combiners or recombiners, efforts should focus on the DC array to most improve solar plant production and revenue Long aware of this fact, PV operations and maintenance (O&M) personnel developed a variety of maintenance approaches to locate where in the array DC losses are occurring. Methods evolved from simple and manual, to more complex and automated. To understand the potential of digital transformation for the future of PV string maintenance, it is helpful to first review the evolution of DC string maintenance and monitoring.

When I first got into the solar power business in 2007, it was common for O&M agreements to require operators to perform string testing (DC voltage and current testing) on 100 percent of the strings every year. As plants got bigger, this became tedious and economically infeasible. As a result, O&M contracts were adjusted to include random tests of a small percentage of the strings each year.

For a time, these manual tests of a randomly selected strings were the best way to find DC losses. Then people started attaching thermal-imaging cameras to drone and fixed-wing aircraft, enabling PV module and circuit hot spot detection from the sky.

A few aerial thermography pioneers started conducting PV plant flyovers, demonstrating that the technology detected problems with a high degree of detail and accuracy. But the method proved cost-prohibitive until more vendors flooded the market and aerial thermography prices dropped. Aerial thermography soon became standard practice for maintaining solar power plants.

While aerial thermography vendors worked to improve aerial thermography technology, a few performance monitoring vendors made progress developing asset monitoring software that could also identify losses in the DC array.

The benefit of these asset performance monitoring software solutions is that they are continuous—generating events automatically when predefined loss thresholds are triggered. The shortcoming of these monitoring solutions is that, without access to data from very granular DC array sensors, they only identify certain types of losses in areas of the array. Aerial thermography inspections, on the other hand, detect not only module-level losses but also individual cell-level problems within the module.

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NOVEMBER•DECEMBER2020 /// www.nacleanenergy.com

Wouldn’t it be great to integrate the two and bring the benefits of both technologies together?

Better Together

The key to better solar power plant performance is to move beyond availability improvements to production improvements.

That’s not to say that plant and equipment availability aren’t important—they are.

However, given that most well-run solar projects are already experiencing a 98-99 percent technical availability, there is not much room for solar project uptime improvements.

To move the needle in project energy production, we need to identify and resolve DC array performance losses. With the aerial thermography services now on the market, we have a commercially viable way to do that. The shortcomings of aerial thermography services are that they are “batch” or periodic services, and they are not digitally integrated with work management system workflows.

For example, if a flyover inspection occurred at a plant on Tuesday, and a lightning storm hit the same plant on Wednesday, that plant might experience a whole new set of DC performance losses. Theoretically, those losses could go undetected for another year (until the next aerial inspection is scheduled). Though the real-time monitoring system might not be able to detect the exact location of those lightninginduced losses, it could detect which arrays were affected and the types of losses.

A real-time monitoring service operational event dashboard can alert operators and asset managers of a new performance loss event.

The integrated work management system then can assign a work order to investigate, confirm, and repair the damage. In other words, by combining the best features of each service through digital integration, “the whole is greater than the sum of its parts.”

Another benefit of leveraging digital transformation in the area PV string maintenance is the ability of modern advanced analytic systems to learn. The feedback loop from the aerial inspection results can be used to train the machine

learning algorithms to better characterize the “loss signature” of different performance losses. The continuously improved loss signature enables the digital twins to detect losses faster and more reliably.

Outcomes and Benefits

Digitally integrating aerial thermography results with a continuous performance monitoring technology delivers faster performance loss detection and loss recovery. Because solar power is a zero marginal cost technology (other than paying for additional remediation costs), all incremental revenue from the recovery project flows directly to the bottom line.

Integrating aerial inspection data, performance monitoring data, and field service work orders brings the additional benefit of creating an automated project tracking system. As work orders are updated, project reports are automatically generated to track recovered revenue, project status, and labor and material costs. Owners and asset managers with visibility into the platform are continually updated on current revenue recovery efforts, as well as outstanding maintenance efforts.

It is a sign of a maturing industry when owners, operators, and vendors begin working together to solve complex problems like solar DC array performance loss recovery. General solutions and a one-size-fits-all approach are not the answer. History has shown that deep domain knowledge and industryspecific solutions drive better returns for asset owners. Combining the best practices of aerial thermography with best-in-class asset performance management software solutions will deliver better project returns for owners of solar power portfolios.

Steve Hanawalt is EVP and Co-Founder of Power Factors, which monitors 30+ GW of wind, solar, and energy storage assets globally.

Power Factors /// pfdrive.com

Otherworldly Tracker: Engineered for greatness

tamaño de corte 8” x 10.75”,

soltec.com North American Clean Energy

11

solar energy

“A Structural Engineer Walks Onto a Roof….”

Assessing mechanical attachments for solar arrays

by Chris Conwell

AS A LICENSED STRUCTURAL ENGINEER, I HAVE BEEN

involved with the design of over 600 commercial solar rooftop projects in the midAtlantic and northeast region of the United States. For more than a decade now, about 85 percent of my work has involved rooftop and ground mount solar projects. Having been in the industry from the beginning, I’ve seen just about every iteration of ballasted racks, mechanically attached racks, and dozens of different types of roofing materials.

While there is no one-size-fits-all rack for any project, my experience over the years has been that 100 percent ballasted is an excellent solution.

1. Ballasted systems are “tried & true”. Thousands of these systems have been installed throughout the country, with rarely any significant issues.

2. Ballast calculators, derived from hundreds of wind tunnel testing and analysis over the years, have proven to be accurate and safe.

3. Using mechanical attachments can “kill” a project. Either the cost destroys the economics of many projects (each mechanical attachment runs about $300 installed), or the building owner won’t allow holes in their roof membrane.

CONCRETE ROOF DECK ANCHOR PLATE

ROOF MEMBRANE

METAL ROOF DECK ANCHOR PLATE

ROOF MEMBRANE

ROOF INSULATION (THICKNESS VARIES)

SHEAR

ROOF INSULATION (THICKNESS VARIES) SHEAR

UPLIFT

UPLIFT

CONCRETE SCREWS COULD WORK LOOSE OVER TIME - HOW MUCH SHEAR & UPLIFT CAN BE RESISTED? - HAVE COMBINED FORCES BEEN CONSIDERED? - WHAT IS CONCRETE PSI? - WHAT ARE LONG TERM AFFECTS FROM REVERSE CYCLE MOTION? - WHAT IS THE AFFECT OF SCREW GROUPING IN THE CONCRETE?

DOES THIS SCREW VALUE REDUCE WHEN INSTALLED ON THE INCLINED FACE OF THE ROOF DECKING? - HOW MUCH SHEAR & UPLIFT CAN BE RESISTED? - HOW THICK CAN THE INSULATION BE BEFORE CREATING A “STILT” CONDITION RESULTING IN ROTATION OR A DOUBLE-SHEAR CONDITION FOR THE SCREW? - HOW MANY SCREWS ARE NEEDED AND CAN THEY BE INSTALLED ON THE INCLINED PORTION OF THE METAL DECKING?

4. Lastly, and most importantly, no one really knows how strong the mechanical attachments are. Honestly! Yes, there is info on the strength of screws in certain gauge metals, and there is some vague info on using screws in concrete or plywood decking. Unfortunately, I have had the unenviable task of trying to put values to some of these types of assemblies, but there is no “real” data to use as a legitimate reference. No official testing is done for any of the mechanical attachments on the market, no testing is performed using the many different roofing materials, no testing of the grouping effect of screws into roof deck materials, and no information about the “crushing or stilt” effects of placing these attachments on top of “rigid” insulation board.

As a structural engineer, I would not object to seeing more mechanical attachments on rooftop solar arrays.

After all, the less weight placed on a roof, the less risk there is of that roof being overloaded. Setting aside the economics and ever-present danger of water intrusion, how do we, as designers and engineers, know how much uplift and shear resistance is provided by any given attachment to various roof types?

Below is a chart that appears to answer these questions. Upon closer inspection, however, it leaves the designer in the dark.

At first glance, the chart looks like it gives a designer all the necessary information. Questions remain: Are these

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NOVEMBER•DECEMBER2020 /// www.nacleanenergy.com

allowable values or ultimate values?

The mechanical attachment plate has room for 6 to 8 screws, but how many do I use and how many were used to get the above values? What type of shear resistance do these provide? Have combined stresses been considered?

In reality, a designer really has no idea how strong these attachments are. It would benefit the mechanical attachment industry to invest extra time and money on research geared towards the professional engineers using those products. The problem is that thousands of attachments are being used in solar arrays, yet little is known about the correct design values to use in ideal installation conditions, let alone the dozens of variations of roofing material assemblies that exist.

Installers most often encounter two types of roof decking: concrete and steel (as shown in the diagram). There are many questions about attaching to these roof decks that are not answered by the mechanical attachment companies.

As a result, the engineers designing the solar arrays are left guessing at what the allowable strength of these connections might be. Engineers are trained to be conservative when it comes to these decisions, so we tend to apply many reductions and factors of safety to the values we ultimately decide to use. I wonder what is really gained by spending so much money on an attachment with unknown strength?

The manufacturers of most other building material products spend the time and money to get proper testing done.

Because of this, we know the strength of steel and concrete with rebar, we know the shear value of a nail in various species of wood, we know the strength of plywood as flooring and roofing, etc. Yet, we still don’t know the different values for a mechanical attachment installed on various roofing conditions and materials.

Whether or not ballast is chosen as the best system for rooftop solar arrays, it has been recognized for years as a triedand-true method of securing an array to the roof. The mechanical attachment industry must give engineering designers the tools they need to properly attach a

solar array. Otherwise, we’re left guessing - and erring on the side of caution. The irony is that testing could prove that the attachments are much stronger than believed, which would make them more useful and possibly more economical to the project. With effective testing, a company could corner the market and make ballast a thing of the past. I don’t know of any structural engineer that wants to add weight to their roof system, but, in my experience, we haven’t been given enough information to feel confident taking any other path.

Chris Conwell is President of Innovative Structural EngineeringMD, Inc., a Maryland-based “turnkey” solar design firm.

Innovative Structural Engineering-MD /// www.ise-md.com

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solar energy

The Critical Link Between Energy & Income

by Roger Lauricella

RENEWABLE ENERGY SUBSTATION MAIN POWER

Transformers are the critical link between generating energy and income.

No matter how much energy your solar installation produces, it’s useless if it can’t reach the user. And it can’t reach the user without a transformer.

Transformers are the unsung heroes of the renewable industry and – like any vital equipment – must be properly maintained. Defining what you need to do to keep them running for many years begins with making a plan for dealing with maintenance and emergencies. Over the last four years, I have reviewed the designs of more than 200 installed renewable power substations throughout North American, with an eye toward O&M. Here are some thoughts and insights I’ve gathered along the way.

A Main Power substation transformer is a complicated machine with a lot of parts that work together very carefully to keep your cash flowing.

When any part of that machine fails, you can’t sell power to your offtake utility and beyond, and you start losing money. In other words, you need to treat that transformer like it’s made of gold. While failure in other components in your substation can potentially be worked around, your Main Power Transformers cannot; with unit failure or some individual parts failure, you will not be able to generate power and make money.

What should you do?

Begin by organizing all documents relating to your transformer(s) in one place, both in hard copy and electronic formats. Copies should also be made available for all pertinent O&M staff, both at your sites and any corporate location.

What are these documents? Start with all factory test documents from your transformer manufacturer. They will show all the testing that was conducted on individual components (fans, tap changers, bushings,

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NOVEMBER•DECEMBER2020 /// www.nacleanenergy.com

surge arresters, oil, gas analysis, etc.), as well as the transformer as a whole. These test documents will also show all the parts used to build your transformer, including specific part numbers and descriptions, the list of certification tests that were conducted, and test results. Some manufacturers also compile images during testing and factory construction, before disassembly and shipment. If you cannot find your factory test documents, contact your transformer manufacturer. Even if they charge you for those test documents, do it; as long as they’re still in business, most manufacturers will accommodate your needs.

Next, gather the transformer construction installation and startup testing data. These tests should mirror the factory tests for content, and will be your baseline for future analysis and operational testing. They’ll also give you a means for component and overall health assessment as your site and transformer(s) ages. If you cannot find the original construction installation test documents, contact the general contractor or electrical contractor who built the installation and request another copy. Make sure this information includes individual or overall collected nameplate images. Now you’re ready to make decisions on future testing and spares procurement.

Present the documentation to your internal or contract Engineering staff. They’ll be able to help decide on the overall testing you should (and can afford) to do, and at what frequency.

Two component groups you should concentrate on: • High and Medium-Voltage Bushings • High and Medium-voltage Surge Arresters

Both groups provide the main connectivity and protection for your transformer and any successful power generation. These components are also typically built to order.

You should still pay attention to smaller components (tap changers, DGA monitors, oil analysis, cooling fans), but bushings and surge arresters are critical to your transformer function, and tend to be overlooked in maintenance and choice of spares inventory and availability. For many clean energy developers and owners, combining details across any multiple sites will save money by minimizing bushing and surge arrester spares, and allowing for flexible failure response. Another benefit of sharing these details

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is that it helps in analyzing how each transformer and its components respond to different locations and renewable designs (whether wind turbines, solar inverters, and panels or battery storage).

As your site ages, both transformer bushings and surge arresters will see challenges. Set your expectations early so you can protect your multi-million-dollar unit(s) and installation.

Treating your units as if they are made of gold. Bear in mind, however, that while gold might not rust, these units do. The moment you see any rust or corrosion, externally or internally, stop it in its tracks.

If you don’t address it immediately, or you let it linger a while, that rust and corrosion will cost you big money.

Your best bet is to obtain as many overall and individual component images of your transformer(s) as are available.

File them for all to use, and refer to them when communicating to non-engineers what those components are and what they do. Images can make up for poor documentation, and can be especially helpful when procuring spare parts.

The object of the game is to be able to continuously assess your main transformers' health, and respond to its needs. Make sure that you have all the necessary details to make spares purchase decisions and service provider maintenance contracts. Follow this advice, and you will have a good feeling knowing your largest value and most important substation component is covered.

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Roger Lauricella is VP of Engineering for WECS Renewables, a Nationwide distributor of electrical, hydraulic, and mechanical components and systems specifically for the installation and repairs of all forms of commercial/utility focused renewable energy.

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solar energy

Managing the Unpredictable in Solar Project Finance

by Kimberlee Centera

BayWa r.e. Solar Projects LLC, Fern Solar

BayWa r.e. Solar Projects LLC, Fern Solar

In solar project development, there is a 100 percent certainty that things will change along the way. Changes can originate from a myriad of places across the development spectrum: The engineering design team may have found a newer, better technology than originally planned; A crossing agreement might need to be negotiated; An endangered species may be discovered, thus requiring a new placement of the equipment; The various teams (engineering, survey, or construction) may make decisions that can impact the entire project. While any of these may at first appear to be a small change, they often require painstaking curative work to meet the legal requirements for the title work, which is an essential piece of the financing puzzle.

The various surprises that are likely to occur can never be anticipated at the front end. If risks cannot be avoided, what can you do to ensure the success of your project?

You can mitigate risk by following these best practices: 1. Develop a strategic plan. Schedule your project phases from the completion date backwards. This identifies critical milestones so you are not blindsided by unexpected issues or delays. The plan will allow you to map the entire scope of the project, from inception through construction. Key points should include: a. Site feasibility analysis and review of permitting, jurisdictional issues, and government agencies that may be involved. Because solar ordinances vary from county to county, special use permits may be necessary. b. Title review establishing the scope of rights and property under a site lease, easement, or government right-of-way; addressing water rights, statutory solar easement requirements, and other real property matters. c. Identification and management of the environmental implications of the project.

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The most important aspect of risk mitigation is developing a communications plan that engages all stakeholders. Any changes to design, land use, or issues discovered during site inspection, surveys, title review, or community engagement, must be clearly documented and communicated to the project management team so that curative actions may be taken. Meticulously monitoring progress can avoid costly delays, and gives all stakeholders the assurance that challenges needn’t grow into a crisis.

Kimberlee Centera is the CEO of TerraPro Solutions. She is a risk management expert for the development and financing of large-scale generator energy projects for public utilities and community development. She possesses the expertise to identify, manage and mitigate risk. Kimberlee has been a guest on numerous radio programs including National Public Radio’s Marketplace. She frequently serves as a speaker and educator at wind and solar conferences.

TerraPro Solutions /// www.terraprosolutions.com

QuickBOLT: The Original Top Mount BayWa r.e. Solar Projects LLC, Fern Solar 2. Create a community strategy.

A common first touch point is knocking on doors. Unfortunately, this often relies on ill-prepared advocates who cannot answer any tough questions that arise.

Successful community solar marketers drive the conversation by crafting a positive narrative about the project. This begins with fact finding to identify issues and address them honestly. Developers should design a dedicated website that provides an overview of the project, offers relevant Q&A, and regularly updates stakeholders. Front-end community research includes: a. If there is a similar project in the area, what has it revealed? b. Is there opposition to the project? What is the agenda of the opposition? Is it political, environmental, or aesthetic? c. Is there a need that will rally the community around the project, such as discounted energy, better air quality, or job creation? d. Who are the leaders in the community? How can they help champion the cause?

3. Assess and mitigate investor risk. To make informed decisions, investors require an in-depth analysis of potential risks, as well as how they can be managed or alleviated at every stage. To survive the close scrutiny that lenders and investors require for financing, all aspects of the project must be aligned, such that the end result will be a fully functioning, revenue-generating, and legally permitted project returning revenue to the investors.

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We heard how traditional flashing was falling short, and we acted. For 8 years since then, installers have been adopting QuickBOLT’s compression-sealing method and for 8 years we’ve continually proven this method to be tried and true for speed and effect. Our recommendation of installing over the shingle has steadily become the fastest growing solution amongst our customers AND our competitors - and we couldn’t be more excited!

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solar energy

Proving Performance Analyzing populations of I-V curves

by Willard MacDonald

DATA IS VITAL TO UNDERSTANDING THE HEALTH OF ANY

PV installation. Capturing I-V curves during the commissioning or O&M of a large-scale PV plant can result in a significant amount of data. This article details ways of analyzing this data and effectively verifying operation and performance.

I-V curves are plots of current (I) versus voltage (V), and are the most effective way to test the health of a PV string. I-V curves measured during commissioning demonstrate functionality and performance prior to sign-off by the owner, as well as establish a baseline for tracking the health of the arrays during the life of the system. During O&M, they provide a way to monitor on-going performance, troubleshoot problems, and substantiate warranty claims. While open-circuit voltage and clamp-meter measurements are commonly employed during PV measurements, they only provide a limited view. A typical I-V curve contains 100 points or more, whereas Voc and Isc (or Imp) are just two points on the curve; the shape of the curve between these two points can highlight a variety of problems, including bad bypass diodes, cracked cells, shading, high resistance connections, and cell degradation.

During commissioning, I-V curves are typically captured for every string within a combiner box. Outliers are identified and fixed, and then the next combiner box is measured, until all strings in the system have been measured.

During O&M, a particular string may be measured repeatedly over the course of years. Accumulating this information can highlight cell degradation, and potentially Figure 1: Typical I-V curve

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of the data. For example, it can plot the I-V curves for the family of strings in each combiner box, as shown in Figure 2.

I-V curves scale vertically with irradiance or uniform module soiling; they scale horizontally with temperature.

This is normal behavior for a healthy string, but variations in irradiance, temperature, and soiling across a population of strings can make is harder to detect anomalies in string performance.

However, by normalizing the I-V curves we can remove these effects from the data, highlighting outliers and certain classes of problems, as shown in Figure 3. Here, the curves have been normalized to an arbitrary Isc of 10A and module Voc of 45V. This pins the Isc and Voc points of each curve together. Notice how the shapes of some curves stand out - If you were investigating a low performing combiner box, these stand outs would be the first to look at.

Figure 2: Population of string I-V curves

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18

be used for a warranty claim if the degradation is greater than expected.

I-V curve tracing is also used to evaluate PV modules or strings that show up with problems in infrared imaging.

It is convenient to break up the measuring and analysis of large PV plants into smaller blocks. For example, a block might be the 250 strings associated with a single 3MW inverter. Testing this block will result in 250 I-V data sets. Datasets from one or more blocks can be imported into a data analysis tool (supplied by the curve tracer manufacturer). The data analysis tool provides a variety of views

Figure 3: The same curves normalized to the same Isc and Voc The I-V curves can alternatively be translated to the Standard Test Conditions (STC) of 1000W/m2 and 25oC. This facilitates comparing the I-V curves to the data sheet for the modules, particularly the Isc and Voc. For instance, you can easily see if a string has uniform soiling or has degraded by comparing the STC-translated Isc to the module data sheet Isc. Or you can see if there

values are taken from the measured I-V curve itself. FF is a measure of the “squareness” of the I-V curve. A more-square curve is associated with more efficient production of energy. Comparing FF values across a population of strings is a good way to identify strings that are underperforming, which can be identified by deviations from normal I-V curve shape.

I-V curve tracing is the best way to measure the health of a PV module or string. Looking at populations of I-V curves from different points of view helps uncover problems within the population. Looking at all data views gives a more complete window into the health of the string, and helps zoom in on any underlying issues.

is a missing module or shorted bypass diodes in the string by looking at the STC-translated Voc. The normalized plot won’t show these particular conditions.

Normalization and translation functions are complimentary, and highlight different classes of problems.

Another way to view the data is in histogram form. Figure 4 shows the Performance Factor for a population of I-V curves. Performance Factor (PF) is calculated automatically by the curve tracer software; it’s the measured maximum power divided by the expected maximum power, expressed as a percent.

A PF value of 100 percent means the string is performing as expected. The measured maximum power is extracted from the measured I-V curve by fitting a polynomial to the power vs. current curve, where each power value is the product of current and voltage from a point in the I-V curve. The expected maximum power comes from a predictive model that takes into account the module specs, irradiance, temperature, time/date, latitude/longitude, and the sun’s angle-of-incidence on the planeof-array. PF is the most important single parameter associated with a string because it expresses the power production capability of the string better than other parameters. The example data in Figure 4 shows that the majority of strings have PF close to 100 percent. But you can see some outliers down near 80 percent: these are the strings to investigate first for problems.

Willard MacDonald is President of Solmetric Corporation, which develops precision test and measurement tools used for field verification applications such as commissioning, O&M, and troubleshooting of PV arrays.

Solmetric Corporation /// www.solmetric.com

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solar energy

California Schools on Solar

by Russell Schmit

Thanks to incentives, sustainability missions, and resiliency goals, California schools are leading by their example as customers for integrated solar and storage systems. Campuses nationwide can look to their California counterparts for ways to incorporate renewable energy into their school systems.

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California school districts will typically install systems on canopies in parking lots and play areas, which provides the added benefit of shade while preserving precious space. Where space is not a concern and/or roofs are suitable, arrays can be found in fields or on rooftops. Increasingly, batteries are paired with solar to shape building loads, further lowering electric bills. Higher sustainability goals are driving recent trends, such as the electrification of school bus fleets, and solar-plus-storage projects to power schools during grid outages. As new goals are defined and technology evolves, it’s increasingly important to have independent engineers guiding your project from concept to completion.

Over 80 school districts have benefitted from such projects. Solar pioneers include San Diego, Santa Barbara, Kern County, and Temecula Valley. What can schools elsewhere learn from their experiences?

1. Efficiency first. The greenest energy, and frequently the lowest cost investment, is the electricity and gas that you do not consume.

While many facilities have already addressed low hanging fruit like lighting, further efficiency should be part of any generation and storage program. Lighting and daylighting, HVAC systems, controls, building envelope, and behavioral changes should all be considered when planning for solar. system can help reduce spikes in usage, store 2. All solar isn’t the same. The idea is not to daytime solar generation, and offset higherimplement solar simply for the sake of going cost afternoon and evening usage. These paired solar. Look for a quality system that meets your generation and storage systems are increasingly organization’s goals of savings, a long-term being used to provide resiliency through a hedge on utility costs, low maintenance, a visible “microgrid”, allowing you to operate critical commitment to sustainability, etc. Additionally, systems when the electric grid is down. In the system should provide backup for an California, especially, this is a growing issue. increasingly less reliable grid. The properly 5. Incentives are key. Incentives for energy designed and financed system will pay for itself projects are often integral to the financial faster and reduce maintenance headaches performance of a project. Federal tax incentives over its lifetime. Temecula Valley, for instance, continue to drive public-private partnerships, expects to save $36 million over 25 years. It’s such as solar PPAs. California’s incentives for worth the time spent on due diligence, and energy storage and zero-emission transportation exploring emerging technologies such as bifacial are significant drivers for the growth in battery panels, batteries, and microgrids. and electric bus markets. Recent grants and fuel 3. Low-maintenance doesn’t mean nocredits for fueling with clean electricity have maintenance. How energy systems are specified, offset the high cost of electric busses (currently designed, constructed - and then operated and 2.5-3 times the cost of a traditional diesel bus), maintained - can have a big impact on their making battery electric buses a much easier performance. Owner’s representation and quality choice. Because state incentives differ, and all control is important throughout the process. incentives involve schedule consideration, it’s 4. Add battery storage. Energy storage will shape important to understand which are available at and optimize your facility’s energy consumption the beginning of the process. to further reduce costs. A solar-plus-storage

NOVEMBER•DECEMBER2020 /// www.nacleanenergy.com

6. Don’t undervalue the opinion of an expert. Energy projects are a significant and long-term investment, and frequently implemented as design-build or design-build-ownoperate. Having expertise on your team helps you properly scope your project, set realistic financial projections, solicit competitive bids, and provide owner’s representation during design, construction, and commissioning of the systems.

Upfront engineering services can lower your costs, reduce risk of underperformance, and optimize the incentives and other benefits.

For many schools, this may be a first look at alternative energy options.

Developing the right systems requires drawing on the experiences of those who have done this before.

7. Schools are increasingly developing larger and more complex energy systems. The Santa Barbara Unified School District recently reviewed proposals for solar-driven microgrids and EV charging stations. The project will cover 15 sites, including three high schools, four junior high schools, six elementary schools, a district office/ continuation high school, and a warehouse. Together, they will add 4.5 megawatts (MW) of solar capacity and 6 megawatt-hours of battery storage. Six sites will host microgrids, incorporating two to six hours of “islanding-mode” (off-grid) backup. Fourteen will feature solar shade canopies over existing parking lots and playgrounds, with the remaining sites featuring groundmounted systems. Construction is slated for summer 2021.

8. Communicate and understand all the benefits. Saving taxpayers’ money is always appreciated. It’s possible to install these systems with no upfront investment, as Temecula Valley was able to do by selling the output in advance on long-term PPAs. Panels that shade playgrounds and lunch areas add ancillary benefits, often while cutting non-solar shade structures from the budget - shaded parking provides a popular amenity. Electric buses reduce noise pollution, and don’t expose students to diesel exhaust.

Then there are the environmental benefits: The 6 MW system that Temecula Valley began operating in 2016, will offset 96,000 metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions over its lifetime (the same amount 20,000 cars emit in a year). Unlike fossilpowered plants, Temecula Valley’s system uses virtually no water, which will end up saving 4 billion gallons of water - sorely needed in droughtstricken California. It’s a learning opportunity for students, and a money-saver for their parents.

California schools will continue to be pioneers in developing innovative clean energy solutions with economic, environmental, and community benefits. Schools across the country will likely follow suit, developing plans that include energy efficiency, solar, battery energy storage, and electrified busses. These projects represent a glimpse into the future, laying the foundation today for a clean energy economy, and providing hands-on learning experiences for the clean energy workforce of the future.

20

IN

Russell Schmit is COO of Sage Energy Consulting, which has helped 60 school districts, as well as governments and companies, make decisions about solar PV, battery storage, electric vehicle charging and fleet planning, zero net energy plans and implementation, and Community Choice programs.

Sage Energy Consulting /// www.sagerenew.com

2020

2020 has been a year like no other. While our number one priority has been staying safe and healthy, we have achieved a great deal this year:

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ket in 2020 with 10+ new projects completed or in process

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omcosolar.com North American Clean Energy

21

solar energy

Going Solar Using Payment Options

by Joel Cannon

Photo by CL Shebley - stock.adobe.com

THE INTENSE GROWTH OF SOLAR INSTALLATIONS HAS SLOWED recently, yet solar’s potential is still significant. Forecasted numbers indicate that the solar market is starting to behave like other, more mature industries — that is, solar business won’t come as easily, and contractors need to differentiate themselves from other companies to win business.

As of January 1, 2020, the 30 percent federal tax credit started the step down to zero over the next few years. Are you getting ready for that day? Or are you so busy with leads and sales that you don’t have time to worry about something that will happen at some future date?

It’s time to get serious about your selling practices. You are the experts in the solar industry, so you probably know about all the advantages and message points to sell solar. But, are you also effectively leveraging financing to help your sales? Here are some ways to use payment options to improve your sales, and be prepared for that time when the federal investment tax credit is no longer available.

