critical power

Emerson Network Power (Emerson) has secured a deal with Perth-based distributor UPS West to sell the company’s uninterruptible power supplies (UPS) and thermal management solutions in Australia.

UPS West will offer Emnerson’s AC UPS Liebert NXC, Liebert GXT3 and the Liebert DM thermal management solution. The Australian company will also have access to trainings and technical resources of Emerson.

Emerson aims to make the company’s solutions more available to a wider marketplace.

According to UPS West, there is a gap in the supply of power and thermal data room solutions in small to medium sized businesses in metro and regional Western Australia.

"As we operate in the datacentre industry, we have found a need for the Liebert DM for small rooms in major buildings in the central business district as well as in regional sites,” said UPS West business development manager Ian Hart.

“UPS West is fast establishing a foot hold in the WA market by offering customers industry leading IT infrastructure and management solutions and we look forward to working with them as a valued addition to Emerson’s growing network,” said Emerson director of national sales Robert Linsdell.

This summer, Emerson appointed Bangladeshi company Computer Source as its distributor for UPS in the growing IT market of Bangladesh.

Schneider Electric’s India branch has introduced low-voltage switchboards for energy efficiency and energy management in buildings in India.

According to Schneider Electric, the smart panels are equipped with metering, control, and communication systems. They are designed to ensure that energy consumption metering at the source is automated and to enable data access locally as well as remotely over cloud.

The panels are featured with the Enerlin’X digital system.

“In recent months, power blackouts have occurred frequently in many parts of India. While the Government devises long-term measures to address the situation, we believe all stakeholders should consider it their individual responsibility to address the situation at the ground level,” said Shrinivas Chebbi vice president at Schneider Electric India.

Beginning with Bangalore, Schneider Electric will launch smart panels in ten other cities across India.

“With buildings accounting for almost 40% of energy use in most countries, there is immense potential for improvement in their energy efficiency. Apart from assisting to meet regulatory compliances, the owners and occupants of buildings will benefit from long-term energy and financial savings through Smart Panels,” added Chebbi.

India has started to focus on “smart cities” in order to accommodate the need to curb energy costs and meet the requirements for green buildings.

US-based rental power company United Rentals has opened seven offices in the US and one in Canada.

Four US branches will provide engineered power, heating, cooling and ventilation solutions for commercial, industrial and governmental customers, and disaster recovery services.

The offices in Brantford, Ontario and Beacon Falls, Connecticut, will offer engineered excavation support and confined space entry systems as well as worker training while two offices will provide temporary and long-term onsite tool management, including inventory tracking, inspections and maintenance.

"We're continuing to implement a major expansion of our specialty lines of business, following significant growth in 2013. These eight openings are part of a broader plan for 2014 that will include additions to all of our specialty lines, including the pump network we acquired in April," said Paul McDonnel, senior vice president specialty operations at United Rentals.

The company now has 883 rental branches in the US and Canada.

Earlier this year, the power provider acquired power and HVAC assets of equipment rental services company Blue-Stream Services, which operates in the Gulf of Mexico region of the USA.

New York fuel cell developer WATT Fuel Cell (WATT) is to move its manufacturing operations to Mount Pleasant Township, Pennsylvania, US.

The maker of solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) components acquired 39,000 sq. ft. space in April when it bought solid oxide fuel cell developer Pittsburgh Electric Engines. According to WATT, implementing the company’s manufacturing techniques with the Pittsburgh Electric Engines' technology could reduce manufacturing costs by as much as 75%.

The $2.3 million project is expected to add 33 jobs over the next three years.

WATT’s fuel cells operate on natural gas, diesel, propane and renewable fuels. They are designed to provide portable power and can be used as emergency backup power for municipalities, battery charging for recreational vehicles and offshore marine power, and remote sensor power.

WATT recently received a 20-month, $2.1m contract from the US Army Communications-Electronics Research, Development and Engineering Center to design and build a commercial-grade additive manufacturing line, an increase the production capacity for tubular cell components for SOFC systems.

“This U.S. Department of Defense program is a significant milestone for WATT and we are excited to see the last four years of advances in our technology come together in a system for the military market. We will be delivering a complete and operable alpha system,” said Paul DeWald, vice president of engineering at WATT.

Spanish genset OEM Himoinsa has provided 25 diesel gensets and lighting towers to a BIOCOM-managed biofuel production plant in Cacuso, Angola.

The equipment has a capacity from 180 kVA to 400 kVA and is designed to guarantee continuous supply of energy and to prevent any outages. Himoinsa’s products are also aimed to provide power to develop sugar cane production at the plant.

The plant commenced working this month and has started to generate 120MW of electricity with an expected annual output of up to 18,000 tonnes of sugar and 3,000 cubic metres of ethanol.

The biofuel plant currently supplies 220,000 homes in the region of Malanje. From 2019, the Biocom is planned to rise to 235MWh to increase the amount of power travelling through the Capanda/Cacuso high-voltage cable to power 440,000 homes. Biocom has estimated that the annual production will climb to 256,000 tonnes of sugar and 30m litres of ethanol.

"The project is beneficial to the population of Malanje and important for Himoinsa Angola's technical and commercial team,” said Himoinsa Angola's commercial director Osvaldo de Brito Simao.

Himoinsa also provides technical and maintenance services with staff on-site.

Biocom is a temporary consortium comprising of Sonangol, Sociedade Nacional de Combustíveis of Angola and the Brazilian construction company Odebrecht.