critical power

Solar power company Belectric’s lead-acid battery storage system has been prequalified to provide 1.3MW of frequency control for Germany’s high voltage grid.

The €560,000 ($609,000) 948kWh Energy Buffer Unit (EBU) was initially installed to provide backup at the 67.8 MW Alt Daber solar project in Brandenburg, Germany.

The system will now provide frequency response to the German transmission network operator (TNO) 50Hertz, and will assist in frequency across the country’s high voltage grid from the Alt Daber plant.

The EBU includes power inverter and a medium voltage transformer. Depending on configuration, it has the ability to deliver between 800 and 1400kW of power storage.

It can also be prequalified for frequency response on the German transmission network at up to 650 kW, taking account of the reserve capacity required by German TNOs.

Geneva-based semiconductor manufacturer STMicroElectronics has launched a 1200V high-power silicon-controlled rectifier thyristor.

The thyristor is suitable for UPS systems, electrical vehicles, renewable energy inverters, battery chargers and industrial welding systems.

The thyristor has a current capability of up to 80A and operates in temperatures up to 150 degrees Celsius.

The product is the first of its kind to offer 1200V blocking voltage combined with automotive-grade production quality, the company claims.

Researchers from Delft University of Technology have developed an environmentally friendly method of recycling fuel cell catalysts.

The scientists claim to have discovered how to recover platinum through a selective electrochemical dissolution method.

The team applied a 0.5 to 1.1 V with a voltage scan rate of 50 mV/s to the carbon substrate resulting in only the platinum being dissolved.

The researchers used a solution of perchloric acid (HClO₄, 0.1 M) and hydrochloric acid (HCl) - with three different concentrations of HCI testing at 0.1, 0.25 and 0.5 M.

Even with the lowest concentration of HCl the researchers managed to extract 90% of the platinum.

The separation method was tested at 22.35 and 60 degrees Celsius.

Platinum is currently recovered by dissolving the substrate material in acid or through oxidation, and then separating the platinum from the solution.

The researchers at Delft University of Technology claim their method could be more environmentally friendly, as it avoids the use of concentrated acid mixtures.

The findings were published in the May issue of the journal ChemSusChem titled Environmentally Friendly Carbon-Preserving Recovery of Noble Metals From Supported Fuel Cell Catalysts.

Cummins Power Generation unveiled its most powerful diesel genset to date at the Uptime Symposium in California last week.

Cummins’ new diesel fuelled generator set can produce up to 3.5MW of power on a 60Hz frequency, and 3.75 MVA on 50Hz. 

The generators are able to take 100% of rated load in a single step, and are ready to accept facility load within 10 seconds.

Spanish genset manufacturer Himoinsa has developed a medium voltage standby project for use at one of the Faroe Islands’ power plants.

The Faroese utility company SEV has installed two Himoinsa HMW-3030 T5 6.6kV generator sets, connected in parallel at its thermal power plant in Sund, about 10km outside the capital Thorshavn.

The gensets deliver an output of 3000 kVA at 6.6 kV of voltage.

Equipped with MTU engines the gensets are ready to kick in within12 seconds in the event of power interruption, and due to its proximity to the sea the project has been fitted with a seawater cooling system.

According to he U.S. Energy Information Administration – Independent Statistics & Analysis, the average power consumption on the 18 Faroe Islands is 240,000 MWh with available power generated reaching 260,000 MWh.