Offering a choice of payment options increases sales

Customers love choices, and they particularly love putting off paying for stuff. It’s no wonder that the research shows offering a choice of payment options can help increase your leads and help you close more sales. Payment options help the customer realize that they can buy solar immediately with no money down. Customers who feel that freedom are happy to make the commitment to close the deal with you, and that means you can happily grow your business. When customers realize they can get solar working for them today, at a cost that’s at or less than their monthly utility bill, their decision gets easier. Offering payment options appropriately maximizes the chance the customer will say “yes” today.

The key to boosting your business is to offer an unbeatable choice of payment options to your customers, and then let them choose. It’s important to offer those options every time, to every customer, because you can’t assume you know everything about the homeowner. In fact, making assumptions based on age, the cars they drive, or the type of house they own doesn’t tell the complete story of their finances. A young couple who owns a nice house with two expensive cars in the driveway may be mortgaged to the max, whereas another family in a small home with older cars may have more financial power to purchase solar with cash or on credit.

Different loan types offer certain advantages

Every customer is different, so it’s good to have plenty of choices available for them. When you show some flexibility with the financing side of things, your customer is happy and you’re more likely to win the business.

Solar installations are typically financed through a loan or leasing arrangement.

Loan types consist of same-as-cash, or a combination of same-as-cash and a reduced-monthly-payment loan, commonly referred to as a “combination loan”. The duration of these loans will usually be between 12 and 20 years.

Combination loans allow homeowners the opportunity to apply expected bonuses, rebates, or tax refunds to the loan balance and use the payment reduction feature to lower the monthly payments. Annual percentage rates (APRs) can vary with different rates and loan terms available

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Dependable, cabinet-free automation

Photo by gstockstudio - stock.adobe.com

based on what your lending partner can provide. Ideally, you’ll help the customer get a monthly payment that’s equal to or less than their monthly utility payment.

There are other loans available that include a payment reduction feature called reamortization, which can help homeowners lower their payments (often multiple times) after making a lump sum payment. Other loans may be a better fit, depending on the customer. For example, a homeowner who has most of the cash required for a solar project might be interested in a 24-month same-as-cash loan. That allows them to keep their money until the loan comes due. They get to benefit from the time value of money by spending nothing out of pocket, and can start saving right away.

Offer multiple options—stay neutral

While you may know the customer’s utility bill, you won’t know their financial situation and whether they’re comfortable with the listed monthly payments. By offering multiple loan types, you give the customer the convenience and flexibility to choose how they want to pay.

By offering payment options, you’ll close more sales. A good lending partner will offer fast customer approval and upfront funding options, so you can get your client into your installation queue right away and begin work, making for a happy customer instead of becoming “the one that got away.”

Leverage the power of payment options today, so you can not only increase your close rates and sales, but also prepare for changes in the marketplace that may occur with the upcoming phase-out of the federal tax credit. Utilizing alternative loan features like reamortization will shore up your business against those changes, making you a better and more efficient company.

WAGO introduces their new I/O System Field designed to meet the requirements of modern decentralized production facilities providing performance and high level connectivity.

This system is IP67 rated and offers flexibility with two types of housings: cast zinc housings with encapsulated electronics for harsh environments and non-encapsulated plastic housings with low mass for mobile applications. Both types of modules are equipped with load management. Current and voltage levels can be recorded and evaluated, and overload limits and alarms can be set for each channel providing system reliability. The cast zinc housing devices have input and output power ports for use with daisy chained modules and are Profinet based. Future releases will be able to support EtherNet/IP and EtherCat protocols. These modules are also designed for the timesensitive networking (TSN) standard, support OPC UA and MQTT communications and can be configured via smart device app using Bluetooth technology. The non-encapsulated lightweight modules are IO-Link hubs for versatile connection to an IO-Link Master. These hubs come in either 8 or 16 configurable DIO ports and each channel is configurable for a 24 VDC digital input or output rated at 2 amps per channel.

Flexible and conforming bus bar connections

Mersen’s BusFLEXX flexible and conforming bus bar connections allow for connectivity of cables to bus bars, electrical/electronic components to bus bars, and even bus bar to bus bars wherever there is a need for mechanical gap tolerances and/or thermal compensation. The connectors can have static or +/-1mm dynamic properties, up to three rotational axis (X,Y, and Z), and provide cost effective yet long lasting connection methods.

Mersen design engineers can work closely with customers to solve their specific design needs for custom-made conforming connectors. In addition, connectors can be designed with a certain amount of flexibility and spring tension, reducing the harsh effect of vibration/ harmonics on hard connections.

Mersen /// ep.mersen.com

WAGO /// www.wago.com

Joel Cannon is SVP of Sales and Marketing at EnerBank USA, an FDIC specialized home improvement bank that provides loans through strategic partners and home improvement contractors.

EnerBank USA /// enerbank.com North American Clean Energy

23

solar energy

Solar as an Equity Building Asset

by John Blattner

Residential solar is booming. Despite the economic uncertainty and the physical challenges of COVID-19, a sense of urgency has been created by the federal tax credits sunsetting in 2021. Some demand could be attributed to the growing awareness of the effects of climate change or the push for energy independence, but solar as a financial solution has been the driving force for adoption.

Residential solar companies that have built their message around the financial benefits of solar are increasingly relying on the hope that decreasing equipment prices and favorable tax policies will sustain the current demand.

But, as we all know, these kinds of economic and policy-driven environments are too volatile to be counted on for very long. The only constant is change, and it is sure to come our way - perhaps sooner than later. How will the solar industry survive when that time inevitably comes?

An Untapped Market

Fortunately, there is an untapped market force yet to be unleashed - solar as an equity building home improvement. It seems obvious to those of us in the industry: a home that produces its own energy, costs less to operate, and guards against ever-rising utility rates, is inherently more valuable than a typical home. But proper valuation faces major hurdles, especially in the real estate industry and home sale process.

Recent surveys1 have shown that 69 percent of prospective buyers want, and are willing to pay for energy-efficient and high-performing homes. Gen X, Millennials and Gen Z are especially interested in investing in renewable energy, and homes that allow them to live out their environmentally conscious values. Yet relying on values-driven purchases alone is not enough in this economy, and few homebuyers are aware of the true long-term value that solar adds to the home.

The Burden of Proof

For years, solar sales teams have implied that solar adds to a home’s value. The challenge has been to make those equity-enhancement benefits concrete and measurable. Other than a few outdated studies conducted in other markets, or the rare publication2 that shines a glimmer of light on this common-sense value proposition, solar sales teams have had little to work with.

Clearly, the ability to effectively demonstrate the measurable benefits of solar as an equity-building asset would be a powerful sales tool that could change the game for this industry. Even a demonstrable increase of two to three percent would effectively replace the value now provided by the federal tax credit.

Imagine solar as a recognized and recommended home improvement: Tapping into the $17 billion-a-year home improvement market, and giving rise to a rapid nationwide adoption of solar, would have enormous implications for the industry that would turbocharge economic growth and environmental stewardship.

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Real Estate Woes

Historically, the real estate industry has failed when it comes to properly incorporating the value of solar, often viewing it as an obstacle rather than an asset. To complicate matters, in the rare instance that an appraiser is qualified and willing to properly value an array, the documentation they need is often difficult or impossible to obtain.

Installers are hesitant to share the necessary information with agents and appraisers, while homeowners misplace paperwork, and so on.

When solar is passed over in the valuation, marketing, and (ultimately) listing price of the home, the original investment goes unrewarded. If even a single link in the chain breaks, the valuation process can fail. For example, if a buyer agrees to pay a premium for a home with solar but the appraiser doesn’t properly value it, then the loan will not match the ask. Or if an agent isn’t comfortable marketing the solar home, it will be more difficult to attract the right buyer. It can an uphill battle

Seeing the Light

Because market demand will influence change, the proper valuation of solar homes starts with the way contractors/installers market and sell solar to homeowners. It’s about providing a new value proposition: solar not only saves money now, it also builds long-term equity in the home.

When solar installers effectively communicate the message that solar is an equitable home improvement, and provide approved and licensed documentation, homeowners are able to better justify the cost and feel more confident in their purchase. They no longer fear that their investment will turn into a stranded asset, should they ever move.

When the time comes to sell the home, an expert certification provider can guide the appraiser through the process of collecting and housing all the data needed for proper valuation and marketing. This ensures that the investment in solar is recognized and valued.

When appraisers are given everything they need to conduct a proper valuation, and agents are equipped with all the necessary marketing materials, it’s easy to attract both the right buyer and the premium asked. When presented with a willing buyer, a proper appraisal, and enthusiastic agents, lenders have everything in place to finance the deal in a way that rewards the seller for their solar investment.

It’s a true win-win solution. By closing the gaps and creating a continuous “loop” or mutually beneficial, cyclical business process across every major sector of the residential solar housing industry/market, our industry can escape volatile market forces and policies, and ensure long-term growth and success.

Rugged three-phase AC-filter capacitors

TDK Corporation presents two new series of EPCOS power capacitors for AC filtering in three-phase delta connection applications. The B32375* series is designed for the low to medium power range and covers a capacitance spectrum from 3 x 5 µF to 3 x 50 µF with rated voltages from 250 VRMS to 600 VRMS. The can diameters are 50mm or 63.5mm and the heights vary between 128mm and 275mm depending on capacity and voltage. These capacitors have faston terminals for easy installation. The B32376* series is designed for high power with a capacitance range from 3 x 10 µF to 3 x 400 µF with rated voltages from 250 VRMS to 1000 VRMS. The can diameters are 116mm or 136mm and the heights are between 200mm and 275mm. These capacitors have screw terminal M10 for safety installation. The capacitors in this series are also available in versions with a vibration resistance of 20g. A key feature of the new capacitors is an improved safety device in accordance with IEC-61071, which eliminates the need for soldering. This results in a long service life of up to 100,000 hours at a continuous hotspot operating temperature of 185°F and 200,000 hours at 158°F.

TDK Corporation /// www.tdk-electronics.tdk.com

John Blattner is a solar partnership executive at Pearl Certification, a national firm that certifies high performing homes with solar panels, energy efficient heating and cooling systems, smart home devices, and high-quality ventilation.

Pearl’s Certification Reports drive demand for these features by making them visible at time of sale..

Pearl Certification /// www.pearlcertification.com 1 https://www.nar.realtor/sites/default/files/documents/2019-SustainabilityReport-04-19-2019.pdf 2 https://www.zillow.com/research/solar-panels-house-sell-more-23798/

North American Clean Energy

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solar energy

Read the Fine Print

Battery warranty basics

by John Connell

IF BATTERIES ARE THE BEATING HEART OF YOUR

renewable energy system, then battery warranties are your health insurance.

And, like health insurance, battery warranties vary wildly in coverage, quality, and guarantees.

Strong warranties help you: • Maximize ROI, service life, and uptime • Avoid unpaid on-site diagnostics and retrieval • Let you spend more time growing your business, completing paid projects, or seeing family and friends • Prevent costly, out-of-pocket replacement • Bring in repeat business and referrals But how do you know which warranties (and companies) will protect you?

And which claims aren’t worth the paper they’re printed on?

If you’re skeptical of marketing claims like 10-year warranties from brand-new companies, then congratulations. You’re already on the right track. Keep reading to discover the keys to protect yourself and get the most out of your investment.

Rule #1: The best warranty is one you never have to use.

It’s simple: The more reliable a product, the less likely you’ll ever need its warranty. That’s a good thing. Because even if your battery company streamlined their warranty process, warranty claims still take time.

Look for these reliability-enhancing features in your next batteries: • R&D includes hundreds of prototypes and multiyear field tests.

• Gravity casting removes impurities from plates (plates hold chemicals that store energy). This improves charging and lifespan while lowering maintenance.

• Thick plates hold more active material for more chemical reactions – and longer life.

• Automation/robotics improve quality and longevity.

For more, see November/December 2017’s “Find the Battery You Need.”1

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Rule #2: Follow the manufacturer’s care recommendations.

If you don’t change the oil in a gas-powered car, the engine will suffer an early death. Similarly, improper inspection and maintenance practices will kill any battery – even AGM or lithium-ion. And that damage won’t be covered by warranty.

No matter the battery type, proper care can save a fortune. This includes routine cable inspection, recommended charging, and equalizing and topping off flooded batteries. Check with your battery manufacturer for maintenance strategies to maximize lifespan and performance.

Rule #3: Your warranty is only as good as the company behind it – so ask these questions:

Q: “How long have you been in business?”

If a battery manufacturer claims a 10- or 15-year lifespan, but they haven’t been around for that long, that’s a red flag. And be cautious of startups that rely on venture capital to fund warranties.

Q: “How long has your exact battery chemistry been field-tested?”

If emerging technologies promise 10+ year lifespans, but their exact battery chemistry or model has less than a decade of real-world use, be skeptical.

Q: “How did you determine the expected lifespan?”

“Too-good-to-be-true” lifespan claims may come from computer simulations, accelerated lab tests in perfect conditions, or the marketing department. But they don’t come from real-world experience.

When investigating a lifespan claim, always ask for proof: long-term case studies, test data, and long-standing customers (installers or end-users) you can call. Consider batteries experimental unless they’ve survived every year of their warranty in the field.

Experimental chemistries may offer benefits and tradeoffs – but be sure that you’re okay with your system and your wallet being part of the experiment.

Q: “Has your company ever filed for bankruptcy?”

When companies file for bankruptcy, investors and preferential creditors often get paid first. Battery owners may be the last in line – if there’s any settlement money left. According to the Bankruptcy Law Network, companies in Chapter 11 may not have to honor your claim. Companies in Chapter 7 do not have to honor your warranty. And, if a battery company folds – as many startups have before –you lose your warranty and are on the hook for early replacement.

Since battery companies don’t advertise bankruptcies (especially the second or third time), be sure to google their history.

Q: “Does a third-party insurer guarantee your warranty?”

If an upstart or previously-bankrupt company “self-insures” their warranties, then the risk is on you. So be sure your warranty comes from an established company, or is guaranteed and underwritten by a third party.

GET EVERYTHING IN WRITING.

1

JOHNSON BOX: Want to keep batteries running far beyond the warranty period? See November/December 2019’s “The Fountain of Youth: Secrets of Active 24-Year-Old Lead-Acid Batteries.”2

Rule #4: Your battery should cover your predicted use. So should your warranty.

Look out for these common technical limitations: • Beware low max rates for charging and discharging. For instance, if a battery chemistry’s max rate is 37 amps, then systems must be paralleled to fit with typical charging and discharging, which is an additional cost.

• Some batteries can’t handle “AC-coupling” systems: pre-existing systems designed solely to dump energy to the grid and later retrofitted for storage.

• Know the operating temperature limits.

For example, charging some lithium iron phosphate (LFP) batteries below 32°F will void your warranty and cause them to breach. (Batteries in remote locations can see these temperatures yearly).

• Some battery warranties go into an amp-hour stipulation after a certain number of years.

You can easily exceed this usage.

• Surge capacity: With backup power (gridconnected UPS), surges happen when systems switch from AC to backup, or when high-load equipment like air conditioning compressors start. One LFP system will not tolerate amperage surges beyond 60 amps for 15+ seconds. To deal with these surge and discharge limits, you must add and parallel batteries.

• Look out: Some single-discharge events can crash these systems during high-demand periods. This will ruin the battery, and the BMS is installed to record this type of failure.

Rule #5: Always size projects and compare estimates based on 50 percent Depth of Discharge (DoD).

DoD is like gas in your car’s tank; extra reserves prevent you from running out of power. (If DoD is 30 percent, then the battery still has 70 percent power.) Some companies undersize battery banks to appear "competitive" with high-value batteries. That leaves you without backup power.

And batteries that discharge too deeply die early – often, with a voided warranty.

Renewable energy systems require a proper safety margin to ensure stable voltage, handle large loads, and store energy for days with low wind or solar production. Size projects for 50 percent DoD – no matter the battery chemistry or company.

Battery Management Systems (BMS) won’t protect users operating outside of stated warranty limitations. One recent BMS operates primarily as a battery monitoring unit; it will not shut down or terminate loads when discharge events exceed 37 amps. Since common inverters cannot be programmed to cut out, you'll need an expensive workaround: consider installing a 60-Amp breaker in residential systems to avoid overdischarge, or program the system to jump over to a standby generator anytime loads exceed 60 amps.

Rule #6: Factor in hidden costs for safety equipment and recycling – because warranties don’t cover them.

Some batteries may require additional safety infrastructure. Lithium-ion’s high power density can be a boon in some applications. However, it increases the risk of thermal runaway and fires, which can reignite more than 24 hours after being “extinguished.” For grid storage, Gregory Morris writes in Risk & Insurance, “We recommend sprinkler protection, and separation, at least 20 feet from any other structure or exposure.” (“Lithium-Ion Batteries Strain Risk Management” https://riskandinsurance.com/lithium-ion-batteriesstrain-risk-management/) Ask your insurance agent whether additional coverage is required.

End-of-life disposal can be another hidden cost, and all batteries should be recycled or properly discarded.

Unfortunately, li-ion batteries are currently 0-60 percent down-cyclable; less than 5 percent of lithium-ion batteries are partially down-cycled at the end of life - the other 95 percent are landfilled. (https://cen.acs.org/materials/ energy-storage/time-serious-recycling-lithium/97/i28).

As the Department of Energy and other groups push to develop commercially effective, partial recycling, li-ion disposal may soon be mandatory. But li-ion recycling remains cost-prohibitive: Trained technicians must manually disassemble spent batteries. Recycling lowvalue chemicals is often more expensive than virgin mining, and there’s no nationwide collection system.

Thus, the cost of li-ion disposal may fall on the buyer.

Lead-based batteries are 99 percent recyclable – more recycled than aluminum cans (source: U.S. EPA). Because old lead batteries are easily recycled to make new ones, recycling is profitable – so disposal is often free. You may even be paid to recycle spent lead batteries.

Rule #7: Get everything in writing.

Always read the fine print, and consider reviewing your warranty with a battery expert or lawyer. Look for proof of real-world performance. And get everything in writing.

Otherwise, you may have little recourse.

There is no perfect battery or warranty. But if you follow these rules, you’ll protect your most valuable resources: your system and safety, your money, your time, and your reputation.

John Connell is the Vice President of Crown Battery’s SLI Products Group. Founded in 1926, Crown Battery engineers and manufactures all its 99%-recyclable batteries at its ISO9001:2015-certified headquarters in Fremont, Ohio, USA.

Crown Battery /// www.crownbattery.com

https://www.nacleanenergy.com/articles/29136/find-thebattery-you-need 2 https://www.nacleanenergy.com/articles/35981/fountainof-youth-secrets-of-active-24-year-old-lead-acid-batteries

3465 Heyco_NA 3.5x10_Layout 1 8/1/19 2:50 PM Page 1

HEYCO

®

Wire Management Solutions for Solar Installers & Integrators...

Heyco® Solar Products Warranty Visit www.heyco.com for information about Heyco’s 20 Year Limited Warranty on our solar products.

Heyco Edge Clips

NEW & IMPROVED

Heyco Edge Clips provide high panel retention forces while requiring low insertion forces. Ideal solution for applications where holes are not available or temperatures are too extreme for adhesive solutions.

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Heyco®-Tite Cordgrips for Enphase Q Cable

NEW

Heyco now offers 1/2˝ NPT and 3/4˝ NPT cordgrips compatible with the Enphase Q Cable. Use the 1/2˝ NPT for just 1 Enphase Q Cable or the 3/4˝ NPT for 2 Enphase Q Cables PLUS a #8 solid Grounding cable.

Heyco® HEYClip™ SunRunner® 4-2 & 4-2U

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SunRunner 4-2 & 4-2U clips are the ideal wire management solution for top racking manufacturers such as Unirac, IronRidge, Everest, SnapNRack, and similar rack profiles.

Heyco® HEYClip™ SunRunner® Double-compression design holds from (1) 12 gauge USE-2 to (2) 8 AWG cables up to 8,3 mm OD.

Heyco® SunBundler® Stainless Steel Wire Cable Ties Aircraft grade 302/304 stainless wire w/UV protected vinyl jacket and stainless steel crimp sleeve, 8˝ (203 mm) to 20˝ (508 mm) lengths.

For FREE samples or product literature, call toll free 1-800-526-4182, or visit heyco.com

w w w. h e y c o . c o m “Stay Connected with Heyco” Power Components Box 517 • Toms River, NJ 08754 • P: 732-286-4336 • F: 732-244-8843

North American Clean Energy

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solar energy

Innovative Storage Will Shape Energy Transition

by Rob Brown

Covid-19 has had a dramatic impact on the US energy market. Decreased overall consumption caused the percentage of renewable generation to rocket while the price of energy dropped, creating the most extreme ‘duck curve’ ever seen in markets like California.

The increased renewable penetration caused by the crisis is not a blip. Ensuing low market clearing prices during times of strong renewable generation (solar in California; wind in Texas) are the latest evidence of an extraordinary shift in our energy grid over the last ten years.

Renewable energy provides over 40 percent of supply in some jurisdictions. As our grid increasingly moving to a decentralized model - and renewables slowly start to take over the baseload energy storage will become increasingly important.

As this trend continues, the country faces two choices: 1. We carry on as we are, attempting to use existing fossil-fuel based centralized generation to balance an increased proportion of renewable generation. We continue to apply band-aids to our federal electricity networks to manage inevitable constraints, and resign ourselves to higher electricity prices.

2. We embrace renewables fully, with widespread use of energy storage delivering ultra-low marginal cost clean energy on demand. We learn lessons from the past months, and make systemic changes to our network now to pave the way for the green grids of the future.

Beyond lithium

One of the changes we must make is to begin to look at the mix of storage technologies required to enable this energy transition. In some cases, pairing technologies within a single project can deliver optimal outcomes.

Lithium-ion batteries are the dominant force of energy storage at present. Timetested and high-powered, they check a number of important boxes, but are susceptible to degradation in higher throughput applications with frequent or unpredictable cycling. Given the wide variety of technical requirements and market designs that allow grids to operate effectively, they are not a ‘one size fits all’ technology solution.

Vanadium flow batteries (VFBs) are seen as one of the foremost alternatives to lithium-ion. They possess a number of key advantages in terms of performance, duration, and lifetime: - Excelling at heavy-duty, stationary, high-utilization applications, VFBs are ideal for storing and releasing energy on demand from industrial scale solar generation, which supports more flexible and more valuable low-carbon energy projects.

- They do not degrade with use, resulting in durable, low-cost performance in highcycling applications for decades (part of the reason the market for this technology is expected to exceed $4.25 billion by 2028.1)

A model for urban decarbonization

We must also start to consider the energy transition closer to home. Huge wind farms in Texas and solar parks in the Californian desert will play a role, but the world’s cities emit 70 percent of the world’s carbon dioxide.2 Cities have a huge responsibility to drive the massive cuts in carbon emissions needed to achieve net zero emissions in the coming decades. They also have enormous potential to become epicenters for positive change; bold and ambitious projects in urban regions can be replicated worldwide.

One city driving this energy transition is Oxford, UK, which is currently deploying the ground-breaking Energy Superhub Oxford (ESO) project. This world-leading initiative is pioneering an integrated approach to urban decarbonization, combining renewable energy with electric transport and heat to create a zero-carbon city.

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NOVEMBER•DECEMBER2020 /// www.nacleanenergy.com

3- and 6-volt capacitors

Storage enabling an electric revolution

Leveraging the relative strengths of two storage technologies, the project combines a 50 MW lithium-ion energy storage system with a 2 MW/5 MWh VFB, to make a world’s largest hybrid energy storage system.

Vanadium flow is a core component of the system, enabling greater use of clean, renewable energy sources while providing opportunities to trade on wholesale energy markets and services to National Grid.

The flow battery at ESO will act as the ‘first responder’ in the hybrid system, cycling multiple times each day in response to energy demand and market signals. The use of a VFB to perform this ‘heavy lifting’ minimizes the demands on the lithium-ion battery, allowing it to operate at its optimal level and provide the important high-power component to the system, without the associated degradation penalty.

The project presents a model for cities around the world. It offers a ready-made solution for city and regional governments to follow, enabling them to drive the decarbonization agenda, and give the public an active role in their energy future.

The pandemic has highlighted this defining moment in our energy transition.

It’s up to us to take advantage of this opportunity to shape the low carbon future we want to see. Innovative urban projects like the ESO provide a guiding light on this journey, and show the vital role that flow batteries and hybrid storage could play in shaping the green grids of the future.

Cornell Dubilier introduces a new series of high voltage and high energy density supercapacitors. The series will be released under the Illinois Capacitor brand. DSF Supercapacitors offer a notable jump in voltage rating over typical supercapacitors to 3.0WVDC for a single component and 6.0WVDC for a dual-pack device. This higher voltage spec results in greater energy densities, which in turn saves space and may reduce the number of devices required. The DSF Series includes 17 different value/ voltage combinations, ranging in capacitance from 1.5F (Farad) to 600F, with voltage ratings from 3.0 to 6WVDC. Multiple devices can be banked in series or parallel for even higher voltage or capacitance.

With an operating temperature range of -40°F to 185°F (-40°C to 85°C) @ 2.5V and -40°F to 149°F (-40°C to 65°C) @ 3.0V, the DSF is tolerant of wideranging operational environments. The DSF Series gives engineers increased design options while holding down costs. With increased energy storage, supercapacitors can provide instantaneous bursts of power which make it possible to smooth brief power interruptions, supplement batteries, or be used in place of batteries in certain applications.

DSF supercapacitors do not degrade with each cycle and are rated at 500,000 cycles. Operating life is expected to be up to 10 years. Depending on voltage and capacitance, there are four lead configurations available; radial, two-pin snap-in, four-pin snap-in, and radial dual pack. Parts are fully RoHS compliant.

Collapsible and stackable PV module transportation system

PVpallet, LLC announced it will be producing a renewable, collapsible, sturdy, pallet system for solar modules. PVpallet is a solar module transportation management and protection system designed to benefit everyone throughout the industry handling solar modules. PVpallet shipping solution improves efficiencies and reduces costs throughout the entire solar supply chain, from manufacturing, distribution, and installation to storage and waste disposal. Additional advantages of the PVpallet shipping solution for solar modules include high-density plastic sidewalls and crossbraces to protect modules in transit, exterior walls which easily adjust to fit various module sizes, collapsible walls and stackable pallets for easy return shipping, and pallets stack up to four high to maximize warehouse space.

PVpallet LLC

/// www.pvpallet.com

Cornell Dubilier /// www.cde.com

WHEN YOU RELY ON RENEWABLE ENERGY, THERE’S NO ALTERNATIVE TO

PROVEN ENERGY STORAGE

Rob Brown is Regional Director – North America, Invinity Energy Systems, which provides vanadium-based energy storage systems at large scale worldwide.

Invinity Energy Systems /// www.invinity.com

1 According to IDTechEx report Redox Flow Batteries 2018-2028: Markets, Trends, Applications 2 https://www.c40.org/researches/ consumption-based-emissions

Those who count on wind or solar power systems to run their businesses, homes − and lifestyles − turn to Crown for renewable power storage solutions. We’ve been at the forefront of energy storage innovation since 1926 and offer tough, earth-friendly and budget-wise batteries to meet the needs of today’s RE system owners.

On- or off-grid, start at the top and take a look at Crown to keep things bright and moving along.

CONTACT US FOR DETAILS: +1.419.334.7181 commercial@crownbattery.com www.crownbattery.com North American Clean Energy

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solar energy

Emergency power during outages

Citadel Roofing & Solar is now selling and installing home generators for residential power outage protection. Generators can be mixed and matched with other Citadel energy products to provide backup electricity during a utility power outage. Generators can be installed on a standalone basis to power some or all of a home’s circuits. The Storage+Generator package gives homeowners two emergency power sources: the energy storage system with batteries charged from the grid or other source and the generator. The Solar+Storage+Generator package provides the same backup options as the Storage+Generator package but the energy storage system is charged by solar power.

Citadel Roofing & Solar /// www.citadelrs.com

Increased DC oversizing ratios for utility string inverters

Yaskawa Solectria Solar’s SOLECTRIA XGI 1500 PV inverter product line now features a DC oversizing ratio of 2.0 for its XGI 1500-166kW model, 2.2 for the XGI 1500-150kW model, and 2.6 for the XGI 1500-125kW model. The XGI 1500 is a solution for PV project developers, owners, and EPCs that want to secure the 26% Federal ITC in 2020 before it steps down again to 22%. By purchasing the XGI 1500 before December 31, 2020, project owners will qualify for the full 26% tax credit (under the 5% Safe Harbor rule) and have the flexibility to deploy XGI 1500 inverters on any project. The SOLECTRIA XGI 1500 inverter is Made in the USA with global components, at the Yaskawa America factory in Buffalo Grove, Illinois.

Yaskawa Solectria Solar /// www.solectria.com

Solar cable hanger

Snake Tray announces Solar Snap Snake Tray, the new integrated cable routing system for two 500kcmil cables, one ground cable, and a position for ¼" messenger wire. A low profile alternative, Solar Snap Snake Tray reduces the chance of damage to the conductors and provides for a generous maximum load weight of 65lbs. The unique design is suitable for services carrying #10 string wires but also strong enough for more heavy-duty cables. Holding up to two 500kcmil cables with no need to de-rate compliments their Solar Snake Max XL cable management system. The ultra-narrow profile, lightweight, and corrosion free design installs quickly to reduce labor costs. The special closure system allows for safe installation. This product provides up to 30 years of UV protection with reliability in extreme weather conditions.

Snake Tray

/// www.snaketray.com

Laminated bus bars for high temperature applications

Mersen’s MHi-T High Temperature Bus Bars use a combination of polyaramid dielectric insulation and high temperature adhesive, and are designed to respond to increased temperature rises in Wide Band Gap technology systems. Mersen's MHi-T laminated bus bars allow for increased working temperatures up to 356°F.

Trackerless solar monitoring

EKO Instruments’ MS-90 Plus+, is a new total solar irradiance measurement solution combining their MS-80 Class A Pyranometer, an original C-Box smart interface, and the internal rotating mirror design of the MS-90 DNI Sensor. The MS90 Plus+ was developed as a practical solution to the increasing diversity of solar power plant locations and PV applications. With a small footprint, the MS-90 Plus+ can easily be deployed on rooftops or other inaccessible areas. The MS-90 Plus+ is an alternative to a full solar monitoring station due to the internal rotating mirror design of the MS-90 DNI Sensor at the heart of the new system.

The distinct shape of the mirror reflects sunlight to a high-speed pyroelectric detector, measuring direct radiation without the whole unit tracking the sun as a much larger solar monitoring station would. The MS-90 Plus+ also includes an integrated GPS receiver, enabling the C-Box to calculate diffuse irradiance based on the DNI data from the MS-90 and the GHI data from the MS-80; plus, a MODBUS 485 RTU output for easy connection to any digital data acquisition system.

EKO Instruments /// eko-usa.com

Mersen /// ep.mersen.com

1500 Volt 30 Amp I-V Curves Solmetric PV Analyzer Now shipping V2!

Highest accuracy and throughput Largest display with best array troubleshooong features Database of 50,000 PV modules Measures up to 1500V at 30A 3000 wireless sensor range

Expert tools Beeer solar

www.solmetric.com 30

NOVEMBER•DECEMBER2020 /// www.nacleanenergy.com

Add-on software

WAGO’s new SVN Client software is an addon to their e!COCKPIT engineering tool. It is a tool for version and revision management of current or archived documents. This software can also coordinate the work when multiple developers are writing and testing code for the same e!COCKPIT project. The user interface of the SVN Client software is comfortable and intuitive. It enables the related features in e!COCKPIT to integrate with the Apache Subversion software. A license is required for each PC on which e!COCKPIT is running. Features of the SVN Client software include: managing software versions; comparing different application revisions; restoring old revisions; archiving special revisions as well as older versions; and manage multi-developer engineering.

WAGO /// www.wago.com

Rapid shutdown add-on

Large single row tracker

Soltec presents its new SF8 tracker which has a minimum 2x60 configuration and 4 to 6-strings. This tracker reinforces its structure to facilitate installation and favors high performance on any terrain. A reinforced torque tube with improved geometry, together with an autonomous self-stow system, contribute to increased tracker resistance to adverse weather conditions. In addition, the SF8 tracker increases the rigidity of its structure by 22% more than the previous generation of Soltec trackers, the SF7.

The SF8 is specially designed for larger 72- and 78-cell modules. The SF8 has 5.16% fewer parts per module than the previous generation of Soltec trackers, thus increasing cost and installation efficiency. Each SF8 tracker is equipped with, at least 4 strings, making electrical module connections easy. Due to these innovations, the SF8 allows for easy and quick installation, favoring enhanced return on investment and reduced installation and maintenance costs. The SF8 has a full-wireless system allowing complete plant and inter-tracker connection. The Open Thread system, developed by Google, contributes to improved plant protection and to preventing damages by accurately anticipating weather conditions.

Soltec /// www.soltec.com

Sleek design, easy, and fast installation

LG Business Solutions USA’s LG NeON 2 ACe is the latest AC solar module featuring LG’s integrated microinverter designed for easy installation, monitoring, and use. The LG NeON 2 ACe is a solution for those seeking high-efficiency and performance along with a faster installation process.

This 60-cell panel features a power class of up to 365W, along with its integrated 320W microinverter. LG’s onestop-shop solution benefits installers and homeowners alike. The design of LG’s smart AC system allows for the factory-installed microinverter to be recessed into the frame of the panel and serve as one unit in conjunction with the junction box. The panel offers a straightforward installation, simplified accessories, and no exposed DC connections.

From an installation perspective, this design not only reduces Balance of System requirements, but it also reduces the opportunity for field installation errors. The LG NeON 2 ACe has been designed with aesthetics in mind using thin, circular-shaped wires which also improve the opportunity for light absorption, resulting in an increase of power output.

LG’s NeON 2 ACe panels are manufactured and backed by a single company offering a 25-year limited warranty, which covers workmanship, performance, and a labor cost reimbursement (up to $450). Because the microinverter is built onto the solar panel, warranty claims are handled by changing the entire module instead of replacing subcomponents or attempting field fixes. The LG NeON 2 ACe also includes a lifetime access to LG’s EnerVu monitoring platform so both customers and installers can track the long-term reliable performance and the real-time analytics of their solar system. It can also alert LG customer service to help address a technical issue remotely if one were to arise.

Tigo's TS4-A-2F is a cost-effective MLPE rapid shutdown solution when installed with Tigo's ULcertified RSS Transmitter. The TS4-A-2F provides NEC 690.12 compliance to a pair of PV modules and features easy mounting to standard module frames or to the rack.

Tigo Energy /// www.tigoenergy.com

CUSTOM ENERGY STORAGE ENCLOSURES PROTECTION THAT DELIVERS Maysteel engineers and fabricates custom sheet metal enclosures to protect the critical technology inside.

LG Business Solutions USA /// www.lg.com/solar

CONTACT US TODAY TO LEARN MORE

SCALABLE DURABLE RELIABLE Long rail system for solar power plants

Modular line extensions

Aerocompact has developed the CompactMETAL TR65 long-rail system which is self-supporting and fully braced on the roof structure, relieving the load on the panels. The long rail system is suitable for accessible roofs with inclinations between 0° and 70°. The substructures can be made of wood, steel, or aluminum. At the heart of the new fastening solution is the TR65 long rail, which is part of the CompactMETAL system kit for metal roofs. The system can be laid out with the planning tool “AEROtool”. Aerocompact offers a 25-year warranty.

Industrial applications are becoming increasingly complex.

The demands being made of the connectivity used are growing at the same time. Functionality in the smallest of installation spaces, safe installation, and a fast retrofitting process are just some of the product properties being called for. Not only does our RockStar ModuPlug modular plugin connector system meet current market requirements; it has been specially designed with the future in mind too.

Weidmuller’s HDC Rockstar Moduplug RJ45 and Pneumatic inserts offer a gender changer in addition to some field attachable connector modules coded EIA/TIA T568 A, B, and Profinet using either IDC and crimp connection technology. The pneumatics which have been added have a two pole and a three pole version. There are four contact sizes available, 1.6, 3, 4, and 6.

Aerocompact

Weidmuller, Inc. /// www.weidmuller.com

/// www.aerocompact.com

INFO@MAYSTEEL.COM | MAYSTEEL.COM North American Clean Energy

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solar energy

Customizable modular connectors

Stäubli Electrical Connectors launched the first series of a brand-new generation of modular connectors that enables the combination of various types of power, signal, and pneumatic connections in manual and automatic mating applications with up to 10,000 mating cycles. Featuring a light modern design with safety features, and assembled 100% manually without the use of any tools, CombiTac direqt guarantees a safe, reliable, and the most maintenance friendly modular connector solution for numerous industries and applications. The CombiTac system can be adapted and customized to meet exact dimensional and technical requirements, and guarantees a safe and steady performance even under demanding mechanical and environmental conditions.

Stäubli Electrical Connectors /// www.staubli.com

Simplifying utility-scale energy modeling

PVComplete’s PVSyst integration upgrade to PVCAD Mega, the first CAD software for utility-scale PV projects, built on Autodesk technology. PVCAD Mega users can now create a singular, accurate, and nuanced layout in PVCAD Mega to inform both construction and PVSyst modeling.

The utility scale layout + PVSyst export makes it easy to produce 3D shade scenes for even the largest utility scale projects in minutes. Once a project layout has been designed in PVCAD Mega, users are able to press a simple “Export to PVSyst” button to produce a PVSyst-compatible folder of information that includes: meteo, projects, and shading. Importing the PVCAD Mega-generated files into PVSyst eliminates cumbersome data input and shade scene construction making it easy for designers to get high accuracy yield estimates for their projects. PVCAD Mega is available with or without bundled AutoCAD software on a monthly or annual subscription basis.

PVComplete /// pvcomplete.com

Safe and efficient O&M tool

A new operation and maintenance tool has been added to speed up the commissioning process of PVH’s photovoltaic controllers: Near Field Communication (NFC). NFC is a contactless communication technology, with which PVH performs the commissioning of each of the DBox controllers. In this way, it is enough to download the mobile app of the company and bring the Smartphone closer to the sensor of the controller. At that moment, the commissioning team, and later, the maintenance personnel, will be able to access all the necessary information without opening the box, which is a guarantee of durability and maintenance, since the components will not be exposed to humidity, rain, or dust. Another advantage offered by NFC is that it allows plant operators and maintenance personnel to know the state of charge of the batteries and/ or the string current; to change the inclinometers; to detect a possible failure in the solar tracker; and even to load the operating parameters, among others.

PVH /// www.pvhardware.es

Highly efficient modular inverter systems

UNIPOWER LLC’s family of Bravo inverters provide customers with a highly efficient and modular AC or DC power solution. The Bravo inverters offer a modular and fully scalable solution using hot-swap inverter modules at 2.5kVA 120VAC or 3kVA 230VAC. The Bravo ECI and TSI models are compact 2U (3.5") rackmount inverters that can be configured with up to four 2.5kVA modules totaling 10kVA in a single 2U shelf. Units can be connected in parallel to increase the overall output of the inverter system and the hot-swappable modules can also be configured with N+1 redundancy. The Bravo models provide extra AC input to ensure a high overall efficiency that results in a reduction of energy loss and heat dissipation. Both Bravo inverter models convert 48VDC into a pure sine wave with an output of 120VAC or 230VAC. Outputs can be configured to deliver single-, dual-, or three-phase AC power. For enhanced system communications, UNIPOWER offers a translator interface PCB that allows the inverters to seamlessly communicate with the existing UNIPOWER ACX controller through the PowCom network software. PowCom allows system communication through a local or remote PC and will automatically adjust its interface to the capabilities of the connected system, eliminating the need for two separate protocols.

UNIPOWER

GROUND SCREWS? REFUSAL HOLES? HELICAL ANCHORS?

/// www.unipowerco.com

Rock Drilling Attachments Get the Job Done.

Online design assistance

Tigo is proud to announce the release of the TAP Design Tool. This web-based tool will help users plan their wireless communication design for TAP and TS4 units with monitoring and safety features. An array can be created with just a few clicks and the recommended TAP placement will be automatically calculated.

wordrockdrills.com | 1.336.584.6700

32

NOVEMBER•DECEMBER2020 /// www.nacleanenergy.com

Tigo Energy

/// www.tigoenergy.com

Environmental sensor hub

Novel high-throughput system for functional printing Precision and speed are features of a novel high-throughput system for the metallization of silicon solar cells and other functional printing applications. The system is able to realize high-precision coating processes using rotary screen printing and flexographic printing with a throughput corresponding up to 8000 components per hour on an industrial scale. The demonstrator machine was developed by a project consortium under the joint leadership of the ASYS Automatisierungssysteme GmbH and the Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems ISE. The new system features a highthroughput transport system, in which the components to be printed, silicon solar cells, are transported on autonomous shuttles with high speed and precision through the rotary printing units of the Gallus Ferd.

Finest structures can be printed directly on the components. Depending on the specific requirements, a flexographic printing or a rotary screen printing unit can be used for the printing process. The modular system design also facilitates other printing and coating processes such as multi-nozzle dispensing and gravure printing.

Fraunhofer ISE

/// www.ise.fraunhofer.de/en

Position sensors with Modbus RTU interface

Modbus RTU is a low-cost, easy-to-implement communications protocol that is commonly used in mid-sized control systems (up to 32 nodes), and widely used in solar installations. The Modbus RTU protocol makes use of the RS485 transmission standard, based on shielded twisted pair cabling.

This combination can communicate reliably over distances of more than 1000m, even in the presence of electromagnetic interference (EMI).

POSITAL IXARC encoders with the Modbus RTU interface are available in a wide range of mechanical configurations. Customers can select exactly what they need in terms of housing material and levels of environmental protection, shaft type and diameter, mounting flange, and connector type. Customers can also choose between single- and multi-turn measurement ranges. For multi-turn models, the rotation counter is powered by a Wiegand sensor that harvests energy from the rotation of the device’s shaft.

This ensures that each complete rotation is reliably recorded, even when power to the control system is unavailable. With no need for backup batteries or complex gear systems, maintenance costs are virtually zero. POSITAL’s Modbus support extends to the company’s TILTIX range of inclinometers. These devices are used anywhere it is important to monitor the tilt angle of equipment or components.

The eGauge Sensor Hub (ESH044) allows users to easily integrate active CTid-enabled sensors into their EG4xxx (Pro or Core) energy meter. It allows for connection of up to 4 powered or unpowered sensors which can be wired directly to an eGauge using the included RJ45 sensor whip.

eGauge Systems, LLC /// www.egauge.net

Commercial & Industrial Energy Storage & Micro-grid Solutions

®

Pre-engineered all-in-one BESS 30 kW + Up to 100 kWh HVAC

□ PWS2-30K-NA □ Optional Fire

System

□ Auxiliary Power

Battery Modules

POSITAL /// www.posital.com USA Patent No. 10511001

50~2000 kW + Up to 4MWh

Advanced machine learning to boost production

Mosaic’s solar financing offering, PowerSwitch ZERO, keeps cash in homeowners' pockets with no payments required during the 12-month promotional period preceding a 10-, 15- or 20-year repayment period.

PowerSwitch ZERO uses Portal 2X, a contactfree sales tool which is built to facilitate quick and seamless sales transactions. The sales representative can provide a quote, obtain pre-approvals, and finalize loan terms from any mobile or desktop device. Additionally, the contractor onboarding process has been simplified, meaning installers new to Mosaic can quickly begin selling PowerSwitch ZERO.

Array Technologies have made its performance enhancing software SmarTrack even smarter by adding functionality to increase utility-scale energy harvest. SmarTrack advantages include production boosts up to 5% as projected by independent engineers at DNV GL, highly secure data protection that is fully SCADA compatible and keeps sensitive information exclusively on site, avoiding external network vulnerabilities and data threats, no additional hardware or sensors required; motor block-level optimization with fewer parts means overall savings over the lifetime of the PV plant, a one-time, low-cost licensing model that allows predictable budgeting over the lifetime of the PV project, and rapid, seamless integration performed by technicians from Array Technologies on-site or remotely.

Mosaic /// www.joinmosaic.com

Array Technologies, Inc.

Solar financing tool

/// arraytechinc.com

62.5-500 kW PWS1500KTL-NA

50-400kW PDS-1-400K

□ Fire System

10/20/40ft CSC certified Container Rack-mounted battery

NEMA3R Rated

Inc.

□ Optional

Transformer

□ Auxiliary Power

350~4000kWh

Shelf-mounted battery

Easy to Configure

Flexible Power & Capacity

50-100kW PWG2 series

Non-Walk-in Maintained

henry@sinexcel.us

Battery System Compatible

Global Certified

www.sinexcel.us

North American Clean Energy

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solar energy

Intelligent energy management and servicing support

Fronius Solar.web makes energy flows transparent and enables updates, analyses, and maintenance to be carried out remotely. Installers can prepare for every customer appointment and impress with a high quality of service. The energy management tool now offers two new features to maximize the rate of self-consumption and degree of autonomy: it demonstrates the advantages of water heating and battery storage based on the system operator’s own actual data. The particular strength of Solar. web is presenting energy flows clearly and comprehensibly. These can be called up conveniently on a smartphone, tablet, or computer. On the dashboard, system operators always have an overview of the yield and consumption values of their PV system, either in real time or as monthly and seasonal figures. The overview is supplemented by an amortization display, the cumulative CO2 savings, and a 48-hour yield forecast based on the weather forecast. If applicable, the battery charge status and water heating are also displayed. In combination with a Fronius Smart Meter as a bidirectional consumption meter, customers can see how much electricity they produce, consume, feed into the grid, or obtain from it. This balance indicates how much potential is still available for self-consumption or storage.

Fronius Solar Energy /// www.fronius.com

Increased performance for residential and commercial markets

LG Business Solutions USA has introduced new 60- and 72-cell LG NeON 2 “L5” series solar modules designed to provide greater lifetime performance, through higher efficiency and improved technical characteristics for residential, industrial, and utilityscale applications compared to the previous model. The L5 LG NeON 2 Black reduces the white space between cells while keeping the traditional industry format of 60 cells using larger wafers. The L5 Black 60-cell model incorporates an improved power class of up to 350W for sleek all-black backsheet modules with a 20.0% efficiency. It features a temperature coefficient of -0.35%/C, and a tempered glass with high transmission antireflective coating. In addition to the new 60-cell L5 panel, LG is introducing an updated LG NeON 2 (L5) 72-cell model, for commercial installations, a new module that is now available up to 425W. NeON 2 panels offer higher efficiency by design with doublesided cell structure power generation that absorbs sunlight both from the front and from the rear of the module. 72-cell modules can be made with either a white backsheet for optimized front-side performance, or a transparent backsheet for overall greater system yield. Its flexible design also makes it easier to manage space when installing a large-scale system without sacrificing energy output. As with all LG NeON panels, these new modules are covered by LG’s “Triple 25-year Warranty” that includes low degradation performance that guarantees over 90% nameplate capacity after 25 years, product and limited labor reimbursement, all backed by a single company, which simplifies and streamlines longterm ownership and operation of solar arrays with LG L5 series modules.

LG Business Solutions USA /// www.lg.com/solar

Powerful energy management platform

TOUCHLESS SNOW / DUST REMOVAL EST. 1945

• Increase Profits & Minimize Labor • Return On Investment = 1 Day*

Available in Standard & High Speed

HYDRAULIC, GAS & PTO MODELS AVAILABLE

CONTACT (716) 592-2700 • BuffaloTurbine.com 34

NOVEMBER•DECEMBER2020 /// www.nacleanenergy.com

Insight is a part of Schneider Electric’s residential and commercial solar + storage ecosystem, providing intuitive mobile and web-browser based interfaces for consumers and installers alike. The different insight components are designed in compliance with international cybersecurity standards.

Encrypted communication and storage of user information ensure user’s site access and information are always protected, and the data is stored securely. For installers, powerful features like remote settings management and firmware updates make it easy to maintain the sites while keeping truck rolls minimum. Insight also offers installers a suite of portfolio monitoring and management tools, allowing them to keep track of a large number of install sites with ease. Insight will provide homeowners and property managers with accurate and complete data on their solar system performance, including the money-saving and environmental impact they’ve made. In addition to the system performance data, Insight will offer scalable load management features in the future.

Schneider Electric /// www.sesolar.com

Mobile solar solution

POWR2 has developed a 12-panel solar trailer for use in conjuncture with their POWRBANK Renewable Power System. The solar array can produce between 3 and 5KW of DC power depending on the panels used.

This is stored in their high-density lithium batteries and turned into 120/240V single phase or 208V 3 phase AC power. The solar trailer takes 3 minutes to set up and provides a source of clean, renewable energy. If needed a small generator can also be mounted on the bed of the trailer for days when there is cloud cover, or if additional power is needed and solar trailers can be put together in series to increase the solar yield. The batteries, when hooked up to the solar array, require no ongoing maintenance.

POWR2 /// www.powr2.com

solar spotlight: maintenance

Maintenance

Regular maintenance of solar farms and solar panels can dramatically improve energy output. It goes without saying, soiled solar panels can’t produce as much energy as clean ones and it is just as important to keep the land under the panels maintained as well. Developing a cleaning and maintenance schedule for your site will increase plant efficiency, here are some companies who can help in that endeavor.

SEE AD ON PAGE 36

SEE AD ON PAGE 34

International Attachments, Inc. Service/Product: M Series Solar Cleaner Description: Designed to clean solar panels and help maintain and optimize performance of panels. The M-35 model features a 12ft wide brush that is capable of cleaning at a rate of 3700m2/h. The M-40 model has a 14ft wide brush and cleaning rate of 4200m2/h Industries served: Utility-scale solar

Key Features: • Equipped with hydraulic system, hydraulic gear pump, proportional valve hydrometer, grease cooling radiator, suction and return filters, and diesel water cooled engine; • Laser sensors on brush to automatically adjust to keep distance of brush constant. www.iai-usa.com

Buffalo Turbine Service/Product: Touchless snow removal

Key Features: • Touchless snow removal;

Description: Buffalo Turbine has been manufacturing turbine style blowers since 1945, which are made using highprecision machined components resulting in long-lasting dependable products. The newest of all the applications is touchless snow removal.

• No damage or wear on panels; • Only requires 16 gallons per minute; • Allows machine to be run on most skid steers; • Immediate return on investment. www.buffaloturbine.com

Industries served: Solar

Mr. LongArm, Inc.

SolarCleano

Service/Product: ProCurve Solar Panel Cleaning Kit

Service/Product: SolarCleano solar panel cleaning robot

Description: Maintaining a clean surface on solar panels is essential for optimum energy output. The ProCurve Solar system is designed to clean even hard-to-reach panels. www.mrlongarm.com

Description: SolarCleano is a fast solar panel cleaning robot. It can be transported, set up, and controlled autonomously by one person. Battery-powered and remote-controlled, it works on all solar panels with its 2 wide brushes and fibers adapting to all dirt.

Industries served: Utility-scale, ground-mount solar www.solarcleano.com

Bitimec Wash-Bots, Inc. Product: Bitimec Roboklin Description: Bitimec’s Roboklin is a solar panel washing machine able to wash 7,000-14,000 panels in one shift. A rugged all-terrain undercarriage and up to a 14' long brush, make this solar panel washing machine a high performer on utility-scale, ground-mount installations.

Industries served: Utility-scale, groundmount solar www.wash-bots.com

• Low Profile Construction • Large Offset Adjustment • Unique Cutting Swing Arm Prevents Damage • Heavy Duty

CUSTOMIZE YOUR ORDER NOW FOR SPRING! SUPERB HORTICULTURE 2811 Michigan Rd, Plymouth IN 46563

Phone: 800-567-8264 Email: sales@superbhorticulture.com Contact: Keith Norman North American Clean Energy

35

solar spotlight: maintenance SEE AD ON PAGE 35

SEE AD ON PAGE 34

Superb Horticulture Service/Product: Solar Farm Mower/ Vegetation Maintenance

Industries served: Vegetation Maintenance

Description: A mower designed specifically for vegetation control between and underneath solar panels.

The mowing disk is designed to make mowing around pylons efficient while also avoiding damage to electrical components.

Key Features: • Low-profile robust construction; • Large offset capability; • Spring loaded cutting wheel. www.superbhorticulture.com

SunSweep Product: Utility and commercial solar dry-brush cleaning systems Description: The MiniMax and TriMax are manually operated, brush systems that quickly clean large-scale solar sites without water. Solar providers worldwide can maximize production efficiency, revenue, and panel life by cleaning with these customizable brushes.

Industries served: Utility and commercial solar

Key Features: • Quickly clean at rate of 3 km/ hour; • No water or external hardware required to operate; • Modular frame design compatible with the various solar panels; • Operable by two technicians; • Spring-loaded brushes for even contact with module surface. www.sunsweep.com

Model MA1000

SOLAR PILE DRIVER MultiOne

Polywater

Service/Product: Solar panel washer

Service/Product: Polywater FST Foam Duct Sealant

Description: The MultiOne solar panel washer is designed to clean photovoltaic solar panels and to help maintain and optimize the performance. The big rotary broom with soft bristle can clean about 3.5m quickly, effective, and without damaging the solar panels.The solar panel washer can clean from 0,7MW/h to 2MW/h depending on surface type. The spray bar is equipped by 6 changeable nozzles. Large autonomy is assured by the big tank (500l / 132gal) and low water consumption bristles: 250l/h, 350l/h or 500l/h based on the nozzles used between the 3 standard type.The rotary broom can be rotated to allow an easy and quick solar panel array cleaning.

Description: Polywater FST-250 seals conduits to keep out water, gases, and rodents to keep systems from having unwanted outages. FST is deployed by a caulking gun, cures in 8 minutes and can be removed. FST stops 22ft of water-head pressure indefinitely.

Industries served: Solar, wind, electrical, telecommunications www.polywater.com

www.multione.us

International Attachments is the leading supplier of Demolition Equipment for the USA and Canada. With Free Delivery in USA and a 3 Year Warranty on all our products you will be sure we can help improve your job.

ProSolarClean, LLC Service/Product: F Series brush

3030 North Rocky Point Dr. West Suite 150 Tampa, FL 33607 Toll Free: 1-877-219-1962 info@iai-usa.com

36

NOVEMBER•DECEMBER2020 /// www.nacleanenergy.com

Description: Sola-Tecs F brush is designed for fast, effective cleaning of utility scale ground mount installations with a cleaning speed of up to 6600 sq ft per hour and an adjustable height design.

Renu Robotics Service/Product: Vegetation management autonomous robot Description: Renu Robotics develops and builds autonomous electric tractors for outdoor applications and specifically to fit utility-scale solar power plants.

Industries served: Ground-mount solar

Industries served: Utility-scale solar industry

www.prosolarclean.com

www.renurobotics.com

2021 WIND

BUYERS GUIDE

Image provided by Wind Energy Hamburg /// www.windenergyhamburg.com

DIRECTORY ADHESIVES, SEALANTS, & SURFACE TREATMENTS

FIRE SUPPRESSION

STAFFING

ALUMINUM EXTRUSION & METAL FABRICATION ANCHOR BOLTS | FASTENING SYSTEMS

GEARBOX MANUFACTURING, SERVICES & REPAIRS GENERATORS | MAINTENANCE & REPAIR SERVICES

STEEL PLATE SUPPLIER TESTING | INSPECTION SERVICES

BEARINGS BLADE | TOWER MANUFACTURER & REPAIR

INSURANCE SERVICES

TESTING | MEASURING SERVICES

LAMINATES

TOOLS

CABLE, WIRE & CONDUIT

LARGE WIND TURBINE MFG (OVER 100KW)

TOWER FOUNDATIONS

COMPONENT SUPPLIER

LIGHTING

TRADE FAIR

CONDITION MONITORING

LOAD MONITORING

CONSTRUCTION PRODUCTS & SERVICES | EPC CONTRACTOR

LUBRICANTS

TRANSPORTATION | LOGISTICS WIND ASSESSMENT | FORECASTING

CONSULTING SERVICES

MET TOWERS

CONTRACTORS CRANES | HYDRAULIC EQUIPMENT | AERIAL DEVICES

OPERATIONS AND MAINTENANCE (O&M)

DATA AQUISITION

POWER TRANSFORMERS PROJECT DEVELOPER | OPERATOR

ECONOMIC WIND DEVELOPMENT REGION EDUCATION | RESEARCH DEVELOPMENT

REMOTE MONITORING

ELECTRICAL EQUIPMENT & SERVICES | POWER GENERATION

SAFETY EQUIPMENT | FALL PROTECTION

ENCLOSURES

SAFETY WORK APPAREL

ENERGY STORAGE | GRID CONNECTION

SMALL WIND TURBINE MFG (UNDER 100KW)

ENGINEERING

SOFTWARE SUPPLIER

RESTORATION

YAW, PITCH & BLADE SENSORS OTHER Balance of Plant Brake Pads Electrical Insulation Electronic Component, Service Repairs Elevators Legal Services Rescue & Safety Training Sectionalizing Cabinets

North American Clean Energy

37

2021 wind buyers guide Adhesives, Sealants & Surface Treatment

Aluminum Extrusion & Metal Fabrication Enerpac

Hontek Corporation Hontek ReNew LEP rain/sand erosion protection coatings have been successfully field tested on dry onshore and wet offshore sites. Available as rollable and brushable, both have demonstrated rain erosion durability in high speed rain erosion tests. Works well on platforms, via rope access, or on OEM production floors. The coatings excel in 12% to 99% relative humidity for a wide range of weather conditions, providing less downtime waiting for the weather to comply. This product has a long pot life and a forgiving application process. User friendly application minimizes human errors, resulting in high quality repairs, high energy production, and long lasting blade life. www.hontek.com

Sotek With 35 years of experience, Sotek manufactures precision stators and rotors for demanding OEM applications in wind power generators.

Sotek stamps and laser cuts electrical steel laminations using in-house equipment and capabilities. They manufacture vent plates, end plates, stator bars, and related components to meet the tough specifications of the wind industry, and assemble components to eliminate the demands on manufacturing and purchasing resources. Sotek’s team of manufacturing and assembly technicians serve North America and beyond from their Buffalo, NY facility. Commonly stamp, notch, stack, press, weld, braze, rivet, and offer thermal shaft insertion, robotics, manual, and CNC machining, provide value added services, increase efficiency, and streamline manufacturing. Additionally, Sotek’s supply chain partners deliver value suited to the unique demands of each project. www.sotek.com

Anchor Bolts | Fastening Systems

The new Enerpac HMT torque wrenches allow wind turbine technicians the ability to match a variety of cassettes to a single drive unit. Compatible with square and hexagon cassettes from most any brand on the market, the HMT eliminates the need to select and purchase separate tools. The 30° stroke and fine-tooth ratchet enables up to 25% faster bolting. The superior, lightweight alloys and surface treatment provides a long life. Operator safety is realized with an ergonomically designed handle and a link pin to prevent dropped objects. Modularity of the Enerpac HMT models offer maximum versatility for wind turbine bolting.

Howmet Engineered to meet the challenges of a wide range of assembly applications, BobTail offers high performance and reliability in a unique, pintail-less design. It offers high fatigue strength, quick installation speed, and high vibration resistance. BobTail is a suitable lockbolt for solar racking and wind applications (DIBt certified). www.afshuck.net/us

www.enerpac.com/hmt

Lightning Bolt & Supply, Inc. Fastenal Manufacturing Fastenal Manufacturing services customers in the wind energy industry by providing MRO fasteners as well as OEM parts to the original equipment and parts manufacturers, construction sites, and operating wind farms.

Fastenal Manufacturing produces high integrity fasteners that meet the requirements and specifications of the wind energy sector.

Lightning Bolt & Supply, Inc. is an ISO 9001:2015 fastener manufacturer and distributor. Headquartered in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, their sales team can meet the many fastener needs that arise in the wind industry within 24/7. Common fastener grades include class 8.8, 10.9, A2/A4SS, as well as many specialty coatings (Geomet, tZn, GalZn Xylan). www.lightningboltandsupply.com

www.fastenal.com

Mankiewicz Coatings Mankiewicz’s two new advanced coatings products maintain turbine blade surfaces for optimal performance and efficiency. BladeRep5 is a fast setting putty that dries in one hour with the same profile-building and sandability traits of other Mankiewicz surfacing putties. And Mankiewicz’s new ALEXIT Leading Edge Protection single-coat only requires one-coat application and provides substantial cost savings thanks to less application time. Field testing has proved significantly longer product performance. Mankiewicz’s coatings also meet the requirements of the cosmetic blade maintenance market. www.bladerep.com

Cooper & Turner Cooper & Turner is a manufacturer of high quality, high strength, safety critical, large diameter (M16 to M100) hex bolts, double ended studs, and thread rod. Employing automation (including in process NDT inspection) and robotics results in high quality and consistent products, having full lot traceability, for supplying the global wind turbine market, OEM’s, and major tiers as well. Providing anchor bolts to major construction companies in the USA using 100% USA material and manufacturing, producing anchor bolts to ASTM A615 Grade 75 and Grade 90, plus ASTM A722 Grade 150, with all accessories (nuts, washers, and PVC sleeves), with bolt caps and grease optional. All assemblies are tested in a USA independent lab. www.cooperandturner.com

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HEICO Fastening Systems HEICO Fastening Systems offers a wide array of critical fastener products. HEICO-LOCK WEDGELOCK WASHERS are a reliable locking system for demanding bolted joints including those under extremes of vibration or dynamic loads.

HEICO Fastening Systems continues to expand its product portfolio with the addition of the HEICO-TEC TENSION NUT, which provides easy, fast, and reliable assembly of large bolted joints.

HEICO-TEC TENSION NUTS eliminate the need for complex, bulky, or heavy tools, and make securing large bolted joints convenient and easy. www.heico-group.com

MarkingPenDepot MarkingPenDepot carries industrial markers and torque indicating paste for marking and measuring fastener movement. www.markingpendepot.com

WINNING THE BATTLE AGAINST BEARING WEAR WITH THE LOWEST PPM IN THE FIELD WE HELP MAKE IT HAPPEN Bearing failures are the most important issue in wind turbine gearbox maintenance, accounting for 70% of gearbox failures*. Castrol® Optigear® Synthetic CT 320 retains half the water PPM on average than our nearest competitor using similar types of chemistry**. Using Castrol Optigear can increase your bearing life by 50% and win the bearing life battle.

For more information go to castrol.com/windenergy

*WEU Operations and Maintenance Report 2016. **Based on sample data available to Castrol.

North American Clean Energy

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2021 wind buyers guide

Williams Form Engineering Corp.

Williams Form Engineering Corporation has been providing threaded steel bars and accessories for rock anchors, soil anchors, high capacity concrete anchors, micropiles, tie rods, tiebacks, strand anchors, hollow bar anchors, post tensioning systems, and concrete forming hardware systems in the construction industry for over 95 years. Each wind tower supported by a Williams foundation anchor bolt can be relied upon throughout the life of the turbine. www.williamsform.com

Rope Partner Rope Partner is a provider of quality at-height tower and blade maintenance services domestically and internationally. By combining a highly trained work force and utilizing rope access, suspended platforms, and Bronto skylifts, they deliver a cost effective approach to their clients. They are committed to building safe, long lasting, mutually beneficial working relationships resulting in extending asset life. www.ropepartner.com

NTC Wind Energy NTC Wind Energy’s Super Duty Bolt Cap for the wind industry is made of Polypropylene Copolymer Construction, which is very strong and resists shattering or cracking.

Made in the USA with minimal supply chain disruption, this universal fitted cap has an integrated O-ring, therefore no separate O-ring installation. It is vented to prevent vacuum water draw inside the cap. At 16" long, it will fit almost any bolt projection.

It is reusable, easy to install, and both removable and re-installable by hand.

Bearings

Cable, Wire, & Conduit

American Roller Bearing Company American Roller Bearing Company manufactures large bore (200mm to 2400mm) anti friction bearings, including tapers, cylindrical, spherical, and balls. They offer complete engineering services and expert repair on all types and brands. www.amroll.com

AerosUSA

www.ntcwind.com

Midpoint Bearing Midpoint Bearing provides off the shelf solutions for wind turbine mainshaft, gearbox, generator, pitch and yaw, and sealing applications. With a large turbine related inventory, they can fill their customer’s needs in a timely manner.

AerosUSA’s high performance cable protection systems protect wiring in harsh environments such as wind towers and outdoor installations.

New UL Listed / UL 1660 Conduits are used where ANSI 356, NFPA 70, and NEC Codes apply. These UL94VO conduits and fittings are flexible, lightweight, and are self-extinguishing and flame retardant.

They can also be coupled with their new splitable frame Cable Entry System to make the installation of pre-terminated cables and conduits efficient and cost effective. These splitable frames include integrated gaskets, are NEMA 4 / 4X rated, and accept a variety of cable grommets depending on the cable OD. www.aerosusa.com

www.midpointbearing.com

Blade | Tower Manufacturer & Repair

Sherex Fastening Solutions Sherex Fastening Solutions is a manufacturer of fasteners for a variety of different industries, including renewable energy. Sherex manufactures rivet nuts, clinch nuts, inserts for composite, stud and nut plates, and wedge-locking products through its Disc-Lock and TEC Series product lines. Both Disc-Lock and TEC Series wedge locking products protect joints from loosening in high vibration and high load applications using their wedge locking technology. Their wedge locking solutions include: washers, nuts, and bolts, and they are used in a variety of applications in the renewable energy industry. www.sherex.com

American Wire Group (AWG) Janicki Industries Janicki Industries is a privately owned, full-service engineering and manufacturing company with facilities in Washington and Utah.

Janicki specializes in manufacturing composite molds for wind turbine blades made of advanced composite materials. Janicki can tackle large-scale projects, utilizing high-precision five-axis mills, curing ovens, autoclave, and out-of-autoclave curing. Janicki has experience using many composite systems, such as: syntactic putty; fiberglass, 160°F machined putty; 250°F carbon/fiberglass hybrid molds, and 350°F carbon fiber molds. This 100% in-house capability for the total tooling solution enables a one-stop, shop for customers.

The Dyson Corporation provides anchor bolts, nuts, caps, grease, and embedment rings for the wind power industry. www.dysoncorp.com

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www.buyawg.com

www.janicki.com

LM Wind Power The Dyson Corporation

American Wire Group (AWG) is a single solution for all types of electrical conductors and hardware required to construct and maintain wind and renewable generation projects—for low, medium, and high-voltage applications. Save schedule time and costs with AWG’s ability to supply an entire project’s cable requirements from stock. AWG inventories 35-kV UL MV-90 and UL MV-105 Collection System Cables in aluminum conductor in all standard sizes, including 1/0, 4/0, 500, 750, 1000, and 1250 (available in both CN or CTS). All of AWG’s Collection System Cables carry a 20-year factory warranty, ensuring protection for the longevity of projects. AWG also inventories the following: fiber optic; copperclad steel grounding; bare copper; transmission cables; OPGW; static wire; low-voltage cables; control cables; and associated hardware.

Cameron Wire & Cable, Inc.

LM Wind Power is a designer and manufacturer of blades for wind turbines, with 15 factories on four continents. Their LM 73.5 blades power Block Island Wind Farm, the first offshore wind farm in the United States. LM Wind Power produces long wind turbine blades including the LM 88.4 P for an 8MW offshore turbine and the LM 107.0 P to power GE’s Haliade-X 12MW.

Cameron Wire & Cable provides LV, MV, and HV (Aluminum and Copper) wind tower, nacelle, and site cables. Cameron offers cost-effective pricing and high performance cables for all applications, and will customize the cable package, offering cut-to-length or bulk cables, accessories, labels, and lugs supplied in kits. They also offer inventory management and will warehouse planned goods at no charge, shipping the same day to satisfy tight job deadlines.

www.lmwindpower.com

www.cameronwire.com

NOVEMBER•DECEMBER2020 /// www.nacleanenergy.com

WHERE COLOSSAL, LOW-SPEED BLADES MEET EFFICIENT, HIGHVELOCITY CARGO HANDLING Twenty years ago, a 16-meter wind turbine blade was considered a long blade. The Port of Vancouver USA recently handled 77-meter-long blades—the longest ever imported into North America—nearly 5x longer than blades from two decades ago. Wind turbine size has increased in parallel with demand for wind components throughout North America. Any shipper’s list of port selection criteria has to include the laydown capacity to safely and efficiently handle such oversized cargo.

With its combination of favorable West Coast location, available laydown space, exceptional equipment and infrastructure and experienced labor force, the Port of Vancouver USA has a track record of success for handling wind energy components into the US and Canada.

Location and capacity Just over one hundred miles up the Columbia River from the Pacific Ocean, the Port of Vancouver USA enables shippers to bypass the congestion of other coastal ports. In addition, the port lies at the nexus of two interstate highways and a continent-spanning rail network, providing direct access from Asia to the US Midwest and Central Canada.

In contrast to most other West Coast ports, the Port of Vancouver USA also has vast amounts of acreage available for marshaling and short-term storage of large wind components. The port’s Terminal 5 facility features more than 80 acres of laydown space immediately adjacent to the deep-draft shipping channel.

Experience and flexibility The Port of Vancouver USA has more than 18 years of experience handling the transit of wind components bound for Eastern Washington, Oregon and Canada. In-depth knowledge of handling procedures, fixture types and other manufacturer-specific requirements allows the port to rapidly, efficiently and safely accommodate the full array of component types, sizes and designs.

Velocity and certainty The Port of Vancouver USA offers logistics professionals the hard-to-find balance of fast and efficient cargo handling along with the peace of mind that components will be handled safely. The operators of the port’s two heavy-lift Liebherr cranes are experts in engineered and tandem lifts, plus representatives from heavy-haul trucking companies are on-site to manage cargo movement.

Considering all the advantages the Port of Vancouver USA offers the wind energy industry, it comes as no surprise that the port will handle more wind energy shipments than any other US West Coast port in 2020.

Find out more at portvanusa.com

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2021 wind buyers guide Component Supplier

Concast, Inc. Concast’s Trench Systems, Pull Boxes, and Handholes are utilized for below-ground substation control, communications and power cables, waste water recovery systems, and industrial piping distribution. Concast's Box Pads, Flat Pads, MGS, and Vaults are an underground solution for routing cables to padmount, padmersible, and submersible apparatus such as transformers, switchgear, inverters, and sectionalizing equipment. www.concastinc.com

HellermannTyton

LAPP USA

The Inline Ratchet P-Clamp borrows from the proprietary, adjustable clamp design of the original RPC with metal stamping. This version of the wire, cable, and tube bundling solution features an integrated, high tensile strength 9mm fir tree fastener. For applications where a pre-drilled hole exists, the Inline RPC can be installed one-handed. The fir tree design requires low insertion effort while delivering high extraction resistance. Once a bundle is inserted into the clamp, installers can close the ratcheting mechanism until snug. Just four parts cover bundles from 0.5" to 2" in diameter, reducing inventory versus one-size P-clamps and associated mounting hardware.

LAPP designs wind turbine tray cables, flexible control cables, industrial connectors, strain relief cable glands, and custom cable assemblies to withstand harsh environmental factors including humidity, vibration, extreme temperatures, oil exposure, and electromagnetic interference. Industrial Ethernet and data communication systems provide connectivity demanded by modern wind systems. Their cables are subjected to stringent tests and are compliant with several UL, CSA and LAPP wind industry standards. LAPP brands, including ÖLFLEX, EPIC, SKINTOP, and ETHERLINE are used globally. They also provide custom cabling solutions to meet any connection challenge.

www.hellermann.tyton.com

Bal Seal Engineering, Inc. Bal Seal Engineering, Inc. designs and produces sealing, connecting, conducting, and EMI shielding solutions that improve the performance and reliability of equipment used in wind, solar power, and other alternative energy production. Their solutions enable engineers to prolong service life, reduce maintenance, protect precision components, design more compact, efficient electrical connectors, and ensure consistent current/ signal transmission. Their consultative engineering services streamline the design process, improving speed to market. Their products include the Bal Seal spring-energized seal, the Bal Spring canted coil spring, and the Bal Contact electrical contact. www.balseal.com

www.lappna.com

BGB Technology

HELUKABEL USA, Inc. CTC Global CTC Global, in association with 30 international manufacturing partners, produces the High-Capacity, Low-Sag ACCC Conductor. The ACCC conductor carries twice the current of other bare, overhead conductors with 25% to 40% less line losses. The use of ACCC can help reduce upfront capital costs for the tie line, and improve the overall economics of the generation project—reduced line losses translate into more power delivered for any wind energy investment. www.ctcglobal.com

HELUKABEL provides system expertise to the wind power industry. Their main focus is on nacelles (Oil Res II and heat-resistant), cable-loops (all torsion cables are tested up to 18,000 cycles in their 26ft tall test tower), down towers (flexible aluminum, copper, and fiber optic cables) and tower controls/transformers, including medium voltage applications. Their wind cables provide performance in climate conditions from -67°F up to 293°F (-55°C up to 145°C) for CCV and offshore applications. They have been internationally approved by UL, CSA, CE, and VDE, are WTTC rated, and have passed the FT4 flame test. www.helukabel.com

HEICO FASTENING SYSTEMS

Petroflex N.A., Ltd PNA CableGuard is a solution to the protection and upgrading of fiber optic and power cabling needs. Long, continuous run lengths (up to 14,000ft on 1"IPS for control cabling) minimize splicing and offer construction and rodent protection. Upgrading PV and power cabling on existing runs is simplified by having the conduit already in place. They install custom lengths and configurations to meet any needs on a particular job. Common configurations installed for solar are multiple 300-750MCM cables with a ground in longer lengths. Job costs are reduced by having the cable factory preinstalled, and it ensures protection before, during, and after the site installation. www.petroflexna.com

The best value to secure bolts.

HEICO-LOCK® WEDGE LOCKING SYSTEMS The HEICO-LOCK® wedge locking system is the reliable solution to the problem of securing bolted joints in high vibration assemblies against self-loosening by rotation!

Prysmian Group - General Cable Prysmian Group’s cables are helping wind turbine manufacturers to harness the potential of this natural power source. Their cables support the work of turbine manufacturers, contractors, and developers. They provide a range of cables, accessories, and services for all wind power generation applications, from the generator to the grid. na.prysmiangroup.com

Engineering solutions provider, BGB, manufactures and designs custom slip rings that include hub control/pitch slip rings, generator slip rings, fiber optic rotary joints, hydraulic unions, and lightning defense systems. BGB supplies complete assemblies and brushes from their Virginia USA plant. www.bgbtechnology.com

BURNDY BURNDY announces the new PAT444ST3 Series.

The TRACK TRACE TRANSMIT intelligence feature provides critical crimping information for all projects small and large. The BURNDY T3 Series tooling can flag individual crimps and has ability to enter both comments and photos for traceability. When using the PAT444ST3 only one crimp is required on #4 AWG to 950kcmil standard BURNDY terminals and splices. In combination the BURNDY new Clear Cold shrink tubing creates savings on both labor and overhead costs. Easy verification of BURNDY die embossment, correct number of crimps, location of crimps, and proper strip length. www.burndy.com

Continental Fan Manufacturing, Inc. Continental Fan provides fans and blowers for nacelle ventilation, GCU (generator control unit) cooling, and tower ventilation. Whether axial fans for high air volumes and low pressures, centrifugal blowers for higher-pressure applications, or TMK motorized impellers for ventilating electrical cabinets, Continental Fan has solutions for many applications. www.continentalfan.com

WWW.HEICO-GROUP.COM

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NOVEMBER•DECEMBER2020 /// www.nacleanenergy.com

CLOSER FASTER SMARTER BETTER ON THE COLUMBIA RIVER IN WASHINGTON STATE

DIRECT CONNECTIONS TO MAINLINE RAIL & INTERSTATE HIGHWAYS

STORAGE OPTIONS & FOREIGN TRADE ZONE SPACE

ON-DOCK RAIL & DUAL-SERVED BY BNSF & UP

CONTACT US AT SALES@PORTOFLONGVIEW.COM | PORTOFLONGVIEW.COM North American Clean Energy

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2021 wind buyers guide

Cornell Dubilier Electronics 100% of Cornell Dubilier Electronics' 947D DC Link capacitors are conditioned at accelerated temperature and voltage before they leave the factory. They’ve demonstrated this process eliminates infant mortal failures and produces thermally and electrically stable DC Link Capacitors.

IMO GmbH & Co. KG

Morgan Advanced Materials

IMO provides antifriction bearings for turbine sizes from 5kW to 14+ MW. Bearing diameters range from 200mm to 6000mm. They also offer ball slewing rings, triple-row roller slewing rings, and gear rims, as well as their patented bearing solutions, T-Solid and T-Solid 4IPC. Their blade bearing retrofit solutions include retrofit and replacement parts.

Bearing fluting from electrical current is a major cause of costly pitch motor failures. To protect these motors, Morgan offers grounding solutions which are fast and easy to install, even up-tower, and without the removing or disassembly of brakes. By shunting electrical current around the bearings, they maximize protection of this valuable equipment. Morgan designs are lightweight, compact, and can retrofit existing motors. Morgan pitch motor grounding solutions come equipped with a constant force spring resulting in consistent brush pressure and a silver/graphite brush for low contact drop insuring this is the path of least resistance for current flow.

www.imo.de

Ingeteam, Inc.

www.cde.com

EMA Electromechanics, Inc. EMA Electromechanics is the designer and manufacturer of the VDH/GSMI outdoor 38kV combined vacuum circuit breaker and high speed, mechanically interlocked grounding switch, a unique and patented system specifically designed for switching and grounding of wind and solar energy collection circuits. It replaces traditional use of oil insulated grounding transformers combined with conventional circuit breakers in every feeder of a power substation, improving overvoltage mitigation and reducing costs. Concerning LVRT and HVRT requirements for the power generation plants, VDH/GSMI support differentiation between internal and external faults providing a valuable discriminatory function.

Ingeteam offers solutions for wind turbines of up to 15MW, including power converters, Indar generators, turbine controllers, CMS, SCADAs, and O&M services. Low and medium voltage power converters, optimized for DFIG and FC topologies. The power converters are specifically designed to increase reliability, boost efficiency, reduce maintenance costs, and fulfill strict grid codes. Air cooled, air/water cooled, and full water-cooled solutions for harsh environments. Based on IGBT power semiconductors and are equipped with a web application service tool that allows monitoring and remote control. www.ingeteam.com

www.emaelectromechanics.com

KRACHT CORP. KRACHT CORP. is a subsidiary of KRACHT GmbH in Germany. KRACHT, is a medium-sized, familyrun business with 370 employees. KRACHT is a manufacturer of transfer pumps (e.g. noise optimized for air containing oils), hydraulic motors, high pressure gear pumps, valves, pump units, gear type flow meters, and electronics.

KRACHT CORP. is located in Maumee, OH. www.krachtcorp.com

www.morganelectricalmaterials.com

Motion Industries, Inc. Lighthouse Global Energy Lighthouse Global Energy is a spare parts distributor specializing in OEM parts. Lighthouse supplies spare parts on multiple turbine platforms, specializing in hydraulics, gearbox accessories, consumables, yaw drives, and electrical components. With over 27 combined years of wind industry experience, Lighthouse Global Energy is dedicated to each customer by providing competitive pricing and quick delivery of every part shipped. Lighthouse’s mission is to provide spare parts with less lead time, so their customers’ turbines have less downtime. www.lgnrg.com

ELECTRIC MATERIALS COMPANY

Motion Industries distributes industrial replacement parts and supplies such as bearings; mechanical power transmission products; electrical and industrial automation components; hose, belting, and gaskets; hydraulic and pneumatic components; process pumps; industrial and safety products; seals and accessories; and material handling products and solutions to MRO and OEM customers throughout North America and in the Asia Pacific. Services provided to renewable energy facilities include repairs of hydraulic and electrical components, OEM parts conversion, Industry 4.0 solutions, and field expertise in the areas of fluid power, electrical, hose and rubber, and pumps. www.motionindustries.com

Supplier to OEMs, aftermarket, and wind farm owners.

Niagara Transformer Corporation Mersen ◊ Reverse-engineering capabilities ◊ Slip Ring Assemblies (brass and steel rings) ◊ Copper busbar ◊ Copper earthing clamps/cable clamps ◊ Copper and copper-alloy extrusions, castings, and forgings

In-house engineering, quality, and metallurgical support.

◊ AC rotors, DC commutators, and DC busbar systems ◊ CNC machining and plating to customers’ specifications. ◊ ISO 9001:2015 certified

800-356-2211

www.elecmat.com 44

sales@elecmat.com

NOVEMBER•DECEMBER2020 /// www.nacleanenergy.com

Mersen now offers the USDK656 SPTS, Signal & Power Transfer System, using Mersen’s premium carbon brush grades to transmit signal, data, and power. The carbon grades are based on decades of tribology research and field application experience. The brushes feature low wear rates, which translate into less dusting, reliable data transfer, and power transmission to the hub. The unit has an integrated connection cabinet allowing for a quick installation and easy maintenance. With a robust design based on ISO, UL, and CSA standards, the Class II IP54 seal provides extra protection from environmental contaminants. www.mersen.com

Since 1933 Niagara Transformer Corporation has been designing and manufacturing transformers in Buffalo, New York. They have shipped over 75,000 transformers to 90 different countries in their 85+ year history.

Their products comply with IEEE Standards and government standards practiced throughout the world. Their customers include OEM and engineering, procuring and construction (EPC) firms, as well as end-users in private industry, government, utilities, universities, and others. Their diverse product line includes inverter duty transformers, substation collector transformers, step-up collector transformers, grounding transformers, and load tap changing transformers. Base ratings up to 50MVA, 138kV, and 650kV BIL. www.niagaratransformer.com

Southern States LLC

Titan Wire & Cable

The Southern States CapSwitcher high voltage capacitor switching device has been specifically developed to provide restrike free switching of capacitor banks. This reliable, long-life, special purpose SF6 capacitor switch utilizes closing resistors for mitigating voltage transients and current inrush.

Titan is an experienced wire and cable distributor specializing in servicing the solar and geothermal industry with 75 years of accumulated experience. They stock connectors, cable, cable management, and many more products so projects can be completed on time.

www.southernstatesllc.com

www.titanwnc.com

WECS Renewables United Equipment Accessories, Inc. United Equipment Accessories manufactures low-maintenance, high-quality slip rings for OEM and aftermarket clients. These slip rings feature new brush technology designed to provide long life in harsh environments. UEA’s design engineers work with their customers to custom build slip rings that meet their wind turbines’ specifications.

UEA can take current slip ring specs to design an interchangeable slip ring for the wind turbine. Single brushes can be replaced at any time, removing the need to replace entire units or sets of brushes. UEA products maintain functionality in a wide range of electrical/electronic circuits, environmental conditions, and rotational speeds.

TDK Electronics, Inc. The extensive range of TDK products includes passive components such as ceramic, aluminium electrolytic and film capacitors, ferrites and inductors, radio frequency products, piezo elements, and protective components. It also includes sensors and sensor systems such as temperature, pressure, magnetic-field, and MEMS sensors. TDK also provides power supply units and components for the storage of electrical energy, as well as read/write heads and more. Products are sold under the brand names TDK, EPCOS, InvenSense, Micronas, Tronics, and TDK-Lambda.

www.uea-inc.com

www.tdk-electronics.tdk.com

WECS Renewables is a wind energy industry specific distributor of electrical mechanical, and hydraulic components to assist in maintenance of wind turbines of all vintages and models. Since 1982 WECS has been providing parts and the expertise to go with them to developers, operators, service companies, and OEM manufacturers across North America. From their ndustry specific inventory located in Palm Springs, CA, they can support long term inventory planning and overnight inventory requirements.

Motors, brakes, skid materials, filters, IGBTs, contactors, circuit protection, cable and connectors, tools, and hardware. www.wecsrenewables.com

WindEnergy Hamburg Digital

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14:22

2021 wind buyers guide Condition Monitoring

Dynamic Ratings Dynamic Ratings provides condition based monitoring products and services to the renewables industry. They help utilities have better awareness of their high voltage electrical equipment through HV and LV transformer monitoring, partial discharge monitoring, circuit breaker monitoring, and more.

Construction Products & Services | EPC Contractor Poseidon Systems

CONSERTEK USA

Poseidon Systems is a wind industry provider of online condition monitoring with over 5000 turbines monitored in North America. Using a single sensor to monitor gearbox wear debris in real time, Poseidon is able to offer early bearing and gear fault detection which provides operators with the foresight to mitigate catastrophic failures and remedy smaller issues with uptower repairs. Poseidon's DM4500 Debris Monitor offers sensing technology with the ability to detect metallic debris as small as 40µm to identify faults before they lead to failures, reducing the need for visual inspections and mitigating turbine downtime.

CONSERTEK USA provides complete EPC products and services in the renewable energy sector for all meteorological analysis projects, including engineering, procurement, construction, instrumentation, and commissioning of MET Towers. In addition, CONSERTEK USA provides inspection and maintenance services on any MET Towers as per TIA-222 standards.

CONSERTEK USA also provides support booms and accessories, instrumentation cabinets, and ancillary services for wind farms. The cabinets are designed, assembled, and installed by CONSERTEK USA’s technicians. The logger program is in-lab pre-tested. The supports booms are compliant with the latest edition of IEC 61400

www.poseidonsys.com

www.dynamicratings.com

Fluid Life Using current technology and proven testing methodologies, Fluid life helps their customers reduce maintenance costs and improve equipment reliability. Offering a wide range of condition monitoring and reliability services backed by in-house labs, they deliver fluid analysis and reliability solutions accurately and on-time. At Fluid Life, their flexible approach is designed with their customers’ individual needs in mind. www.fluidlife.com

LUDECAwind LUDECAwind systems are intended both for installation and for continuous maintenance work in the field. Their EASY-LASER systems are specially configured with functionality and hardware suited for wind turbines. No matter the manufacturer, coupling, or turbine type, EASY-LASER XT-series makes generator-togearbox alignment inside any nacelle easy. Their EASY-LASER E-series E910/E915 is suitable for measuring flatness and parallelism on tower flanges regardless of diameter, as well as for solving flange deformation and blades problems. www.ludecawind.com

Black & Veatch's EPC leadership is supported by an engineering team backed by decades of wind experience, including performance of one of the first environmental reviews for the Electric Power Research Institute in 1975. In recent years, Black & Veatch have been involved with the design, development, and implementation of more than 56GW of wind energy projects and have reviewed wind resources of sites throughout the world. Additionally, Black & Veatch has interconnected energy assets with more than 50 utilities, expanding utility relationships and knowledge of their requirements.

With accuracy, the STEGO smart sensor enables users to always know the temperature and humidity conditions of their wind investment. With real-time trending, it is possible to lower maintenance costs, optimize outage scheduling, and head-off costly forced outages. Avoid expensive truck rolls with condition based maintenance.

STEGO’s splash-proof and simple-to-install design is an enhanced compliment to their broader climatization portfolio. www.stegousa.com

Trimark Associates, Inc. Trimark Vantage is a scalable, flexible visualization tool that helps users determine if their powergenerating sites are performing as expected.

Vantage provides real-time SCADA information from numerous devices, including inverters, weather stations, meters, and more. Intuitive, customizable dashboards can display the performance of a single device, or an entire site.

NOVEMBER•DECEMBER2020 /// www.nacleanenergy.com

www.consertek.com

www.bv.com

Laminated Wood Systems, Inc.

Blattner Energy, Inc.

Laminated Wood Systems’ nationwide manufacturing network allows for structures to be produced and delivered in six to eight weeks after drawing approval.

E-LAM structure designs typically include foundation design and all attachment hardware. E-LAM structures are supplied as complete kits that include installation drawings, foundations, and all hardware.

STEGO, Inc.

www.trimarkassoc.com

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Black & Veatch

For more than a century, the Blattner Family of Companies has generated collaborative construction solutions to businesses across the United States. Today, Blattner Energy is a diversified power generation contractor providing construction solutions and expertise in renewable energy construction.

Blattner provides complete engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) services for utility-scale wind, solar, energy storage, and power delivery projects. www.blattnerenergy.com

www.lwsinc.com

Port Industries. Inc. Hydramaxx trenchers and plows are designed for one pass installation of electrical cable, conduit, ground wire, and caution tape. Whether plowing in cable, or requiring an open ditch, Port Industries has the equipment, guide arms, and lay boxes to meet any collection systems specific requirements.

Port Industries works closely with their renewable energy customers. They design and build the guides and lay boxes based on each collection system’s unique requirements regarding cable spacing and backfill/compaction coverage. They use internal designs and components to ensure cable installation will be achieved without cable damage. The Hydramaxx Chain Trencher is a solution for wind farm cable installation. www.portindustries.com

WECS Renewables WECS Renewables is a wind energy industry specific distributor of electrical medium voltage, low voltage, and fiber-optic components dedicated specifically to the renewable energy industry in support of Balance-of-Plant requirements for new construction installations and the long term O&M throughout North America. WECS provides expertise in the selection of components for substations, cable connections, grounding, separable connectors, splices, tower terminations, junction enclosures, tools, and cleaners required. WECS is an inventory source for post construction replacements needs including emergency overnight requirements. www.wecsrenewables.com

Presto Geosystems Presto Geosystems’ 3D GEOWEB soil confinement system strengthens local fill, even sand, reducing cross section for building roads and pads for foundation construction, turbine component delivery and maintenance access. Over soft subgrades, one layer does the job compared to three layers typically required of geogrids. Confined infill remains stable under heavy loading. With 50% less cross section, use of onsite fill, and virtually no maintenance requirements, the system is a fast-built, low-cost road solution for stable access into the most challenging sites. www.prestogeo.com

Samson For more than 140 years, Samson has been working with industry professionals to develop synthetic rope for energy operations. Samson has engineered products specific to the challenging conditions and demanding environments in energy applications. www.samsonrope.com

Signal Energy, LLC Signal Energy has 9000MW of utility-scale renewable project experience and 1600MW of wind project experience. They support their customers with in-house capabilities including Pre-construction Solutions Group, foundation construction resources, and high voltage EPC capabilities. Signal Energy is active in new project construction and in the re-powering of existing wind projects. www.signalenergy.com

Wanzek Construction Wanzek is dedicated to supporting their partners by providing them industry expertise, skilled management teams, performance based solutions, and the crane fleet to get the job done. Wanzek serves many industries including renewable energy construction and services, power, oil & gas, infrastructure, crane services, agriculture, and industrial services. Wanzek specializes in comprehensive renewable power maintenance services, helping their clients maximize their investments in renewable power generation. www.wanzek.com

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2021 wind buyers guide Consulting Services

Contractors

DNV GL

Sentrex Wind Services, Inc.

DNV GL’s energy experts support customers around the globe in delivering a safe, sustainable, and reliable energy supply. They deliver advisory, certification, and testing services to the energy value chain, including renewables, storage, and energy management. Their expertise spans onshore and offshore wind power, solar, storage, and energy management. DNV GL is recognized by developers, investors, and utilities for its integrity and technical rigor. With DNV GL projects run smoothly, from the initial design stage through project completion.

Sentrex Wind Services provides project consulting and field services for SoDAR and and LiDAR operations, met tower installations and maintenance, solar installations, and environmental monitoring instrumentation.

Sentrex owns a 203m high IEC compliant meteorological test tower that is purpose-built for verification of LiDAR and SoDAR units. They provide rentals of AQ510 SoDAR units and manufacture power supplies for remote sites, with complete monitoring and control of their remote power supply operations through their custom built controls and interface.

www.dnvgl.com/energy

www.sentrexwind.com

Vertex Resource Group, Ltd. Since 1962, Vertex has been a North American Environmental Services provider of Regulatory Compliance Monitoring and Site Assessments, Right of Way Land Acquisition, Biophysical Assessments (Wildlife, Vegetation, and Aquatic), Soil Survey and Acquisition, and Phase I, II, III Environmental Site Assessments.

Vertex’s team of environmental professionals take the time to build an understanding of client needs and of the specific environments in which they operate, in order to help clients achieve their short and long-term financial, social, and environmental goals. www.vertex.ca

Caldwell Marine International, LLC Caldwell Marine International, LLC is a marine construction contractor specializing in submarine cable installation and heavy civil marine construction. In operation for over 65 years, CMI has carried out the installation and repair of hundreds of submarine power and telecommunication cables worldwide. CMI has successfully built and rehabilitated many piers and docks, as well as unique marine structures that required advanced installation techniques.

With a wide range of specialized marine construction equipment, an Atlantic waterfront yard, and over 150 years of marine construction experience on staff. www.caldwellmarine.com

Westwood Professional Services

Electrical Consultants, Inc. Electrical Consultants Inc. (ECI) was incorporated in 1985. For over 35 years, their in-house portfolio of services, including overhead and underground transmission engineering, substation and switchyard design, industrial power systems design, land survey and construction staking, right-of-way services, environmental planning, project management, construction management, and procurement services have provided a key resource for hundreds of utilities. ECI brings extensive experience in power delivery services through 500kV to their clients. www.electricalconsultantsinc.com

Terrapro Solutions With over 10GW of renewable energy developed, TerraPro Solutions supports the development of renewable energy projects.

Their services include real estate, title, and ALTA survey. They assist developers in preparing projects for title insurance. TerraPro can analyze and review title commitments and provide curative services to the title issues that arise. Because of proximity to title, their ALTA survey services allow them to work directly with surveyors to avoid common problems that occur between title and survey.

They have wind and solar experience in nearly every US state.

Westwood is a multi-disciplined engineering and surveying firm with experience gained from supporting more than 50GW of wind projects across the U.S. since 1997. Their services include environmental studies, permitting, civil engineering, electrical engineering, geotechnical engineering, HV transmission line engineering, land surveying, aerial mapping, and construction support. They have offices across the country and are licensed in nearly every state.

Rosendin is a large electrical contractor, constructing underground and overhead collection systems, fiber optic SCADA systems, as well as substations and overhead transmission lines connecting generating power plants to utility grids.

Over the last decade Rosendin has installed more than 25GW of clean, renewable energy, including more than 125 wind energy projects throughout the U.S. and Canada, ranging in size from 1MW to more than 900MW. Rosendin has experience, a commitment to safety, quality, and a record of on-time performance for electrical construction services.

LED Technology Dimming Capability GPS Synchronization Solar Powered Temporary Lighting ADLS/Aircraft Detection Lighting System Infrared NVIS/Night Vision Imaging Systems Compatibility

NOVEMBER•DECEMBER2020 /// www.nacleanenergy.com

www.lowimpact.com

Rosendin Electric

Where Engineering Meets Passion

48

Low Impact Inc provides specialized off-road equipment services, sales, and rentals. They have a comprehensive line up of Hagglunds BV206, Morooka, Argo, Fat Truck, and Prinoth machines that are avaiable for purchase, rent, or hire with an operator.

www.westwoodps.com

www.terraprosolutions.com

www.itl-llc.com

Low Impact, Inc.

www.rosendin.com

CONNECT WITH ITL

Leavitt Cranes Sentry Electrical Group, Inc. Sentry Electrical Group, Inc. constructs projects across the United States. They provide high and medium voltage construction of electrical infrastructure for private companies who require HV and MV solutions and electric utilities improving their electrical facilities.

They also serve private companies in the growing renewable generation industry.

Their offered services include engineering, procurement, or construction of HV and MV facilities. They offer complete turn-key solutions where all aspects of projects from planning to commissioning are required. www.sentryelec.com

Cranes | Hydraulic Equipment | Aerial Devices

Leavitt Cranes carries Krøll luffing tower cranes that are designed for the wind turbine industry. The Krøll wind turbine cranes achieves the max HUH without the use of tie-ins to the structure. It can reach greater lifting heights and accommodate the massive weights of the nacelles that spin atop the towers to generate wind power. A Krøll wind turbine crane will also be able to work on smaller hardstands and have design features that allow it to work where crawler or mobile cranes cannot. It can lift up to 330,000lbs and can be transported to any build site around the globe for national or municipal energy projects. www.leavittcranes.com

Powering Forward

Bishop Lifting Products, Inc. Bishop Lifting Products designs and fabricates below-the-hook lifting devices for wind energy components including universal nacelle lifting beams, J-hooks for lifting tower sections, counter balanced lifting beams, blade lifters and cradles, twin-path extra CoverMax slings, swivel hoist rings, and Crosby rigging hardware for wire rope and chain. www.lifting.com

Blattner Energy, a premier EPC contractor in renewable energy construction, has built some of the largest, most complex energy projects in the country. But that isn’t only what

Lampson International, LLC Lampson provides MEC 18000, MEC 16000, MEC 2250, MEC 14000, MEC 777, MEC 10000, MEC 222, MEC 4600, MEC 4100, MEC 999, MEC 4000, MEC 3900, MEC M250, Kobelco CK 2500, Kobelco CK 1000. Attachments include ringers, towers, standard and luffing jibs, MAXERS, and wind attachments. www.lampsoncrane.com

sets us apart. We deliver collaborative construction solutions that go beyond the finished product.

This is A Better Construction Experience®

BlattnerEnergy.com North American Clean Energy

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2021 wind buyers guide Education | Research Development

Liebherr-Werk Ehingen GmbH Liebherr provides mobile and crawler cranes with lifting capacities up to 3000t and special wind power crane configurations for both mobile and crawler cranes. Established in 1949, Liebherr’s mobile and crawler crane division supplies roughly 2000 cranes every year to customers all over the world. www.liebherr.com

Xtreme Manufacturing The XR1285-B by Xtreme Manufacturing is a tall fixed boom telehandler, which reaches an height of 85ft with maximum lift capacity of 12,000lbs.

The XR1285-B is equipped with a primary and a secondary boom. The multi-functional XR1570-C offers a maximum lift of 70ft with forward reach of 53ft and maximum lift capacity of 15,000lbs.

A XR1570 offers the horizontal movement of a crane mixed with the lift capacity of a forklift. www.xmfg.com

LIFTKET Hoffmann GmbH Electric chain hoists from LIFTKET move any load from 275lbs to 55,115lbs (125kg to 25,000kg) and up to 656ft (200m) high, safely, and anywhere. www.liftket.de

Mammoet

Whether you need a system for wind blade production or repairs, contact us today to learn how Mankiewicz can provide your complete coatings solutions.

Mammoet’s heavy lifting and transport expertise optimizes wind projects, specifically addressing O&M and repower requirements, and working with manufacturers and contractors on new construction projects. Their wind equipment services team brings projects to a safe completion and improves project efficiency by utilizing their experience and large fleet of equipment. With offices across North America, Mammoet is well positioned to provide the assistance where it is needed.

Data Acquisition

DEWESoft DEWESoft provides data acquisition equipment specializing in electrical and/or mechanical applications. With their instrumentation, the user can synchronously acquire electrical, mechanical, digital, video (high speed, thermal, etc.), BUS (many various protocols), and other inputs into their refined, user friendly, powerful software for a wide range of measurement applications. DEWESoft instrumentation is commonly used in commissioning, troubleshooting, certifying, monitoring, and general R&D for a wide range of applications. www.dewesoft.com

Economic Wind Development Region

www.mammoet.com

Abaris Training Resources, Inc. Abaris Training has been around for over 30 years, providing advanced composite training. They currently offer two Windblade Repair courses. R-5 Composite Windblade Repair is designed for those responsible for performing structural repairs to composite wind blades. This course covers fundamentals necessary to understanding aerodynamic skin, core, and trailing edge repairs; and R-15 Advanced Composite Windblade Repair is a follow-on to their Composite Wind Blade Repair course. This course is for those directly involved in providing high performance repairs to large area damage, spars, and tips. They also specialize in bringing their advanced composite courses onsite, anywhere in the world. they can provide an off-the-shelf curriculum, or tailor the training to meet their customers’ needs. They offer personalized service with up-front solutions. www.abaris.com

Iowa Lakes Community College The Wind Energy and Turbine Technology program at Iowa Lakes has earned the American Wind Energy Association's Seal of Approval for Wind Turbine Service Technician Programs. Students gain hands-on experience in their 50,000sq/ft Sustainable Energy Resources and Technology Center. They deliver rigorous coursework that produces the front-line technicians the industry needs. Students receive training in construction, maintenance, and wind turbine operations while learning the fundamentals of electrical, hydraulic, and mechanical theory and advanced training in power generation, programmable logic, and more. www.iowalakes.edu

Shuttlelift DB, SB, and SL Shuttlelift gantry cranes are available with lifting capacities up to 1500t. All cranes and spreaders are custom engineered for each project.

Safety Technology USA Safety Technology USA provides a full range of GWO training courses at accredited centers in Texas, Iowa, and Kansas City. Training courses include GWO Basic Safety Training and GWO Basic Technical Training.

www.shuttlelift.com

www.safetytechnologyusa.com

Black & McDonald Snorkel

North America: +1 (843) 654 7755 Europe: +49 (0) 40 / 75 10 30

www.mankiewicz.com

50 MW_third.indd 1

The Snorkel (Mega Boom) 2100SJ reaches a working height of 216ft. The Mega Boom boasts an horizontal outreach up to 100ft, and an unrestricted platform capacity of 660lbs.

For enhanced access and flexibility at height, a 30ft jib boom provides exceptional up-and-over capabilities. Designed with a simple chassis and powered by a Deutz turbocharged 2.9L 74hp diesel engine, the lift remains a heavy duty performing machine at 80,000lbs. www.snorkellifts.com

NOVEMBER•DECEMBER2020 /// www.nacleanenergy.com 10/18/2018 11:23:36 AM

Black & McDonald Inc. is an integrated, multitrade service provider that safely delivers high quality construction, facilities management, and technical solutions. They are a family owned and operated company with over 5000 employees working out of more than 30 offices across North America. With nearly 100 years of diverse market experience, they are a forward thinking organization with a strong track record of delivering operational excellence and customer-focused solutions that stand the test of time. www.blackandmcdonald.com

Electrical Equipment & Services | Power Generation

Allied Industrial Marketing, Inc. Allied Industrial Marketing offers support for the diagnosis of electrical power quality problems, prediction of harmonic distortion and educational seminars. Their use of sophisticated software such as Ansys Simplorer and Easy Power, enables them to quickly model electrical power systems and run computer simulations to identify the root cause of the problem. Their goal is to help solve or prevent power quality problems. www.alliedindustrialmarketing.com

Helwig Carbon Products, Inc. Helwig Carbon Products provides wind kit upgrades for Hitachi generators that feature improved brush holders, long life brushes, and easy maintenance features. The kit includes robust brush holders with adjustable, longer brush boxes. Constant force springs and quick disconnects provide ease of servicing. They also offer grounding solutions and wind pitch motor shaft grounding to protect motor bearings. Made in USA and fast delivery. www.helwigcarbon.com

Anderson Power Products Anderson Power Products SPEC Pak Connector Series are rugged and environmentally sealed (IP68) certified connectors made from PC, PC/PBT material that is UL94 V-0 flame resistant. Available in wire-to-wire or wire-to-panel configurations that include either pin and socket or flat wiping contact technology. SPEC Pak connectors are intended for applications that demand a waterproof high-power interconnect solution for power, ground, and signaling capabilities such as for use in wind power, solar, lighting, marine, agricultural, or off-road equipment applications. www.andersonpower.com

Denver Magnetic, Power and Distribution Denver Magnetic buys, sells, and rents oil filled and dry type transformers. They also recondition, re-manufacture, and repair. From a 5KVA pole mounted to 50MVA station and anything in between. Pole mounted, pad mounted, and station class transformers as well as switch gear and reclosures.

Don’t be let down by a lift.

Installation and preventative maintenance by IUEC elevator mechanics will keep your elevators moving SAFELY and more EFFICIENTLY. We have more than 450 elevator companies ready to serve your elevator lift needs.

www.denvermagnetic.com

Contact us today.

EDE Electric Motor Testing The all-in-one MotorAnalyzer2 (MA2) offers comprehensive testing of generators and motors for up tower maintenance activities.

The MA2 is suitable for on-site, predictive maintenance, machine health analysis, troubleshooting, and fault detection. Due to its size, weight, and battery operation, the MA2 is a solution for wind towers and many other applications requiring challenging access. It offers the ability to perform surge, high potential, resistance, impedance, inductance, and capacitance testing in a compact automated tester. Available software enhances the ability to create reports and store maintenance activities and results in a database structure.

Carisa Barrett cbarrett@eiwpf.org 253-561-4902

www.edeinst.com

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2021 wind buyers guide Enclosures

Oldcastle Highline Oldcastle Highline manufactures fiberglass box pads and sectionalizing cabinets used on collection systems. They also have a complete line of polymer concrete pull boxes and splice boxes for running fiber optic cable. www.highlineproducts.com

TeamSesco

FUERGY

TeamSesco has been providing repair services to customers since 1913 and has been providing wind turbine electronic repair over the past decade. Every repair is backed by their exclusive warranty, and tracked using their barcode tracking system.

Before any repair ships, it undergoes complete testing based on the original design. They utilize full load testing for applicable repairs ensuring the repaired unit works in the field. This level of testing is critical for overall quality control and reliability guarantee.

FUERGY is a technology company providing solutions for energy optimization. For this purpose, it has developed its own modular battery system and software platform powered by artificial intelligence, which meets the special needs of energy management. From energy storage to automated energy trading and dispatch systems, FUERGY offers complex, cost-effective, tailor-made solutions. The company was founded in 2017 by energy experts with the aim of changing the way people use and share electricity and thus accelerate the transition to energy decentralization with a high share of renewables.

www.teamsesco.com

Fibox Enclosures Fibox specializes in rust-free, UV resistant polycarbonate enclosures for the power generation industry. Ranging in size from 2" x 2" to 32" x 24", Fibox's UL listed NEMA 4X and 6P enclosing solutions protect products from hostile environments and resist impacts and UV damage, making them suitable for energy farms. Fibox can customize their products to meet exact project requirements.

www.fuergy.com

www.fiboxusa.com

Virginia-Georgia Transformer Sentinel Control Products The Sentinel CS-1 Control Switch Safety Covers protects manual and electrically operated control switches from accidental operation, ensuring that employees can safely protect, lock, and tag a Circuit Breaker control system. The CS-1 is made from high-impact clear polycarbonate, allowing view of the control switch position indicators.

The CS-1 is easily added to existing rotary control switches, requires only a few minutes with no drilling required, no need to remove the switch from the panel, and no disturbing the wiring. The CS-1’s locking tab accepts multi-lock hasps or single padlocks. Their Control Switch Safety cover is compatible with Electroswitch, General Electric, Shallco and GE/ITI switches. The CS-1 is a “UL” recognized component and can be installed by “UL 508A” panel shops.

Virginia-Georgia Transformer designs, manufactures, and markets products related to power generation, transmission, and distribution. A US based company manufacturing core form power transformer up to 1400MVA, 500kV, serving a range of markets including utility, commercial, industrial, mining, oil & gas, renewable, transit, and specialty Data Centers. They have been in the transformer industry since 1971 and produce both liquid and dry type power transformers manufactured from their four (4) facilities in North America.

Their service division offers a full range of services and spare parts and provides lifetime extension programs for transformer assets. www.vatransformer.com

www.sentinelcontrolproducts.com

Energy Storage | Grid Connection LEOCH Battery Corporation LEOCH 48-Volt Lithium Iron Phosphate (LiFePO4) batteries are equipped with a built-in Battery Management System (BMS) and optional LCD screen for hassle-free maintenance. LEOCH high performance LiFePO4 batteries offer 10,000 cycles @ 50% DOD or 3500 cycles to 100% DOD. Batteries can be placed in parallel for 48VDC, 1600AH capacity.

Crown Battery

www.leoch.us

Crown Renewable Batteries are an innovative array of responsible battery energy storage products, including their popular 2CRP1200 model which has capacity up to 55.9kWh (48VDC) for best available performance and ROI, is flexible and easy to handle, configure, deployable for new or existing systems and resilient in extreme operating temperatures, and earth-friendly being 99% recyclable. Crown can supply grid-connected with back-up power, off-grid, or custom storage applications. www.crownbattery.com

Nel Hydrogen

EnerSys The NorthStar BLUE+ Battery applies carbon technology for high cycle life and Partial State of Charge (PSOC) performance. Thin plate technology delivers long life and high power output. In addition, the NSB BLUE+ Battery is a UL1989-recognized product and is flame retardant to meet UL94VO. It is built in the United States, has a two-year shelf life, and offers fast, efficient recharge. The NorthStar BLUE+ Battery features special plastic components for operation in a wide temperature range. Its product range is 40-210 amp hours. www.enersys.com

Nel Hydrogen manufacturers Alkaline and Proton Exchange Membrane (PEM) water electrolysers, producing from 0.27 Nm3 to 5,000 Nm3 of H2 per hour. Units can be grouped together into electrolyser plants for even larger production rates. Electrolysers are used to store excess electricity from renewable resources in the H2 bond. The H2 can then be sold to industry (converting curtailed power to cash), or burned in a turbine or run through a fuel cell to put the stored energy onto the grid during periods of low generation or peak demand.

Due to their fast response times the PEM electrolysers are also used by renewable energy plants to balance the power the plant puts onto the grid. www.nelhydrogen.com

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Engineering

Switch Power

SIBA Fuses SIBA Fuses works with medium and high voltage fuses with ANSI/IEEE, E-rated, and standard European for protection of transformers, including submersibles, MCC fuses for motor control centers, medium and high voltage switchgear, compact substations, overhead fuses, mainline fusing, and high voltage capacitor filter and harmonic banks. SIBA’s SSK Fuses for switch disconnect, include a special thermal sensor specifically invented by SIBA for this application, and are offered in both dry type and under oil, with unique SIBA-patented technology. All of their HHD fuses can be used in standard switchgear to special wind and solar applications up to 40.5kV and have a high breaking capacity.

As an Independent Power Producer (IPP), Switch focuses on capital deployment in long-term infrastructure assets through creative projects, creative financing, and creative commercial structures. Switch provides innovative and sustainable power generation solutions by meeting load customers needs by lowering electricity costs through physical supply with multiple technologies and filling grid capacity with low-cost electricity supply from sustainable sources. They provide resiliency and ancillary services to both physical customers and the grid with energy storage, as well as utilize energy management and predictive market algorithm-based software systems. www.switchpower.ca

www.siballc.net

Mott MacDonald Mott MacDonald has participated in over 65 offshore wind projects over the last 15 years. They have worked on around 37GW of wind power production worldwide; roughly 10% of the world’s capacity. Mott MacDonald’s clients include owners, EPC contractors, power delivery utility companies, industrial facility owners, and independent power producers.

As a multidisciplinary engineering and development firm, they have specific and recent experience providing design services for HV substations, transmission lines, and collector systems for key offshore clients. www.mottmac.com

POWER Engineers, Inc. POWER Engineers, Inc. provides owner’s engineering, environmental, and engineering design services for medium voltage collection systems, BESS, site civil, communication networks, SCADA, and associated substations and transmission interconnect lines. They also perform up-front interconnection support and complete electrical system studies for developmental projects, as well as construction management, inspection services, and testing and commissioning for wind farm constructors and owner/operators. www.powereng.com

Sargent & Lundy Founded in 1891, Sargent & Lundy is a global company in power and energy with expertise in all forms of electric power generation including wind power; power transmission and distribution; grid modernization; energy storage; fuel infrastructure; energy consulting; and physical and cyber-security. Sargent & Lundy delivers comprehensive wind project services, from consulting, design, permitting, interconnection, construction management, commissioning, repowering, and operations/ maintenance support, with an emphasis on quality and safety. Sargent & Lundy performs many roles on wind power projects, including full design architect-engineer, owner’s engineer, lender’s independent engineer/ technical advisor, and consultant. www.sargentlundy.com

800.231.6074 • REEFINDUSTRIES.COM

TRANSPORTATION,

MAINTENANCE STORAGE & CONSTRUCTION

GRIFFOLYN® DIVISION OF REEF INDUSTRIES, INC.

STOCK ROLLS READILY AVAILABLE VOLATILE CORROSION INHIBITOR CUSTOMIZATION AVAILABLE CONTINUOUS PROTECTION PUNCTURE RESISTANCE WATER RESISTANT HEAT SHRINKABLE UV STABILIZED

APPLICATIONS TURBINE COVERS | GENERATOR COVERS TRANSFORMER BAGS | ON-SITE STORAGE BLADE COVERS | OUTDOOR TRANSPORTATION WIND FARM CONSTRUCTION | TRANSPORT CONTAINER COVERS

North American Clean Energy

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2021 wind buyers guide Fire Suppression

Stat-X Fire Suppression Stat-X aerosol fire suppression is a versatile and cost-effective solution for renewable energy fire protection. Each sealed, stainless steel generator contains a solid, stable, and specially formulated fire suppression compound. When a fire occurs, the Stat-X generator activates, producing and releasing an advanced aerosol fire suppression agent. Agent fills the protected enclosed space and chemically interrupts the combustion process.

Fire is suppressed, and the micron-sized agent particles remain suspended to help prevent possible re-flash. www.statx.com/industries

Gearbox Manufacturing, Services & Repairs

Integrated Power Services Parker Hannifin Every wind turbine must possess a robust speed control safety system to prevent high rotational speeds during high wind conditions. The turbine braking system is the essential safety system found in a modern wind turbine. Avoid a catastrophic diaphragm accumulator failure with Parker’s turbine braking solution. www.parker.com/energy

Generators | Maintenance & Repair Services

IPS's single-source wind turbine service capabilities include in-shop repair, up-tower services, and distribution of parts and generators. In-shop repair services include generators up to 3+MW, pitch and yaw motors, cooling fans and pumps, electronic boards, slip rings, and heat exchangers.

Up-tower repair services include wye ring testing and replacement, bearing change outs, turbine main shafts, field machining, and predictive and preventive maintenance.

Their distribution offering includes new or replacement generators, motors (pitch, yaw, cooling pump, and metric motors), couplings, battery packs, encoders, and slip rings. www.ips.us

Bonfiglioli USA Bonfiglioli creates, designs, and manufactures advanced solutions for every range of yaw & pitch drive and motor application. They are committed to deliver specialized product, at the same time proactively working to support LOCE reductions. Bonfiglioli ensures a local-forlocal presence close to its customers and guarantees real-time service assistance thanks to the expansive network of branch offices and distributors. By adopting the IOT concept in its product Bonfiglioli can offer a condition monitoring system to increase product efficiencies at the same time optimizing maintenance programs. www.bonfiglioli.com

Electric Materials Company Electric Materials works with OEM, service centers, and wind farm owners. Customized solutions, engineering, reverseengineering and metallurgical support offered to supply generator slip ring assemblies (brass and steel rings) and components, generator AC rotors and components, earthing cable clamps, copper extrusions, copper busbars, and cast or forged circuit breaker components (machined and plated). EM is a producer of custom copper alloys required to meet industry specification requirements. www.elecmat.com

SGL Carbon SGL Carbon’s brushes are specifically designed for high current density conditions and/or high production wind farms. Special metal-graphite grade for wind power generators with stainless steel or bronze slip rings and more than 50% metal content to achieve high electrical conductivity, minimal wear, maximum generator production, quick patina formation in all operating conditions, high operating temperature range. These brushes are manufactured to work at high current density with even current distribution. All brushes are silver tamped, and suitable for big wind turbines (3.5MW or more). Their graphite for electrical applications is always manufactured in the same location under the same standards for 100% traceability. www.sglcarbon.com

Sherwood Electromotion, Inc. For wind turbines manufacturers and suppliers, Sherwood (SEI) offers generator related warranty period service programs and other condition-specific service options. For generators manufacturers and suppliers, SEI offers warranty period services, equipment modification, upgrade and replacement services, condition-based repairs, and structured overhauls. For owners and operators, SEI provides a broad range of on-site (up-tower) and off-site (in-house) services for generators supplied by various OEMs. www.sherwoodelectromotion.com

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Laminates

Reef Industries

Zephyr Wind Services Zephyr Wind Services is fully focused on wind generators, offering a full range of diagnostic repairs including winding analysis, vibration analysis, thermal imaging, and laser alignment. Their coil manufacturing experience covers all wind turbine generator needs. Zephyr keeps a wide variety of wind turbine replacement parts in stock at all times, including generator components, bearings, encoders, slip rings, brushes, and brush holders.

Zephyr offers comprehensive generator management and stocks critical spare inventory and a climate-controlled storage program that keeps overhead low without compromising generator availability. www.zwinds.com

Insurance Services

For more than 60 years, Reef Industries has been manufacturing and fabricating reinforced film laminates and composites. Griffolyn, the original division of Reef Industries, has been manufacturing quality, internally reinforced polyethylene laminates designed for a wide range of applications. Griffolyn's patented, high-strength reinforcement provides superior puncture, tear and abrasion resistance. Use Griffolyn for corrosion protection, equipment storage/shipping covers, landfill covers, vapor and moisture barriers, dust and environmental partitions, contaminated soil covers, athletic field covers, greenhouses, boat tarps, crop protection, or many other possibilities. From outstanding weathering characteristics to custom features, such as fire retardancy, anti-static properties, corrosion inhibition, or heat shrinkability, Griffolyn products offer high performance. Griffolyn plastics can be customized to any size and shape, ensuring a customer’s exact requirements are met.

Griffolyn is available in white, black, and clear.

Custom colors are also available upon request.

OCI, A CARBEX AB REPRESENTATIVE WITHIN WIND POWER INDUSTRY CARBON BRUSHES

BRUSH HOLDER V-TYPE

High quality brushes for the Wind Power market, e.g. Vestas, GE and Gamesa

A holder designed to attain balanced spring pressure, current distribution and reduce brush wear.

For power, pitch, grounding and lightning protection.

• • • • • •

Equal force on all carbon brushes Prevents uneven brush wear and tear Reduced maintenance Space-saving design Lower total weight Integrated mechanical wear stop function • Fits most common generators.

www.reefindustries.com

Large Wind Turbine Manufacturer (Over 100kW)

Marathon Insurance Group LLC Marathon Insurance Group LLC is an independent insurance agency with the experience to help clients understand and manage the unique risks associated with the renewable energy industry. They can guide their customers to secure quality and competitively priced coverage to comply with often confusing and rigorous contract requirements in the industry. They have partnered with national insurance carriers working in the renewable energy industry. www.marathoninsgroup.com

i-BRUSH – a unique brush remote monitoring system

Goldwind Americas Goldwind’s GW155/4500 Permanent Magnet Direct Drive (PMDD) wind turbine featuring Goldwind’s EFARM LiDAR Assisted turbine control includes front-mounted LiDAR wind measurement technology which captures the dynamic wind flow of the turbine in a real-time control system for use in advanced control algorithms that optimize the turbine performance, load, and other characteristics.

This significantly reduces the unit's load, while improving its generation capacity.

FEATURES • Live control of slip ring system conditions • Alarm handling • Fits to standard brush holder • Plug and play system MEASURING • Brush wear • Brush temperature • Voltage drop • Current transfer • Humidity BENEFITS • Secured operation and increased uptime • Cost savings • Live brush conditions • Quick data overview

Ohio Carbon Industries, Inc. sales@ohiocarbon.com Toll Free: 888-248-5029 www.ohiocarbon.com

www.goldwindamericas.com

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2021 wind buyers guide Lighting

WAGO Corporation

International Tower Lighting DeTect, Inc. DeTect developed the HARRIER Aircraft Detection Lighting Systems (ADLS) for automatic lighting activation of aviation obstructions such as wind farm turbines, high voltage transmission lines, and communication towers. The HARRIER ADLS provides continuous 360° radar surveillance of the airspace, automatically issuing signals to activate obstruction lighting when aircraft are detected at a defined outer perimeter. The FAA Performance Assessment Report on HARRIER ADLS states that the system met the performance requirements identified in Chapter 14 of AC 70/74601L and is published on the FAA Website. HARRIER is also fully compatible with all SCADA systems and turbines and is a widely deployed system with installations the US, Canada, and Europe. www.detect-inc.com

Flash Technology From their Franklin, TN headquarters, Flash Technology offers innovative traditional and solar MET tower and wind turbine obstruction lighting solutions and the remote asset monitoring systems that support them.

An OEM since 1970, they help clients mitigate risk and meet the day-today challenges of obstruction lighting operations. Their ETL-certified and FAA-approved LED products serve airport, broadcast, telecom, utilities, and wind energy markets. Their support services include componentlevel training, installation, troubleshooting, and maintenance.

International Tower Lighting (ITL, LLC) manufactures obstruction lighting, management of installation and repairs, live technical support, and a 24/7 NOCC center. ITL provides LED technology, advanced optics, and wireless GPS-based flash synchronization for wind turbine obstruction lighting. www.itl-llc.com

WAGO provides easy and safe wiring of lights and appliances. The WINSTA Pluggable Connection System is a compact, easy-to-use design with transparent housing and two test slots allowing electrical installations to be plugged in easily, safely, and error-free. Circuits can be created quickly, expanded flexibly, and adapted to new requirements. WAGO has a solution for various lighting applications, whether the power connection is located inside or outside of the lamps, or whether the lighting systems are used for street lighting, homes, or in facilities such as hospitals. www.wago.us

Load Monitoring Moltec International Moltec’s LED lighting systems deliver cost-effective performance in wind towers and nacelles. All of their lighting systems are engineered, pre-assembled, pre-tested, and ready to install. Moltec’s compact and lightweight LED Sabre Light exceeds photo-metric specifications while their Quik-Fit 3 plug and play trunk line harness system saves time and money through storage, handling, quick and easy connection, and installation.

Their LED UFO Light utilizes high-powered, high efficiency LED technology to deliver optimal directional lighting resulting in high lux values with fewer fixtures. This system is suitable for tower lighting or large task lighting. www.moltecinternational.com

www.flashtechnology.com

Eilon Engineering Weighing Systems, Ltd. Eilon Engineering dynamometers and crane scales are being used in the construction, testing, and maintenance of wind turbines, mainly for overload prevention, proof load tests, installation, and guide wires tension control. Their wireless technology makes the Ron Crane Scales the suitable choice for wind turbine uses. They feature long battery life, compact dimensions, and high safety features like fatigue rated load cells, 90° between shackle holes, and are made of high quality aerospace steel. Eilon Engineering solutions have the ability to show real time load map of simultaneous measurements. www.eilonengineering.com

Hughey & Phillips The H&P HORIZON L-864 RED BEACONS with integrated “IR” have design features specifically for wind turbine applications. Lightweight, compact, easy wiring, dry contact, field repairable, and integrated GPS/ PCELL allows the fixture to be quickly installed on new or existing turbines. At 17lbs and 9" tall, the fixture can easily replace larger fixtures while typically using the same system wiring. Being field repairable it reduces maintenance cost. The integrated GPS/PCELL provides sync and mode control without the need for additional controls. All HORIZON systems come with a full 5-year warranty.

Technostrobe

www.hugheyandphillips.com

www.lidsinfo.com

Lubricants

Technostrobe manufactures obstruction lights for tall towers. Their mission is to help pilots fly safely by providing innovative, robust, and energy efficient lighting technologies. The LED lighting systems can be combined with their LIDS (Lighting Intensity Dimming Solution) Technology to ensure the intensity of the lights on a wind farm are adapted to the surrounding visibility, thereby helping the site become more community friendly. They serve customers in the broadcasting, telecommunications, and wind farm industries.

AMSOIL, Inc. AMSOIL synthetic lubricants use sophisticated additives to provide cost-effective choices for prolonging equipment life, reducing maintenance, and increasing performance. AMSOIL PTN 320 is approved with all gearbox manufacturers, including Winergy/Flender, NGC, Gearbox Express, Moventas, and ZF, and their lubricants are used as a global factory run-in for Winergy, NGC, and ZF. www.amsoilwind.com

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Met Towers

Tower Systems, Inc. Castrol Castrol Optigear Synthetic CT is a premium synthetic polyalphaolefin (PAO) gear oil designed to perform in challenging applications. Its high viscosity index coupled with advanced gear oil additives make Castrol Optigear Synthetic CT a suitable lubricant for high capacity wind turbine gear boxes both onshore and offshore in all environments. Castrol Optigear Synthetic CT has advanced ‘ashless’ technology that runs cooler, increases efficiency, resists water absorption, and provides consistent wear protection for at least ten years of oil life. Castrol Optigear Synthetic CT meets or exceeds the turbine OEM requirements for Vestas, GE, SiemensGamesa, MHI, and Senvion among others.

Tower Systems, Inc. has installed numerous meteorological towers on wind farms and provides a complete turn-key solution for sites. TSI also manufacturers retractable booms available in standard lengths of 8ft, 10ft, and 12ft (longer lengths available upon request). Designed for trouble-free operation, the retractable boom provides safe and easy access to the instrumentation allowing technicians to bring the instruments back to the tower so they can reach them. www.towersystems.com

Operations & Maintenance (O&M)

HYTORC

Airway Services Canada, ULC

Hydrotex HyDiamond 6Kp Hydraulic Fluid provides a durable, clean hydraulic fluid for maximum system protection. HyDiamond Fluid 6Kp features an ashless, phosphorus additive package with anti-wear protection to ensure reliability. New oil ISO 4406 cleanliness of 16/14/11 with a high viscosity index for use over a wide range of temperatures. Excellent anti-wear protection to ensure reliability with superior oxidation resistance for long lubricant life.

Available in several ISO Viscosity Grades filtered to 4 microns at 99.9% efficiency to ensure a clean start.

Condition monitoring, SCADA, grid measurement, and data portals are crucial to bring down the cost of energy by 30%. Bachmann’s smart automation not only increases turbine efficiency, but helps structure and connect the ever-increasing masses of data. This saves valuable time.

The controller no longer just processes individual standardized signals for the operational management of the turbine but is becoming more of an intelligent control center. Bachmann’s solutions can turn 100 monitoring variables into 20 with ISO 10816-21. www.bachmann.info

www.castrol.com/windenergy

Hydrotex

Bachmann electronic GmbH

Airway Services Canada offers a full line of scheduled maintenance services. They offer competitive prices, quality service, and skilled service technicians. www.airwayservicesinc.com

From the foundation bolts to the blades, HYTORC has developed solutions for nearly every bolting application in the wind turbine industry. For custom projects, their experienced engineering team is available to custom design the most efficient solution, with simple operation and economical pricing in mind.

HYTORC’s mission is to ensure customers’ jobs as safe and efficient as possible.

All of their products are covered by a worldwide, one-year, no-questions-asked warranty, which includes free parts and labor. With authorized repair facilities located globally, fast and professional service is always available. www.hytorc.com

www.hydrotexlube.com

Shell Lubricants Shell Omala S5 Wind fully synthetic gear oil offers lubrication performance even under severe operating conditions. The formulation is developed to protect a wind turbine’s gears and bearings by minimizing wear, protecting against micro-pitting, maintaining effective fluidity at extremes of low temperature, and minimizing foam formation. Shell Omala S5 Wind is designed to meet or exceed OEM requirements of Siemens Wind Power, ZF Wind, Vestas, and Gamesa. It also meets or exceeds following OEM component requirements of Winergy, NGC, Bosch-Rexroth, Eickhoff, Moventas, SKF, Timken, Schaefflet, Hydac, CC Jensen, Mintai, and Fredenburg. www.shell.us

North American Clean Energy

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2021 wind buyers guide

Kuma Brake Pads

Kassbohrer All Terrain Vehicles, Inc. PowerBully Scout is a lightweight utility track carrier which provides a 5-person ROPS cab with cargo deck. Transport work crews and equipment to hard-to-reach job sites while protecting them from the elements. Fully hydrostatic and powered by a Cummins turbocharged aftercooled diesel engine that develops 99hp. Optional 6-way front mount snow blade for use in opening snow covered roads at the windfarm. The Scout is quick on its feet with a top speed of 14mph. It can be trailered behind a conventional pickup truck. Durable steel tracks enable year round use in dirt, mud, or snow. Simple to operate and economical to run. Made in the USA. www.powerbully.com

Kuma Brake Pads is designing and manufacturing high performance sintered brake pads for wind turbines. The products are used in the hydraulic brake caliper on high-speed rotor. Their brake pads meet the OEM specifications for GE, Vesta, Siemens, Nordex, Senvion, and most turbines.

KUMA sintered brakes pads and products are submitted to extreme conditions tests to ensure their quality. The product is manufactured in North Amenca based on ISO 9001 standards and is also approved by many brake system manufacturers. www.kumabrakes.com

Nearthlab Nearthlab’s AI-powered autonomous drone solution offers efficient and reliable inspection services for industrial assets. With extensive experience working with U.S., European, and Asian entities, Nearthlab specializes in wind turbine blade inspections, backed by its flight control software. The Nearthlab autonomous drone inspection takes 15 minutes per turbine and is capable of detecting up to 0.3mm. Nearthlab’s proprietary data management platform, Zoomable, facilitates the industry’s digital transformation by analyzing the inspection data and automating defect detection. Nearthlab strives to make inspection easy by digitizing industrial sites with drone driven data. www.nearthlab.com

Malloy Electric Since 1998, Malloy has been an aftermarket parts supplier and generator repair company with over 20 years of experience in wind.

Their mechanical group expertise is backed with a huge inventory of spare parts including upgrades for blade bearings and gearbox bearings. Their electrical group experts have developed multiple breaker and contactor retrofits for obsolete products. www.malloywind.com

Power Climber Wind Power Climber Wind helps wind turbine OEMs, owners, and service providers around the globe manage their operation and maintenance costs by providing reliable access equipment and expertise to improve employee safety, productivity, and retention. With 70 years of experience performing productively at elevation, they offer a range of solutions including IBEX climb assists, turbine service lifts, tower access platforms, blade access solutions, safety equipment, and training. www.powerclimberwind.com

SMART CHECK

Composite Tooling for Windmill Blades

LARGE SCALE | HIGH QUALITY | PRICE COMPETITIVE | ON-TIME DELIVERY

SmartCheck

Compact, accurate, versatile – the new SmartCheck torque wrench tester gets right to the point.

Experience the »Made in Germany« difference.

Patterns, Molds, Plugs Precision 5-axis machining Composite Fabrication Engineering Services

Tel.:(+1) 262-583-4060 | info@stahlwille-americas.com

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Designed with the assistance of a certified collegiate Wind Energy and Turbine Technology program, Precision Brand Products has created the lightweight Up-Tower Shim Assortment to safely and efficiently transport slotted generator alignment shims up to the nacelle. Its high-visibility orange bag has a double closing system to eliminate spillage, and is equipped with a heavy-duty ring to hang it open for easy access. It contains four popular thicknesses of stainless steel slotted shims with unique, color-coded tabs for quick identification making it easy to inventory your shims on the ground before climbing. The kit includes eight (8) .5mm, 1mm, and 1.25mm, and four (4) 2mm shims for a total of 28. www.precisionbrand.com/uptower

PSI Repair Services, Inc. As an independent service provider (ISP) serving the wind energy industry, PSI Repair Services offers wind turbine component repair and upgrade services for GE, Vestas, Gamesa, Siemens, RePower, and Clipper turbines. They cover the critical electronic, hydraulic and precision mechanical components that drive a turbine’s pitch and yaw systems and down-tower electronics. Commonly repaired components include printed circuit boards, pitch drive systems, inverters, IGBTs, PLCs, VRCC units, AEBIs, proportional valves, hydraulic pumps, pitch and yaw motors, encoders, slip rings, transducers, yaw modules, 3-phase bridge rectifiers, and more. www.psi-repair.com

2017

ACCURATE AND INCREDIBLY VERSATILE.

Precision Brand Products, Inc.

NOVEMBER•DECEMBER2020 /// www.nacleanenergy.com

www.janicki.com 360.856.5143

Project Developer | Operator

Olympus America, Inc.

Sky Climber Renewables Sky Climber Renewables is an independent service provider (ISP) and is a qualified technical resource for utility scale wind power projects. They serve OEMs and wind farm owners, offering a comprehensive menu of services that promise safety, reliability, and flexibility. Their services include inspection, composite repair, performance upgrades, scheduled service, electrical maintenance, mechanical maintenance, hydraulic system maintenance, torque and tension, suspended access, rope access, new construction support, and more. www.skyclimberwind.com

Leosphere, a Vaisala company The WindCube Nacelle lidar enables operators to efficiently and accurately assess and verify performance to ensure maximum power output. It is widely accepted for contractual and operational power performance testing (PPT) and has been proven to dramatically reduce operational cost while increasing efficiency.

Suitable for any turbine type and rotor diameter, WindCube Nacelle’s measurement range of up to 700m provides a complete picture of the onshore and offshore wind profile with accuracy and reliability.

Ohio Carbon Industries, Inc. The Carbex i-BRUSH system utilizes integrated sensors in the carbon brush, linking to an external control unit, which enables authorized users to check brush condition anytime, anywhere. Operating conditions are uploaded to the cloud and can be displayed on any smart device or PC. With knowledge of remaining brush life, the future maintenance can easily be planned to secure uptime.

Olympus provides a portfolio of innovative test, measurement, and imaging instruments.

Technologies include remote visual inspection, ultrasound, phased array, eddy current array, x-ray fluorescence, industrial microscopy, and optical metrology. Their products include ultrasonic flaw detectors and thickness gages, videoscopes, borescopes, microscopes, XRF analyzers, advanced nondestructive testing systems, and a large selection of industrial scanners, probes, software programs, and instrument accessories. www.olympus-ims.com

www.ohiocarbon.com

www.leosphere.com

Remote Monitoring SkySpecs SkySpecs offers a suite of Operations & Maintenance solutions including fully automated wind turbine blade inspections that are repeatable, precise, and take less than 15 minutes. Horizon is their asset management platform, allowing multiple stakeholders to collaborate and make the best decision about their assets every time. Their engineering services include risk assessment and auditing, root cause analysis, and blade services, and are run by a team of expert blade analysts and engineers ready to tailor projects to their customers’ specific needs. www.skyspecs.com

Power Transformers

Pennsylvania Transformer Technology, Inc. Pennsylvania Transformer Technology, Inc. (PTTI) is a minority-owned power transformer manufacturer that produces a total range of transformer sizes from 5MVA through 600MVA. Since 1929, PTTI has been designing and building a variety of core-form transformer configurations including 34.5kV generator step-up, 345kV and large OLTC autotransformers, zig-zag, grounding, shunt reactor, mobile, and three-phase voltage regulating transformers.

Leosphere, a Vaisala Company WindCube is a lidar for accurate, bankable onshore and offshore wind data, supporting measurement campaigns throughout all project phases. During development, it provides the data needed to secure funding while minimizing risk; it also provides precise measurements for energy yield assessment. Operators often rely on WindCube for performance verification, since it is IEC-classified. WindCube can be positioned almost anywhere and measures across the entire rotor sweep of today’s turbines, at great heights. WindCube data has been validated by hundreds of independent studies and is accepted by all international standards and guidelines. www.leosphere.com

www.patransformer.com

North American Clean Energy

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2021 wind buyers guide Safety Equipment | Fall Protection

Yokogawa Yokogawa’s Renewable Energy Data and Intelligence (REDI) SCADA Overlay solution is an OEM supplieragnostic system to collect process data from an entire renewable power generation portfolio. It simplifies integration and operation of widely-distributed, disparate solar, wind, and battery storage assets.

The cloud-based or on-premise environment securely shares information via advanced analytics, standard KPI dashboards, and reports with maintenance personnel, management, and relevant partners, anytime, anywhere. The standard user interface simplifies training, optimizes work processes, and empowers asset managers. Broad scalability simplifies integration of new assets.

Valley Forge & Bolt Manufacturing Co. SPC4 load indicating fasteners contain Valley Forge proprietary technology that measures bolt elongation. A Wireless Meter attached to the end of the SPC4 bolt measures the tension and transmits the information, via Wi-Fi, to the existing condition monitoring system or Valley Forge software. Using the recorded information within the condition monitoring system, plant engineers, maintenance personnel, and reliability teams gain a powerful tool for tracking machine health and overall plant performance. At a glance, an engineer will know if a bolt is out of tension, where it is located, when it happened, and if any other bolts experienced a similar event during the same period. www.vfbolts.com

Dakota Riggers

3S Lift

AmePower is a Florida based engineering company offering solutions to reliably repair, overhaul, or modernize any wind turbine converter by adding current technology without compromising any of the OEM’s FIT/FORM/ FUNCTION specifications.

The Climb Auto System by 3S Lift is a single technician (rated at 310Ibs), laddermounted lift which eliminates the physical and mental strain of climbing, improving health and safety, and reducing the cost of ownership. It features safety control switches on both handles, a remote mode for the easy transport of tools, and collapsible footboards for rapid evacuation in the event of an emergency. It offers independent fall arrest systems for personnel and the Climb Auto System. The Climb Auto System can be easily installed to any new or existing wind turbine ladder, often in only 8 hours. It has certifications from CE, UL, ANSI, OSHA, and more, and has been installed in over 40,000 towers worldwide. The Climb Auto System is a safe and cost-effective way to ascend a tower and lets technicians keep their minds on the job and not on the climb.

www.amepower.com/wind-power

www.3slift.com

www.yokogawa.com

Restoration

AmePower

From tool lanyards and tie-off points to holsters and pouches, Dakota Riggers stocks a full selection of 3M tool tethering products 3M. With the recent publication of the ANSI/SEA 121-2018 Dropped Objects Standard, fall protection for tools is quickly becoming a necessity in the wind industry in order to protect those working below. www.dakotariggers.com

GME Supply GME Supply provides fall protection, tools, tool tethering solutions, anchorage, rigging, PPE, and gear for at-height workers. Their Gear Experts offer timely service and expertise. They have locations around the United States available for same day shipping, local and curbside delivery, and in store pickup. Specializing in fall protection climber kits, vertical systems, customized tool kits, and complete tool tethering solutions. www.gme.com

MOVING ENERGY

FORWARD Services & Capabilities • Transportation Management • Quality Management • Distribution Services • Product Maintenance

Petzl America

NORTH AMERICAN LOCATIONS

Casper, WY Ross, ND Grand Forks, ND O'Neill, NE Deuel, SD Garden City, KS Parsons, KS Enid, OK Harlingen, TX Phenix City, AL Pueblo, CO

TP&L provides comprehensive transportation and logistics management services to renewable energy and industrial sectors across North America. With a strong focus on quality to ensure exceptional results; OEM's, project developers and supply companies can rely on TP&L's full-service logistics platform and limitless integration to manage the supply chain with increased efficiency and functionality.

Call for

FREE es!

sampl

The ANSI compliant VOLT WIND harness is designed with wear protectors on the waist and dorsal attachment point to protect the harness while moving around the inside of a turbine tower. Simple, FAST LT automatic buckles on the waist belt and leg loops make it easy to take the harness off and put on with wearer’s feet on the ground. The lightweight and breathable material on the wide, semi-rigid waist belt and leg loops maximizes airflow while also providing support, and foam shoulder straps are widely spaced to reduce chafing around the neck. Lanyard parking slots are on each shoulder strap, and in the event of a fall, release so the energy absorbers can deploy. www.petzl.com

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Safety Work Apparel

Blaklader Tech Products, Inc. Pure Safety Group Checkmate Xplorer Industrial Harness is comfortable and features a limited slip dorsal D-ring with a precise amount of vertical adjustment, designed to stay in place after multiple loadings and front ring for multiple attachments, with a lightweight aluminum quick-connect buckle.

Ergonomically suited to the product’s functions, it reduces wear on the webbing, allows easy connections, and provides critical pivot points for a greater range of motion. With a unique curved webbing that follows the contours of the body it provides a closer fit and sub-pelvic assembly for support and comfort. Meets or exceeds OSHA and ANSI standards. www.puresafetygroup.com

Tech Products, Inc. is a global source for identification products for the wind energy industry including, cable tags, tower (aerial) markers, and arc flash signs. Their products range from adhesive transformer labels, lock out tags, and RF signs. They follow all of the latest ANSI, OSHA, and NESC standards. Their focus is on the quality of their products with a high degree of customer service.

Blaklader has been manufacturing functional and sustainable workwear since 1959. They have built their brand on quality materials with application focused garment designs. Their FR product line is suitable for the clean energy segment. All FR products are and NFPA 70E compliant and CAT2 with an 11 cal/cm2 arc rating. They provide safety and comfort with their newly updated FR lineup of pants, hoodies, long sleeve T-shirts, 3 button henleys, and more. www.blaklader.com

www.techproducts.com

TeSuCon Technical Support & Consultancy Designed to save the lives of those working at altitudes ranging up to 984ft (300m), the Evacuator is a fast, simple, and easy-to-use (click and go) fireproof collective escape and emergency descent solution. Fireproof units, 3182°F (1750°C) for 30 minutes or 2192°F (1200°C) for 90 minutes, are customized for each turbine model and can be installed inside or outside of the nacelle, onshore or offshore.

Emergency descent is fully-automatic and mechanically controlled at a speed of 3.2ft/sec (1m/sec), without use of electricity. Units are compact and easy to maintain. The Evacuator is certified in compliance with ANSI Z359, CSA Z259. www.tesucon.com

SKYLOTEC The new SKYLOTEC CLAW Vertical Fall Arrest Cable Sleeve is designed to fit a wide variety of wire ropes and travel along the vertical system while providing fall arrest when needed. Engineered to fit 3/8 and 5/16-inch wire rope, this high quality, lightweight stainless-steel device travels smoothly up and down the vertical system without hanging up. The redundant safety features reduce the risk of improper installation and unsafe situations. The CLAW is independently tested to meets ANSI A14.308, CSA Z259.2.5-17 and OSHA requirements. www.skylotec.com

Pittsburgh, PA 412.462.6300

Thrive Workwear Thrive Workwear's protective work apparel has been providing solutions to the wind industry for nearly 10 years. Their line-up of clothing includes Flame Resistant work pants, FR work shirts, FR base layers, and FR outerwear designed specifically for wind technicians and construction workers. Their work pants feature full-time knee protection built-in with patented SQUISH pad technology. www.thriveworkwear.com

Large Inventory Fast Shipping Low Minimums Custom Parts MTO Technical Support

PEI Rebuild and Repair Kits for Generators & Motors

3M Wind Products

Shell Lubricants & Greases

Saint-Gobain Tapes

Marmon Electrical Wire & Cable

Amphenol Connectors & Lugs

sales@peipittsburgh.com

Proud Member & Supporter of:

Specialists in Electrical Insulation Since 1947

www.peipittsburgh.com / 1.800.462.4734

Brownsville, TX 956.554.3690

espanol@peipittsburgh.com

North American Clean Energy

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2021 wind buyers guide Small Wind Turbine Mfg (Under 100kW)

Software Supplier

BladeEdge Flower Turbine Flower Turbine’s aerodynamically advanced small vertical axis drag type turbines are efficient due to innovations in the turbines and how they are placed; they actually make their neighbors perform better. They are a solution for customers with a large flat roof or parking lot structure to build a small farm of 10 or more turbines. Each has a choice of 2, 3, or 5kw electronics. Residential Flower Turbines will be available soon. www.flowerturbines.com

BladeEdge offers a customized approach to blade inspection data and analytics through EDDIE, an artificial intelligence (AI) engine designed to process, identify, and manage inspection data automatically. Regardless of which method chosen for capturing data, or who is used for inspections, BladeEdge can leverage EDDIE to deliver a solution. EDDIE’s valuable insights inform strategic initiatives and revenuegenerating activities. BladeEdge helps users minimize efficiency loss, stop drowning in data, and maximize time. www.bladeedge.net

Clir Renewables

Meteodyn

Clir software turns renewable energy data into actionable insights. The cloud-based tools were designed by renewable energy experts for renewable project stakeholders. Their proprietary algorithm cleans and analyzes ingested data, enabling project stakeholders to maximize production, monitor asset health, and manage technical financial risk. Clir communicates data analysis, actions, and recommendations through the platform, creating a digital conversation between clients and their dedicated renewable energy expert.

Clir supports over 7GW of assets globally across the onshore and offshore wind and solar industries.

Meteodyn WT is a CFD wind resource assessment software computes all the wind characteristics and estimates the annual energy production (AEP) for a wind farm, whether on simple or complex terrain. It integrates the latest IEC standards. Meteodyn WPA is a wind farm performance analysis software which automatically analyzes the SCADA data of wind turbines, then presents the data on graphs or on combined indicators, making it simple for the data to be analyzed in depth. Forecast, wind power generation forecasting service, is accurate from minutes to 12 days ahead, thanks to its weather forecasting and statistical machine learning combination.

www.clir.eco

www.meteodyn.com

Staffing

SD Wind Energy SD Wind designs, manufactures, and supplies small wind turbines across the globe. With over 5,000 wind turbine installations in over 70 countries, they can deliver small scale renewable energy needs world-wide. The SD Wind Energy product range covers a wide array of applications and has a unique downwind design and ability to operate in all wind speeds without the need to shut-down. With over 30 years experience of installations in harsh environments, the SD Wind turbine is a reliable small scale turbine.

SD Wind’s 3KW and 6KW wind turbines are manufactured in Scotland and sold through dealers and installers.

BluWave-ai

www.sd-windenergy.com

www.bluwave-ai.com

Indji Systems

BluWave-ai offers an AI-enabled software-as-aservice (SaaS) for rapid deployment with a low upfront cost and immediate operating savings while also reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

The platform consumes data from grid IoT devices (sensors, meters) and delivers real-time dispatch commands. It is predictive, performing analytics on incoming data, discovering patterns, and improving as it operates and adapting to changing situations.

BluWave-ai leverages industry standards to ensure interoperability with SCADA and IoT devices, weather inputs, planned schedules, event signals, market pricing, and performance objectives.

The Indji Watch solution partners with and delivers data from trusted and reliable sources to provide users with accurate real-time weather alerts, and hourly-updating forecasts. Their Plan of Day dashboard will help users quickly identify rapidly changing weather at-a-glance, allowing them to be more proactive in mitigating potential impacts to their operation and employee safety. From a system-wide overview right down to an individual asset, Indji Watch will ensure that the team has the best possible picture of what the weather will be doing in the near future, the possible impact it may have on their assets, and analytic capabilities to what happened in the past. www.indjiwatch.com

BRUSH & HOLDER KITS

PETZL HELMET SOLUTIONS

• Custom Engineered Parts • Precision Machined Brass Brush Holder • Adjustable Grounding Holders • Replaceable Spring Clips & Brush Boxes

Petzl provides a custom solution to personalize helmets with a sticker or pad print logo, reflective stickers and colors. For more information, visit PetzlHelmetSolutions.com

1-800-962-4851 | helwigcarbon.com

NOVEMBER•DECEMBER2020 /// www.nacleanenergy.com

ElectricalAp_WindEnergy_2020_35x4875.indd 1

PeopleReady can quickly mobilize a qualified workforce for energy and industrial projects.

These enormous projects require a large volume of skilled workers who can be hard to find in the remote locations where these projects are built.

They can provide traveling teams, highly skilled craftspeople, and more for solar, wind, and industrial plant projects. skilled.peopleready.com

Steel Plate Supplier

Leeco Steel

© 2019 - Petzl Distribution - James Roh

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PeopleReady

10/13/20 5:30 PM

Leeco Steel stocks and sells steel plate, maintaining a large inventory of carbon, high strength low alloy, and alloy steel plate coming from worldwide mills. Founded in 1882, Leeco has 11 strategically located distribution centers in North America that are stocked with high quantities of carbon- and heat-treated steel plate, and also supplies large-quantity commodity products to companies around the world via its Trading division. www.leecosteel.com

Testing | Inspection Services

Hastings Hot Line Tools & Equipment

Megger The MIT410/2 is a handheld field rugged instrument that performs the fundamental test of electrical system reliability, insulation resistance.

It also performs a regime of corollary tests which help the operator fine tune the final assessment.

It offers preventive and predictive maintenance on generators and cables up to 200 gig ohms. The unit is rated CAT IV 600 volt protection from arc flash/ arc blast. It also measures ac and dc voltage. us.megger.com

WindCom Services WindCom remains on schedule for the year as they continue to cautiously operate at full capacity in the field. Now, more than ever, they are recommending Chronos Inspections (high speed camera inspections) which allow technicians to stay on the ground reducing their contact with other workers and uptower equipment. www.windcomservices.com

Tel-O-Pole II from Hastings is a no twist stick with a unique triangular design to enable each section to lock in automatically. With no need to look for the button, lineworkers can open and close disconnect switches, replace fuses on transformers, and prune trees with peace of mind. The pole’s ergonomic design allows lineman a better grip and control. Sections can be removed or added to reach the desired pole length as well. www.hfgp.com

ITH Engineering ITH Bolting Technology manufactures bolting tools and systems for thread sizes as small as M16 up to M510 and larger, including standard products and custom designs engineered based on customer needs. The full scope of tools includes hydraulic bolt tensioners, hydraulic torque wrenches, and torque multipliers ranging from electric, pneumatic, and battery driven. ITH offers standard bolting system packages including tools and fasteners, and the maintenance-free bolting system which specifically includes ITH bolt tensioners and IHF tension fasteners. www.ith.com

MISTRAS Group, Inc. MISTRAS Group is a OneSource provider of wind energy asset protection solutions. Their integrated approach to blade management includes inspection, maintenance, and remote monitoring to maximize uptime and performance for blades, towers, and transformers. They offer a variety of access and drone capabilities, enabling safe at-height asset protection for onshore and offshore equipment.

MISTRAS’ portfolio of solutions includes non-destructive testing (NDT) inspection, complex laminate and coating repairs, light mechanical service, general repair support, fleet-wide condition monitoring, lab materials testing, and root cause analysis. www.mistrasgroup.com

Q-Lab Corporation Q-Lab Corporation is a global provider of material durability testing products since 1956. They design and manufacture Q-PANEL standard test substrates as well as weathering, light stability, and corrosion testers. They perform ISO 10725-accredited accelerated laboratory test services at Q-Lab Florida, Q-Lab Deutschland, and Q-Lab China. Outdoor exposure testing is available at their test sites in Florida and Arizona. Their weathering products and services are used by materials scientists, research and development engineering, and quality control personnel in numerous industries.

windtest north-america, inc.

High-quality, comprehensive testing, measurement, analysis, and validation for clients engaged in wind energy and other industries.

They work with wind turbine manufacturers, investors, lenders, developers, municipalities, colleges and universities, wind farm owners, and grid operators to prove the validity, quality, efficiency, safety, and long-term return on investment of their projects. www.windtest-northamerica.com

Tools

Fluke Fluke 376 FC True-RMS Clamp Meter with iFlex is a meter for turbine repairs. This clamp meter packs a powerful punch without taking up too much space or weighing a tool bag down. The 376 FC is designed squeeze into tight spaces with the iFlex probe paired with Fluke Connect to remotely log, trend, and monitor measurements and pinpoint intermittent faults. Plus, the clamp meter carries a CAT III 1000 V, CAT IV 600 V safety rating, designed to offer high protection. www.fluke.com

www.q-lab.com

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McCann Equipment, Ltd.

C.H. Robinson Project Logistics

McCann Equipment Ltd. is a multi-branch Canadian industrial tool distributor, specializing in the sale, service, and rental of torque and tensioning products. Their services include the repair, calibration, and certification of torque tools (manual, electric, pneumatic, hydraulic), transducers, and testers. Additionally, they certify air pressure gauges and hydraulic gauges as well as tension calibration testers (Skidmore).

Each of the company’s branch offices is ISO 17025 accredited. The scope and accreditation for each is available on their website.

C.H. Robinson Project Logistics has experience in developing and executing successful logistics plans for the transportation and management of heavy-lift and over-dimensional wind turbine equipment - from pick-up to final site. After a proactive analysis of all requirements, they help their clients develop solutions and contingency plans to help ensure shipping schedules are consistently met. They offer several services, including: detailed route planning; part/full charters; aircraft chartering and emergency rush air freight; accurate documentation; timely status reports; and consulting services for complex letters of credit and bid documents. Their experienced team of professionals is available onsite at global locations to manage the successful completion of technically demanding projects.

www.torquetools.com

Norwolf Tool Works, Inc. The X-Driver, is a versatile, multi-patented hydraulic torque wrench system based on a powerhead that works with 3 different drives. The drives are the A-Drive: a dedicated low-profile hex ratchet, the M-Drive: with options for ratcheting, non-ratcheting, and swing open hex cassettes, and the V-Drive: a Square Drive. The X-Driver is a safe, fast, thin, and flat tool.

Stahlwille Tools, LLC SmartCheck is a newly launched, small sized, versatile, and easy-to-use torque tester that will find a home in any workshop and service vehicle.

Due to its compact dimensions, the ability to mount it horizontally or vertically, and the rotatable display, it can be used virtually anywhere.

Display and keypad are splash-proof and it can be operated through power supply or battery. SmartCheck quickly provides information on whether or not a torque wrench is still within the prescribed tolerances or whether it requires adjustment. The integrated visual and audible overload protection mechanism, and impact resistant plastic housing ensure the durability customers expect of STAHLWILLE. www.stahlwille-americas.com

Tower Foundations

www.chrprojectlogistics.com

www.norwolf.com

Almita Piling, Inc.

Pro Torque Tools Pro Torque Tools carries an extensive selection of quality, industrial grade torque tools. They are an authorized distributor and offer tools from brands such as CDI by Snap-On Industrial Brands, Williams Tools, Seekonk, Norbar, Tohnichi, Digitool Solutions, Precision Instruments, and TorqUP Pneumatic Tools. Their torque wrenches make it easy to apply the correct amount of torque for any job. Prevent overtightening or stripping of screws with their torque screwdrivers. Their torque testers correctly calibrate torque tools, and recalibrate with their torque calibration systems.

Almita provides the design, manufacture, and install of helical piles. Their team of project management professionals, geo-technical engineers, and structural engineers allows Almita to analyze their client's foundation challenges and recommend effective solutions. www.almita.com

Trade Fair

www.protorquetools.com

Wind Energy Hamburg Every two years the wind industry meets at WindEnergy Hamburg.

1400 exhibitors from 100 countries present their innovations and solutions. Leading OEMs and suppliers of system components for the onshore and offshore wind energy value chain provide a comprehensive overview of the market. The Expo is accompanied by a conference program managed by WindEurope and GWEC. WindEnergy Hamburg 2020 will take place on a digital platform. The next physical event in Hamburg will take place in September 2022.

CN CN offers rail and transload services for dimensional loads and heavy equipment, supporting industries such as the wind industry, oil and gas, power generation, construction, and mining. Their network runs across North America from West to East, South from the Gulf coast into northern regions of Canada, and with direct access to strategic ports in the Great Lakes. They extend their reach by working with connecting carriers, partner shortlines, ports, and other parties to develop efficient routes, providing solutions for loading, offloading and marshalling their customers’ freight. www.cn.ca

www.windenergyhamburg.com

Transportation | Logistics

Doleco USA, Inc. Anderson Trucking Services (ATS) ATS, a worldwide transportation and project management provider, executes the many logistical elements of multifaceted and often multimodal energy projects. ATS also specializes in the physical transport of the oversized and over-dimensional loads that come with them. Having safely moved more than 215,000 wind components since 2003, ATS currently provides transportation solutions for approximately one-third of North America’s wind projects annually.

With 65 years of experience in the transportation industry, ATS is a third generation family-owned company headquartered in St. Cloud, Minnesota. www.atsinc.com

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Doleco USA provides a complete line of load securement and lifting slings and equipment for the wind industry. They are dedicated to providing a wide array of products including wire rope assemblies, web and chain slings, as well as all types of load securement. Doleco USA can also provide engineered solutions to any lifting and securement application needs. www.doleco-usa.com

DRIVING FORCE DRIVING FORCE has an extensive inventory of work trucks, commercial trucks, and new and used trucks. They rent, lease, and sell cars, lightand medium-duty trucks, vans, SUVs, cube vans, service bodies, and more to customers ranging from single truck landscaping companies to major municipalities and corporations. Equipment provided can include radios and buggy whips, tool boxes and hitches, fire extinguishers, and first aid. They can decal vehicles, deliver to site, and shift rental periods on short notice. They also offer used vehicle leasing, a selection of Certified Used vehicles, and fleet management services. www.drivingforce.ca

Emmert International Emmert International provides engineered transportation and rigging services specializing in wind components, both on and off highway. www.emmertintl.com

Goldhofer Aktiengesellschaft Goldhofer offers a range of vehicles for transporting wind turbines and power plant components: flatbed or gooseneck semitrailers, and semitrailers with dropdeck, tower adapters and vessel decks. For the transport of the individual parts of wind turbines Goldhofer offers various transport vehicles such as: flatbed gooseneck semitrailers, extendable platform semitrailers, modules with tower adapters, blade transport devices, blade tip lifting devices, and heavy-duty equipment for offshore turbines.

Northern Mat & Bridge L.P. Northern Mat & Bridge is a Canadian company providing temporary access solutions and portable bridges. A multitude of access matting products like access, crane, rig, and digging mats provide easy and simple temporary roads and platforms for any construction or maintenance work in the renewable energy sector. They also offer mat washing services, utilizing the Matador. Their patented environmentally friendly mat washing unit allows companies to minimize disturbance on sensitive land and give land owners the confidence that their land is being protected during any industrial activity. Northern Mat & Bridge serves Canada with over 60+ yards from coast to coast. www.northernmat.ca

Port of Longview The Port of Longview has more than 10 years experience handling wind cargo. In 2016, Port of Longview discharged blades direct-to-rail, decreasing handling costs and reducing the risk of damaged cargo. The Port is served by BNSF and UP, offers double tracked on-dock rail, and a 70 acre paved laydown yard. Their equipment consists of 2 heavy lift Liebherr mobile harbor cranes, reach stackers, and other equipment for their customers’ handling needs. Located on the deep-draft Columbia River in Washington State, just 66 miles from the Pacific Ocean with direct access to Interstate 5 and BNSF mainline, the Port of Longview offers a full service transportation destination. www.portoflongview.com

Port Milwaukee Port Milwaukee is positioned on the western shores of Lake Michigan and strategically located in the industrial center of the US. With access to international markets via the St. Lawrence Seaway system and the Gulf of Mexico via the Mississippi River inland system, they provide quality cargo management services and efficient terminal handling resources provided by trained, safety-oriented staff with a focus on customer support. www.portmilwaukee.com

Port of Stockton The Port of Stockton is an inland facility located in the extended San Francisco Bay Area that has handled breakbulk cargo since 1933. They have around the clock security and uniquely offers customers 24/7 access to their freight. The Port has 2.5 miles of on-dock rail connecting to the UP and BNSF that offer service throughout the United States. It is adjacent to uncongested highways, I-5, CA-4, and CA-99, and is an hour from I-80. The Port of Stockton has handled numerous shipments of clean energy cargo of all shapes and sizes. www.portofstockton.com

www.goldhofer.com

Logisticus Projects Group Logisticus Group specializes in energy logistics, project management, storage, civil engineering, and technology.

Logisticus Group’s processes, technology solutions, personnel, and business model deliver a predictable, controlled, efficient, and expedited project. Their customized services are designed to de-risk their clients’ projects, while providing a white glove level of service. www.logisticusgroup.com

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2021 wind buyers guide Yaw, Pitch & Blade Sensors

\ \

Phoenix Contact Transportation Partners and Logistics Port of Vancouver USA To support transportation of wind energy components, the port has two Liebherr mobile harbor cranes that can lift 140-MT each and 210-MT in tandem, a multi-purpose crane with 51-MT capacity, and crane operators certified in tandem and engineered lifts. Stevedoring equipment includes trailers and reach-stackers to efficiently move cargo. They have over 100 acres of laydown space and their completed rail expansion project triples capacity and increases velocity on the mainline by 40%. www.portvanusa.com

Currently serving a variety of OEMs, project developers, and supply companies, TP&L provides logistics and transportation management for a variety of industries across the entire supply chain. Since 2012, TP&L’s one-stop-shop for logistics and management solutions has assisted more than 75 wind farms, multiple oil/gas drilling projects, and agriculture throughout the United States, Canada, and Mexico. TP&L’s team of in-house engineers are top-load certified and ready to take the lead when it comes to any logistical needs. From port to pad they deliver economically, safely, and on time. www.tpandl.com

Wind Assessment | Forecasting

The Blade Intelligence load monitoring system (RM-S) can provide data on adverse factors affecting wind turbine operation. The robust and cost-efficient sensor technology simplifies and shortens the commissioning of the measuring unit. Four strain gauge sensors mounted on the roots of each wind turbine rotor blade provide information on tensile and torsional loads.

With these, a long-term record of the wear, relevant wind load on the blade, as well as important system adjustments can be monitored in real time. This makes it possible to optimize system efficiency and minimize bearing and material load. Control data is made available via the shared compact evaluation unit, which improves the operation and recording of the load conditions. www.phoenixcontact.com

OTHER Balance of Plant

Thrustmaster of Texas, Inc. Thrustmaster is a 36 year old designer and manufacturer of marine propulsion systems and dynamic positioning systems for vessels of all types and applications. Thrustmaster operates out of its 300,000 sq/ ft climate controlled thruster and waterjet manufacturing facility at its world headquarters in Houston. Thrustmaster designs and manufactures marine propulsion systems for offshore wind turbine installation vessels, maintenance vessels, feeder barges, crew transfer vessels, fast supply vessels, cable lay, dredge, rock dumping, survey, and dive support vessels. www.thrustmaster.net

Global Weather Corporation Global Weather Corporation (GWC) is a Colorado-based weather data innovator, formed to commercialize technology from the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR). GWC’s WindWX service is built on a foundation of high-accuracy NCAR technology to enable reliable monitoring and prediction of wind energy, including power production.

Typical users are utilities, energy traders, farm operators, farm maintenance crews, and transmission operators. Data are provided every 15 minutes to 168 hours in machine-readable and user-display formats, and can integrate farm/turbine data when available. www.globalweathercorp.com

Light when you need it Aircraft Detection Lighting Systems

Exo With over 100 years of experience in structural inspection and remediation of T&D infrastructure, Exo offers asset management, inspection, and field repair services for utilities and renewable companies. Their engineering expertise and time-tested capabilities provide comprehensive in-facility inspections during manufacturing of towers, NDT field inspections for corrosion and welds on in service assets, and field repairs for coatings, welds and other structural issues. www.exoinc.com

Find out more:

contact@detect-inc.com

Night when you don’t Radar-Activated Obstruction Lighting

www.detect-inc.com

Brake Pads

Tribco, Inc. Tribco Inc. makes long lasting wind turbine brake pads lined with Braketex. Braketex is a 100% KEVLAR fibered textile composite friction lining. In addition to longer wear life, Braketex is nonabrasive and will not score or wear down brake rotors. Braketex also oxidizes as it wears so it does not create dust, thereby eliminating dust problems.

Consequently, Braketex helps wind turbine operators reduce maintenance downtime and expense while increasing reliability and uptime. www.tribco.com

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Electrical Insulation

Pittsburgh Electrical Insulation Pittsburgh Electrical Insulation is a manufacturer, converter, and distributor of electrical insulation materials focused on the OEM and service industries associated with motor, generator and transformer production and repair. With over 70 years of continuous operation, PEI remains a cost efficient, customer focused company dedicated to the supply of electrical insulation materials, IEEE and UL components, systems, and supplies for new power generation technology or for an unplanned outage on existing equipment. They maintain an inventory of high performance materials, both rigid and flexible, and are able to convert those products to customer requirements with short lead times.

They represent manufacturers such as St. Gobain, 3M, and Kaneka, augmented with a global sourcing practice that gives their customers options for any application. www.peipittsburgh.com

Elevators

Rescue and Safety Training

Elevator Industry Work Preservation Fund

TEAM-1 Academy, Inc.

Highly trained elevator mechanics from the International Union of Elevator Constructors not only keep elevators running, they keep them running efficiently, and above all, safely. They have over 28,000 trained professionals with over 8000 on-the-job hours and over 2500 classroom hours, with as many as 450+ companies ready to serve. Whether it’s installation, repair, maintenance, or inspections, EIWPF can help, and provide compliance and safety inspections across the US as well. Their staff sits on the ASME A17.8 committee that write the codes for these elevators.

TEAM-1 Academy, Inc. specializes in training for Working at Heights/Fall Protection, Confined Space, HazMat/Spill Response, many forms of Rescue, and much more. They provide Professional Safety and Rescue Training, Equipment Sales + Service + Inspections, and Consulting Services for the renewable energy sector, utilities, energy sector, Fortune 500 companies, industry, construction, health care, fire services, police, EMS, military, MOE, government, and numerous others.

www.eiwpf.org

Legal Services

www.team1academy.com

Sectionalizing Cabinets

Nixon Peabody LLP

Nordic Fiberglass Inc.

Nixon Peabody has a comprehensive Energy practice, serving a multitude of complex issues that arise for their renewable energy clients. They understand the market, policies, and regulatory needs that affect the industry and come up with creative solutions to resolve each issue.

Collaborating across legal disciplines, they cover every aspect of renewable energy project development and finance, including property acquisition, project and portfolio M&A, debt, cash equity, tax equity financing, private placement, and lease financing. Additionally, they are well versed in the approval and permitting processes that projects require at the local, state, and federal levels. They work hard to remain a trusted legal advisor to clients shaping the future of renewable energy.

The ND-683054-MG-PA71-X-X is Nordic’s “Workhorse” for three phase 3 and 4 pt. 35kV 600Amp deadbreak sectionalizing cabinets for Wind Farm Collection Systems. This cabinet is made of Rust free fiberglass construction and stainlesssteel hardware. Nordic can supply and install up three, 3 or 4 pt. 35kV 600A junctions from various manufacturers with U-straps if requested by the customer.

PA71 mounting plate has six movable above parking stands to park stand-offs or feed throughs. Nordic recommends the optional CSB-6830 cable support bracket system for holding cables in place and cable clamps. 18" or 36" high extensions available for cables requiring a greater cable bending radii. www.nordicfiberglass.com

www.nixonpeabody.com

Electronic Component, Service Repairs

Industrial Repair Service Industrial Repair Services can repair pitch controls, uninterruptible power supplies, programmable logic controllers, human machine interfaces, touchscreens, printed circuit boards, thyristors, proportional valves, hydraulic pumps, encoders, transducers, servo motors, filter units, circuit breakers, AC drives, and AC converters. www.industrialrepair.net

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energy storage

Battery Behemoths

Covid-19 impact on electric ships

by Luke Gear

THE INTRODUCTION THIS YEAR

of the International Maritime Organization’s global sulphur limit on marine fuels (less than 0.5 percent by weight), alongside a growing base of zero-emission ports, is driving meaningful change in marine transportation. While multiple avenues to emissions reduction exists (fuel cells, LNG, alternative liquid fuels, scrubbers, slow-steaming etc.), batteries enhance these alternative solutions by peak-shaving, and will coexist rather than compete in applications where they lack energy density.

In the past five years, Li-ion battery adoption on ships has flourished as startups have capitalized on falling battery cell prices. Ultimately, this is driven by economies of scale of the battery-electric and plug-in hybrid passenger vehicle markets, which swept past 7 million total sales last year (representing roughly 230GWh).

The modern commercial electric vessel era began circa 2013, in short-sea and inland segments, particularly ferries. Ferries are the largest vessels capable of becoming pure electric because of the well-defined operational cycles. These cycles allow easy sizing of a battery, optimal location of shore-side charging infrastructure, and time to charge during normal operation (as passengers board).

While the number of electrified vessels is low (around 520 in total), marine battery demand is amplified by the large battery capacities per vessel, which is steadily increasing year on year.

In 2018, the largest marine battery order was 6MWh, which surged to 10MWh in 2019 (both for cruise ships). Although not yet on order, some operators have indicated potential roadmaps to install 50MWh battery systems on vessels once the technology has more field experience.

Battery demand from commercial electric vessels (MWh) 175 150 125 100 75 50 25 0 2015

2016

2017

Hybrid

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Hybrid costs reflect the initial cost of retrofitting a Li-ion battery plus yearly operational fuel costs. Internal-combustion costs reflect operational fuel costs only, from an existing vessel The marine sector has taken advantage of the auto industry’s economies of scale by using the same battery cell suppliers. However, designs differ at the system level because safety has become the focus of innovation: the risk from a serious battery fire is much greater on a vessel isolated out at sea.

The crown jewel of marine battery start-ups’ IP has therefore converged on the thermal management. The extra engineering (and manufacturing) to obtain the corresponding class compliance from industry certifiers, alongside the lower volumes, has created a premium over other electric vehicle sectors. Battery pack costs in the auto industry are at roughly $160 per kWh today, whereas marine battery systems are priced at up to four times this rate, depending on the chemistry and project size.

The current price level is, however, a drop from over $1000 per kWh in 2016, which has been low enough to induce an industry boom from 12MWh in 2015, to 152MWh

On a positive note, the decline will be short-term as batteries increasingly play a central role in hitting emissions targets.

Growth will recover quickly in 2021, (back to 2019 levels) as delayed projects restart; the market for commercial electric vessels will then accelerate for two decades to over $45 billion in 2041.

Luke Gear is a Senior Analyst at IDTechEx, where he leads the research on Electric Vehicles. He has a specialist knowledge of the markets and technologies underlying electric vehicles, as well as expertise in forecasting, technology benchmarking, and competitive landscape analysis.

IDTechEx /// www.idtechex.com/EV

last year. In part, this is because the industry is less price sensitive, but also because battery startups have capitalized on the industry practice of oversizing engines, which inflates both fuel consumption and operating costs.

On the previous page is a comparison between a conventional offshore support vessel (OSV) and a hybrid OSV, with each operating 200 days of the year. The hybrid OSV is retrofitted in the first year with a 650kWh battery. It breaks even after the fifth year. After the tenth year (the typical service life of the battery) the hybrid vessel has saved $726,000 on fuel.

The question is, against the backdrop of covid-19, will the growth continue? The marine industry is used to much longer sales cycles than on-road transport, so the true impact of the pandemic will be delayed. However, because the core driver of emissions regulation is not changing, it is likely that the disruption will be concentrated to certain subsegments that are more fundamentally affected.

Take, for example, cruise ships. In recent years, cruise ships have been criticized for higher levels of pollution during an industry boom. Like other sectors, the core driver to electrify is emissions reduction and regulation. Currently, the overall cruise sector is facing huge disruption, with passenger demand evaporating due to the risk of being confined at sea with thousands of passengers.

With project delays, alongside cancellations from vulnerable subsegments like cruise ships (which garner the largest battery orders), it is estimated that marine battery capacity installations will be down roughly 30 percent in 2020.

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energy storage

Retrofit Solution Complies with Approaching NERC Requirements

by Bryan Gehringer

Utilities are facing an upcoming 2022 deadline from the North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC), whereupon they must fully comply with an updated protection and control standard (PRC-002-2) for disturbance monitoring and reporting requirements for transmission and generation systems. The first milestone is 50 percent compliance by January 1, 2021, followed by 100 percent compliance by July 1, 2022.

The objective is to be able to standardize regional reliability requirements. This requires utilities to install Disturbance Monitoring Equipment (DME). The data collected by this equipment enables NERC to conduct forensic analyses of power failures to detect the causes in order to improve the safety and reliability of power delivery management.

The NERC standard requires a continuous, high resolution 10day recording of up to nine measurements per line of per-phase volts and amps, total MW and MVARs, and frequency. In addition, disturbances of interest must be archived for three years.

DME, as defined in the PRC002-02, must monitor Sequence of Events Recording (SER) Fault Recording (FR) and Dynamic Disturbance Recording (DDR) data. SER and Fault Recording functions are already well understood and widely deployed throughout the industry, but the DDR function is relatively new, and generally available in more expensive digital fault recorders (DFRs).

Although the majority of 230kV and higher voltage substations are likely already constructed with DFRs, the requirement for DME placement is based on the MVA short-circuit capacity of the bus,

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and so includes some lines down to 100kV. That is a voltage level where DFRs are not typically part of the original design.

In those locations, it may be necessary to add recording capability to an operational substation where there may not be room to retrofit a traditional DFR, and where pulling new CT, PT and I/O cables to one location would be a major undertaking.

Traditional microprocessor-based protective relays are also able to perform fault recording, but typically do not have the memory to monitor and store continuous flows of information for 10 days (as required by the PRC standard).

Depending on protective relays to provide DDR data is clunky, expensive, and maintenance intensive. Even if a utility could stream all the data from the relays to a central computer in realtime, the bandwidth required is massive, and the amount of storage space needed would add to the cost.

Utilities, therefore, have a need for simplified, economical solutions that can be retrofitted into existing substations to ensure compliance with PRC-002-2. Between relay-based recording and DFRs, one solution includes small, three-phase,

single-line devices that can utilize existing CTs and PTs that are already routed to protective relays. This approach is an attractive retrofit option - and more cost effective than installing full size DFRs. These Intelligent Electronic Devices (IEDs) are purpose built for this task, and only require the space of a relay. At least one solution on the market is compliant with NERC standards in SER, FR, and DDR recording: Operating at a rate of 30 samples per second, the IEDs capture frequency, total watts and VARs, and all three phases of volt and phase amps.

A specific challenge of the new NERC standard is preserving 10 days of continuous DDR recording data. In the PRC-002, R8 distinguishes continuous DDR recording from triggered DDR recording (continuous is preferred).

IEDs resolve this issue by supporting multiple logical recording functions in each unit. Each logical recorder includes two independent fault recorders, two independent disturbance recorders, a trend recorder, and a SER recorder.

The various logical recorders in the IEDs are able to capture data with varied duration, range, and resolution. They can also be triggered by entirely different criteria, and can be programmed to operate simultaneously or independently.

Because each logical recorder requires a few seconds to convert the data and store it in non-volatile memory, the

disturbance recorders are run in alternating hours, producing a sequence of COMTRADE (Common format for Transient Data Exchange) files, each one hour in duration.

By allocating sufficient memory to store 240 one-hour-long COMTRADE files, no data is lost. Additionally, a circular buffer is created that resides on the unit with new data overwriting old data after ten days. In other words, the DDR data doesn’t need to be streamed in real time across a network to a separate computer. It doesn’t even need to be downloaded, organized, or archived, except when NERC requests the data. At that point, only the data in the range of time NERC requests needs to be downloaded.

Not only do the IEDs provide all the recorded data required for PRC-002-2, they are also expandable, and can provide additional real-time data to Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) systems with tremendous accuracy. The IEDs can be configured to perform power quality functions not available in a protective relay, thereby effectively operating as a substation SCADA recorder device. In this way, the unit can provide more information on current and power than a power quality meter, which is usually focused mostly on voltage anomalies.

As utilities assess their options for compliance with the NERC standard, the emergence of the IED-based distributed event recording model sits between protective relays and DFRs on the recording spectrum, offering better recording capabilities than relays, and lower costs and easier deployment than DFRs.

Battery assembly solutions

Bryan Gehringer is Senior Application Engineer at NovaTech, a provider of IED solutions deployed in over 1200 U.S. utilities.

Mersen and F & K DELVOTEC have joined forces to create the optimum battery assembly solution to support 21700 series battery assembly systems.

The F & K DELVOTEC laser bonder interface guarantees a high speed, safe, robust, and efficient connection of the battery cells to the laminated bus bar.

The laminated bus bar is an ultra-thin single layer with interleaved contacts.

The bus bar is also a smart bus bar, it not only powers the battery cells but also monitors temperature and voltage of battery cells as needed. Bus bars also eliminate wiring error and provide an extra degree of robustness against shock and vibration in e-mobility installations.

To protect the battery assembly from over currents, a special low watt loss/ high cycling DC rated fuse is installed. The battery assembly is then secured onto a compact (7mm thick) liquid cooled cold plate, providing a homogenous cooling to all battery cells.

NovaTech /// www.novatechweb.com

Mersen /// ep.mersen.com

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energy storage

How Thin Plate Pure Lead (TPPL) Batteries Boost Renewable Energy Storage

by Eric Hill

THE GROWING RELIANCE ON RENEWABLE

energy sources has prompted an exponential growth in the industry of energy storage. Solar-plus-storage systems, in particular, have seen increased demand. Some common reasons for using solar-plusstorage systems include Time-of-Use (TOU) to offset peak utility rates or rolling blackouts, and minimize potential high costs of grid energy.

Other reasons include emergency backup power in the event of a grid outage from storms or earthquakes, as well as off-grid power that allows residences to reduce their dependency on the existing utility grid.

Energy storage is needed for the transition to a low-carbon, sustainable electrical grid. Batteries offer the advantages of relatively low initial costs and mobility. Battery storage is both well-suited for supporting the integration of wind and solar Photovoltaic (PV) power into the grid, and economical for short-term and small-capacity applications1. While hydroelectric-pumped storage accounts for the greatest share of large-scale energy storage in the United States, batteries account for the most growth in additional storage capacity since 20032.

Whether it is on a residential or utility scale, battery storage offers flexibility and versatility. It also benefits from being compact in size, easy to implement, economical, and readily available.

As of 2018, customers of the utility grid in the United States lost power for an average of 1.67 times per year, for a little less than 3 hours each time3. In addition to the frequency and duration of outages, the average American consumer uses 914 kWh of electricity per month, which breaks down to 1.27 kWh per hour. This means that most smallscale emergency backup needs for residential and light commercial applications (not using TOU to offset high utility costs) is 7-10 kWh of energy storage, to be used twice per year4.

Lead Acid Batteries

The relatively newer Lithium-ion (Li-ion) storage technology favors extreme cycling environments, such as residential and light commercial TOU, as well as specific utility operations5. Lead acid batteries, on the other hand, have been successfully used for decades as backup for industrial applications, including telecommunications and data networks6. Lead acid is one of the oldest types of rechargeable battery technology, with a long history of dependability and the advantage of relatively low manufacturing costs.

Valued for their sustainability, lead acid batteries have a 99 percent recycle rate. Lead components, plastic containers and acid electrolytes are easily separated and recycled with little energy, with lead emissions easily contained. Costs that can be recovered from recycling keep the process efficient and economical, as opposed to other chemistries, such as Li-ion, which is plagued by higher prices and lower recycling rates7.

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Lead acid batteries typically offer efficient short-time reserves that are useful for local, residential, and small commercial systems8. They offer the best cost/performance ratio in terms of capital cost per kilowatt-hour and kilowatt, with a tradeoff of shorter lifetimes and only average efficiency9.

Further savings in lifetime costs of lead acid batteries are possible with best practices in design, manufacturing, and operation, which can help avoid early failure and curtailment of battery service life10.

Thin Plate Pure Lead (TPPL) Technology

Among the recent improvements to lead acid batteries has been the use of Thin Plate Pure Lead (TPPL) technology. TPPL batteries are manufactured in a proprietary, continuous, and highly-controlled plate fabrication process that ensures maximum consistency in the composition of battery components, especially the plates. Pure acid and lead consume energy more efficiently. They also improve conductivity by reducing the rate of plate corrosion, and avoid the calcification that is common in alloyed lead acid batteries. By using a TPPL battery in a renewable energy emergency backup application, customers can maintain their quality of life, and that of the environment, with this effective and economical solution.

TPPL technology delivers the following improvements in performance to lead acid batteries: • With greater energy density, smaller and lighter TPPL batteries can achieve the same run times as larger, conventional lead acid batteries.

• Following a full discharge, TPPL batteries typically achieve 100 percent State of Charge (SOC) in 50 percent less time, compared with conventional lead acid batteries.

• By reducing plate corrosion and growth, TPPL batteries offer a longer shelf life (18 months) than lead calcium batteries (typically 6 months) at 77º F (25º C).

• High-purity materials enable a reduction of gas generation within the cell, which can contribute to expanding the range of operating temperatures beyond the standard of 77º F (25º C) to as high as 95º F (35º C).

• TPPL technology enables batteries to have as much as 25 percent longer service life (seven years or longer) than the typical threeyear service life of lead-calcium batteries at 77º F (25º C).

• TPPL batteries use thinner internal plates that allow for added surface area and higher power density with low internal resistance.

• TPPL batteries offer quicker harvesting of solar power, better power delivery, and more flexible system sizing than conventional lead acid batteries.

Bakos, Panagiotis, “Life Cycle Cost Analysis (LCCA) for utility-scale Energy Storage systems,” University of Illinois at Chicago, 2016, p. 55, https://journals.uic.edu/ojs/ index.php/JUR/article/download/7556/6048 2 U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) Independent Statistics and Analysis. (n.d.)., p.3, Retrieved July 20, 2020, from https://www.eia.gov/electricity/data/eia861/ 3 Ibid., p.1 1

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) - U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA). (n.d.), p.1 Retrieved July 20, 2020, from https:// www.eia.gov/tools/faqs/faq.php?id=97 5 Hart, David M., William B. Bonvillian and Nathaniel Austin, “Energy Storage for the Grid: Policy Options for Sustaining Innovation,” MIT Energy Initiative, April 2018, p. 6, https://energy.mit.edu/wp-content/ uploads/2018/04/Energy-Storage-for-the-Grid.pdf 6 May, Geoffrey J., Alistair Davidson and Boris Monahov, “Lead batteries for utility energy storage: A review,” Journal of Energy Storage, Elsevier, November 2017, p. 146, https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/ pii/S2352152X17304437 4

Ibid., p. 147 Ibid., p. 146 9 Baes, Kurt, et al., “Battery Storage: Still Too Early?” Arthur D. Little, January 2017, p. 15, http://www.adlittle.com/ sites/default/files/viewpoints/ADL_ Battery%20Storage.pdf 10 Op. cit., p. 151 11 Ibid., p. 147 7 8

The NSB BLUE+ Battery® with TPPL-C chemistry for renewable energy cycling applications results is a long-lasting, high cycling battery that meets the challenge of extreme cycle life with quick energy delivery.

Thin Plate Pure Lead Carbon (TPPL-C) Batteries

Renewable energy sources, especially solar PV, typically cause batteries to discharge without the opportunity to fully recharge before being used again.

This Partial State of Charge (PSOC) operation can cause irreversible sulfation to the negative plates, which compromises battery life11. One solution to this problem is the addition of carbon to the negative active material in TPPL batteries, thereby creating Thin Plate Pure Lead Carbon (TPPL-C) batteries.

The carbon additive dramatically reduces the sulfation rate, and provides up to five times faster recharge rates, which allow a TPPL battery to survive longer in a heavy cycling or PSOC application. This puts the performance of TPPL-C batteries closer to that of more advanced energy storage like Li-ion.

The variety of available battery chemistries offers new possibilities in how the industry can meet the growing storage demands of renewable energy.

Improvements to this proven technology have enabled the lead acid battery, a mature technology, to maintain its place in a rapidly changing environment.

Eric Hill is an Energy Storage & Systems Manager at Alpha Technologies Services, an EnerSys company.

EnerSys manufactures and distributes energy systems solutions and motive power batteries, specialty batteries, battery chargers, power equipment, battery accessories, and outdoor equipment enclosure solutions to customers worldwide. Eric Hill has 12 years of experience in energy storage product management and operations, working with several applications that include renewable energy, broadband, telecom, industrial and datacenter UPS. He is experienced with multiple chemistries: lead acid, Lithium-ion, NiCd, nickel-zinc, flow, aqueous, bi-polar and sodium-ion.

EnerSys /// www.enersys.com North American Clean Energy

73

energy storage

Maintaining Residential and Commercial Battery Storage System Capacity

by Sean Silvey

Lead acid batteries are everywhere. While they are a cheap and reliable energy source for our cars and generators, they also require a lot of maintenance to keep them at full capacity.

Lithium ion batteries, on the other hand, need less maintenance but cost more up-front. They are lightweight and have a high energy density. They can also be fully depleted without an issue, which is important with variable solar energy since the battery won’t always be charged fully.

With the growth of renewable energy, battery storage levels are going to play a significant role now. In fact, regulations on Energy Storage Systems (ESS) were even added to the National Fire Protection Association’s (NFPA) National Electrical Code (NEC) in 2017, and updated again in the 2020 NEC.

Common issues

Batteries can be sensitive to their surroundings. Taking the steps to maintain proper storage and health of the batteries can extend their lives. Three common issues seen with batteries include: 1. Temperature Batteries work best between 15 and 35 °C, and need a charge controller to receive a specific amount of current. At higher temperatures, internal corrosion in the battery is increased.

To offset this, store them in shaded and ventilated spaces.

At colder temperatures, the electrochemistry in the battery is slowed - that means it cannot deliver as much current (you’ve probably experienced this with your car battery not starting when it’s cold outside). A battery heater or thermal insulation can help offset this problem.

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2. Corrosion Terminal corrosion occurs when hydrogen gas is released from the acid within the battery and reacts with other substances. Electrolyte leaking from overfilling with water, or even overcharging, can cause corrosion on the battery terminals. As mandated in 706.31(A) of the NEC, antioxidant material can prevent and remove corrosion (always follow the manufacturer’s recommendations).

3. Sulfation With lead acid batteries, small sulfate crystals can build up on the terminals. This is also known as sulfation, if the state of charge (SOC) is too low. It’s critical to ensure a high SOC or the sulfation will reduce battery performance. To handle this issue, technicians need to watch for when the SOC drops too low. An alarm with a visual and audible notification can alert technicians of a low SOC (50 percent for lead acid batteries). If the charge does drop too low, a desulfating battery charger can be used to dissolve the sulfates with high-frequency electronic pulses.

Tools to diagnose battery health

The first step to keeping batteries running - at maximum capacity is ensuring that technicians know the internal health of the battery.

A battery analyzer is the best tool for maintenance, troubleshooting, and battery performance testing. It can be used with individual, stationary batteries as well as critical back-up battery banks.

• Battery analyzer A battery analyzer is turned to milliohms, then connected to the negative and positive terminals through test leads, at which point it will simultaneously display the battery voltage and internal resistance. Turning the analyzer’s dial to discharge mode allows it to measure capacity loss, meaning the battery stores less charge; in this mode, the analyzer reads the battery’s voltage multiple times until it goes below the cutoff value, where it would cause damage.

• Thermometer Temperature is critical for batteries to work properly. An IR thermometer or contact thermometer will help pinpoint where an issue is, especially if the facility has a bank of backup batteries. If a battery is overheating, the threshold setting on the thermometer will give a warning that the battery failed and exceeded the temperature set.

• Hydrometer A hydrometer can also be used to show a battery’s SOC by measuring electrolytespecific gravity through the relative density of liquids.

Battery maintenance

While lead acid batteries have a low entry cost, their ongoing maintenance costs are higher than for lithium ion. It’s a smart practice to add the batteries to your preventive maintenance plans. This will help stay in control of weekly cleaning, testing, and top-up tasks to ensure the batteries remain at peak capacity.

In facilities with uninterruptible power supply (UPS) systems, incorporating ongoing battery maintenance into the regular schedule makes a huge difference. UPS systems provide backup power for plant emergency and safety shutdown systems, plant alarms, emergency lighting, generators, fire control, and even hospital life-support systems.

High energy storage pulse-discharge capacitors

Cornell Dubilier Electronics, Inc. announces a product expansion of standard and custom high energy storage, pulse-discharge capacitors. These are specialized devices, designed for applications requiring repetitive high energy and high voltage charge/discharge cycles. The capacitor technology is based on film dielectric with self-healing metalized or high current discrete foil electrodes, depending upon application requirements. There are both dry and oil-impregnated types, offered with a broad range of plastic or metal packaging configurations and a variety of terminal options. Designed to deliver large amounts of energy in short bursts, these devices are aimed at end-product applications in external defibrillators, industrial lasers, critical military applications, pulse forming networks, and more. Reliability of these capacitors is paramount, and must therefore be designed, constructed, and tested to deliver consistent performance over the life of the application. Cornell Dubilier’s high energy storage, pulse-discharge capacitors are designed and built in the USA, with voltage ratings up to 100kV and peak discharge current ratings of up to 250kA.

Cornell Dubilier Electronics, Inc /// www.cde.com

UPS Systems

A UPS system can convert stored energy from the battery into AC power to keep plant systems running, even if there is an abrupt interruption in power. During normal preventive maintenance checks, a power consultant should begin by going through the whole facility looking for hotspots, loose connections, and heat dissipation.

If no issues are found, focus turns to the UPS system itself. This involves thoroughly checking over the whole system, starting with the battery charger and individual cell voltage readings. Using a digital multimeter, an insulation meter, a clamp meter, a portable oscilloscope, an mA loop calibrator, and a thermal imager, every aspect of the UPS system is inspected to make sure they’re running at peak performance. The consultant’s job consists of about 90 percent scheduled maintenance and 10 percent emergency responses. Focusing on regular battery system checks means that customers can depend on their UPS systems without needing the knowledge and expertise to maintain it themselves.

The battery path you choose will depend on your facility’s priories and costs. As costs continue to decline for lithium ion and other non-lead acid batteries - and their use in solar and wind energy continues to grow - batteries will increasingly become an essential part of facilities.

New nationwide financing option for residential solar

Panasonic and Service Finance Company announced PowerOn, a new home energy storage financing program exclusively for Panasonic EverVolt Certified Installers that enables them to offer 100% financing to homeowners who buy a complete energy storage system including EverVolt battery storage and Panasonic brand solar modules, or EverVolt battery storage. The PowerOn program offers affordable payments for homeowners and speedy payment to Installers. Homeowners will be able to use any federal tax credits and local incentives to lower their payments and pay down loans faster through refinancing. All promotional loans offered through the PowerOn program include competitive finance terms.

Panasonic Corporation of North America /// na.panasonic.com/us/solar

Sean Silvey is a Product Specialist for Fluke Corporation, a worldwide company that manufactures, distributes, and services electronic test tools and software.

Fluke /// www.fluke.com

Enhanced protection and safety in PV and battery energy systems

Alencon Systems LLC has launched a new installation option for its BOSS and SPOT lines of galvanically isolated DC:DC converters, the FEED (fused electrical disconnect). The FEED is an integrated unit installed with a SPOT or BOSS device in the factory. The FEED allows for a variety of interconnection and fusing options for Alencon’s DC:DC products. The FEED offers end users flexibility in deploying Alencon’s products. The FEED allows the user to specify the type of terminations on both the input and output of the device, including either screw terminals or PV connectors, appropriately rated disconnects and fuses as well as ground fault indication and fusing. The FEED has been specifically designed to simplify the deployment of Alencon devices across a broad variety of applications including repowering aged PV systems, DC coupling solar plus storage, EV charging, and integration with fuel cells, among others.

Alencon Systems /// www.alenconsystems.com North American Clean Energy

75

energy efficiency

How DER Management Will Help Drive the Clean Energy Transition

by Dr. Graham Ault

Technology R&D and business innovation are key drivers of the clean energy transition, along with supportive policy, smart finance, and collaboration across relevant stakeholder groups.

There have been amazing strides forward in the availability, performance, and costs of low carbon technologies and the means of their deployment as effective clean energy system assets.

The systems that integrate energy assets to grids, and enable their operation in markets, are particularly important in realizing the full value and growth of distributed energy resources (DER). These DER Management Systems (DERMS) enable cost efficient operations and scalability through volume replication of energy asset deployments and business models.

Main applications of DERMS:

Utility DERMS enable faster and less expensive interconnection, providing benefits to DER developers and operations. Utility DERMS also deliver grid management functions that harness the benefits of DER in the grid, while protecting against the potential downsides on supply continuity, supply quality, and public supply network and asset protection.

Fleet DERMS manage the operation, customer, and commercial exploitation of distributed energy opportunities by providing fleet wide visibility and controllability of diverse and geographically distributed energy assets. Customer interactions, market integration, and operating schedule optimization are key functions of Fleet DERMS that enable DER asset owners to deliver their business goals.

Microgrid applications of DERMS enable the grid and market interactions of energy assets in grid-connected and island operating modes, while ensuring that the primary resiliency goals can always be delivered. Grid Edge components of DERMS implementations provide the energy asset integration to Utility, Fleet, and Microgrid DERMS (as well as local, on-site capabilities, and data services).

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Real-life examples of DER management R&D and its impact

Major milestones have been reached as a result of R&D in DERMS technology. In the UK, applications of Utility DERMS have provided flexible distributed generation grid connections for distribution network operators, releasing more than $300 million of investment, and leading to the interconnection of over 425MW in renewable and other clean energy assets – with the additional value of network operator reported capital expenditure savings of $150 million from avoided grid upgrades.

Recently published analysis illustrates the value of connecting more renewable energy assets and batteries to its grid, as well as the role of DERMS in delivering other advanced network management functions: autoswitching, transmission system interactions, system services delivery.

R&D and innovation programs include a focus on energy storage optimization. DERMS deployments can create the bridge between battery assets and the targeted on-site value streams, grid services, wider system operation, and market revenue streams. Managing the growing and complex stack of possible battery revenue streams requires sophisticated operational analytics – all of which is implemented with DER device scheduling and control.

There is significant potential for unique value stacking and enhancing applications of Fleet DERMS capabilities; delivery of a further application of Fleet DERMS, in the shape of an “energy as a service” platform, offers product capabilities for energy service companies to manage their own and customer clean energy assets, securing site, grid, and market revenue streams.

Heavier investment in electric vehicles (EV) will require a vast increase in the number of charging points connected to the power network. Already,

Enhanced cooling solution for IGBT generation

some projects are delivering a range of EV smart charging approaches from the same utility DERMS platform as other flexible generation interconnection use cases – coordinating the delivery of multiple smart, flexible, clean energy applications from a single platform. A combined conventional/smart grid investment approach has been shown to minimize costs while ensuring adequate charging capabilities.

The potential for the growing DERMS landscape

The impact of DERMS R&D on clean energy developments and the business of utilities, DER fleet operators, and microgrid providers is becoming ever more apparent in the trend of energy decarbonization, decentralization, and digitalization. The next steps in further R&D should look to integrate electric heating and alternative fuels (such as green hydrogen) into the grid.

Innovation and applied R&D in the DER management space need to be carried out in partnership with energy market participants, grid operators, technology companies, and government agencies, amongst others.

This has been a feature in achieving the big strides forward in DER management and value creation to date, and reflects the multi-faceted nature and integrated systems approaches required.

To deliver the true potential of connected and optimized energy assets requires smart finance. That, in turn, requires mature technological solutions that reliably deliver the enhanced value from DER that financiers can trust and back. Policy and regulation also need to see the outputs of past R&D applied to the real issues of the clean energy transition. This provides the essential inputs to further policy, and the instruments to underpin the scale up and roll out of the smartest, most cost-effective means of greening the energy system.

The scene is now truly set for the exploitation of existing DER management R&D to deliver dial-shifting impact.

Additional, well-targeted innovation programs are needed to further enhance the visibility, controllability, and market integration of DER assets to deliver the multiple value streams planned.

Dr. Graham Ault is Co-Founder and Executive Director at Smarter Grid Solutions, a software company that provides technology that allows distribution utilities and owner/ operators to interface DER to both markets and networks.

Smarter Grid Solutions

/// www.smartergridsolutions.com

Mersen’s IsoMAXX Vacuum Brazed Cold Plates is a cooling solution for latest generation PrimePACK IGBTs. IsoMAXX represents a super compact cooling solution providing unsurpassed cooling performance with a high degree of thermal homogeneity on chip-to-chip and module-tomodule configurations. The new generation of PrimePACK IGBT modules boast an increased power dissipation compared to previous generations. Mersen’s patented IsoMAXX Vacuum Brazed Cold Plates were designed by Mersen engineers to provide an efficient cooling pattern, along with a compact design, thereby addressing and responding to the newest PrimePACK IGBT modules need for increased power dissipation and overall reduced inverter footprint.

Mersen /// ep.mersen.com

Open and scalable ecosystem for digitalization of transformers

Hitachi ABB Power Grids has launched the TXpert Ecosystem for digitalization of transformers.

The ecosystem is designed to drive datadriven intelligence and decision making in the operations and maintenance of transformers and power grids. It is a complete suite of products, software, services, and solutions that work together and have the capability to integrate with new and existing digital equipment from other manufacturers. At the heart of the ecosystem is the TXpert Hub, a data monitoring and diagnostics device that also provides connectivity. Designed as an open platform, it is capable of integrating multiple sets of data from TXpert Ready sensors from diverse manufacturers, simplifying the digitalization of transformers in compliance with modern communication and stringent cybersecurity standards. Data and intelligence from the TXpert Hub can be accessed locally and if required from cloud-based solutions. TXpert enabled transformers can be augmented with Asset Performance Management (APM) solutions from Hitachi ABB Power Grids. As an enterprise level software solution, the APM can be used for individual, multiple or large fleets of transformers.

Hitachi ABB Power Grids Ltd. /// www.hitachiabb-powergrids.com

North American Clean Energy

77

eventscalendar

advertisers’websitedirectory

NOVEMBER

Page Company

Website

05-06

Solar and Energy Storage Midwest

Palmer House® Hilton – Chicago, IL; www.events.solar/midwest/

18 ACE Clamp/PMC Industries

19 Aggreko

3 APA

5 Baja Carports

54 Bishop Lifting Products

49 Blattner Energy

34 Buffalo Turbine

39 Castrol

13 Chilicon Power

16 Continential Control Systems

52 Cooper & Turner

9 Cornell Dubilier Electronics, Inc.

29 Crown Battery

20 CTC Global

66 Detect

22 e-On Batteries

24 Eko Instruments (USA) Inc

44 Electric Materials Company

51 Elevator Industry Work Preservation Fund

45 Hamburg Messe - WindEnergy Hamburg

42 Heico Fasteners

62 Helwig Carbon

27 Heyco

36 International Attachments

48 International Tower Lighting

56 ITH Engeering

58 Janicki Industries, Inc.

26 Kinetic Solar

50 Mankiewics Coatings

60 MarkingPenDepot

31 Maysteel

47 Mersen France Amiens S.A.S.

64 Midpoint Bearing

69 Nel Hydrogen

55 Ohio Carbon Industries

21 OMCO Solar

62 Petzl America

61 Pittsburgh Electrical Insulation

43 Port of Longview

IBC Port of Stockton

41 Port of Vancouver USA

IFC PV Label

17 QuickBolt

53 Reef Industries

71 Rhombus Energy Solutions

15 Rolls Battery

66 Sentinel Control Products LLC. OBC Shoals

73 Siba Fuses

33 Sinexcel

63 SKYLOTEC North America LP

25 Solar Connections International

30 Solmetric

11 Soltec

58 Stahlwille Tools

65 STEGO, Inc

34 SunSweep

35 Superb Horticulture

7 TDK Electronics

60 Transportation Partners and Logistics LLC

14 We Recycle Solar 23, 57 & 67 WECS Renewables

59 Windcom

32 Word Rock Drills

www.aceclamp.com/solar-racking-systems aggreko.com apalternatives.com bajacarports.com www.lifting.com blattnerenergy.com buffaloturbine.com castrol.com/windenergy www.chiliconpower.com ctlsys.com www.cooperandturner.com cde.com/solutions/inverters www.crownbattery.com www.ctcglobal.com detect-inc.com www.e-onbatteries.com www.eko-usa.com www.elecmat.com www.eiwpf.org windenergyhamburg.com www.heico-group.com helwigcarbon.com heyco.com iai-usa.com www.itl-llc.com www.ith.com www.janicki.com www.kineticsolar.com www.mankiewicz.com markingpendepot.com maysteel.com www.mersen.com www.midpointbearing.com www.nelhydrogen.com www.ohiocarbon.com www.omcosolar.com petzlhelmetsolutions.com www.peipittsburgh.com portoflongview.com portofstockton.com portvanusa.com pvlabels.com quickbolt.com reefindustries.com www.rhombusenergy.com rollsbattery.com sentinelcontrolproducts.com www.shoals.com www.siballc.net www.sinexcel.us skylotec.com solarconnections.com www.solmetric.com www.soltec.com www.stahlwille-americas.com www.stegousa.com sunsweep.com superbhorticulture.com www.tdk-electronics.tdk.com tpandl.com werecyclesolar.com/nace www.wecsrenewables.com www.windcomservices.com wordrockdrills.com

09-10

Renewable Energy Finance 2020

Digital Access; www.infocastinc.com

09-11

Solar and Energy Storage Southeast

Georgia World Congress Center – Atlanta, GA; www.events.solar/southeast/

12-13

EV Charging Infrastructure Summit - North America

Chicago Conference Center – Chicago, IL; 10times.com

17

Clean Energy Solutions Summit

Virtual Event; https://cleanenergysolutionssummit.com

17-18

ACORE Grid Forum

Virtual Event; www.acroregridforum.com

17-19

Southeast Renewable Energy Summit

Virtual Event – Atlanta, GA; www.infocastinc.com

18-20

Solar Power Mexico

Centro Citibanamex – Mexico City, MX; https://www.hfmexico.mx/solarpowermexico/

DECEMBER 01-03

AWEA CLEANPOWER Strategy Summitt 2020

Hyatt Regency Scottsdale Resort & Spa at Gainey Ranch – Scottsdale, AZ; www.awea.org

08-10

gridCONNEXT 2020

Virtual Event; www.gridconnext.com

08-10

Mid-Atlantic Renewable Energy

Digital Access; www.infocastinc.com

JANUARY 2021 03-04

Solar and Energy Storage New York

Hilton Albany – Albany, NY; https://events.solar/newyork/

14-15

Solar, Storage and Smart Energy Expo Northern California

Hilton Union Square – San Francisco, CA; www.events.solar/exponorth/

FEBRUARY 2021 19-20

Solar and Energy Storage Northeast

Westin Boston Waterfront Hotel – Boston, MA; https://events.solar/northeast/

24-25

AWEA Wind Project O&M and Safety Conference 2021

Kalahari Resorts and Conventions – Round Rock, TX; www.awea.org

Send us your clean energy show and event listings.

Email information to the editor at editor@nacleanenergy.com

Statement of Ownership, Management, and Circulation (Requestor Publications Only) 1. Publication Title: North American Clean Energy 2. Publication Number: 0000-1370 3. Filing Date: 10/01/2020 4. Issue Frequency: 6 times per year (bi-monthly) 5. Number of Issues Published Annually: 6 6. Annual Subscription Price: 7. Complete Mailing Address of Known Office of Publication: 3012 S. Banker St., Suite 1, Effingham, IL 62401 Telephone: 1-309-347-5151 Contact Person: Ian Stuart 8. Complete Mailing Address of Headquarters or General Business Office of Publisher: 255 Newport Drive, Suite 336, Port Moody BC V3H 5H1 9. Full Names and Complete Mailing Addresses of Publisher, Editor, and Managing Editor: Publisher, Editor and Managing Editor: Ian Stuart, 255 Newport Drive, Suite 336, Port Moody BC V3H 5H1 Editor (Name and complete mailing address): Ian Stuart, 255 Newport Drive, Suite 336, Port Moody BC V3H 5H1 Managing Editor (Name and complete mailing address): Ian Stuart, 255 Newport Drive, Suite 336, Port Moody BC V3H 5H1 10. Owner (Name and complete mailing address): Ian Stuart, 255 Newport Drive, Suite 336, Port Moody BC V3H 5H1 11. Known Bondholders, Mortgagees, and Other Security Holders Owning or Holding 1 Percent or More of Total Amount of Bonds, Mortgages, or Other Securities: None 12. Tax Status: Has Not Changed During Preceding 12 Months 13. Publication Title: North American Clean Energy 14. Issue Date for Circulation Data Below: Nov/Dec 2020 15.

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70.78%

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