critical power

Aggreko delivered a 120 MW temporary power package to Tunisia to help consolidate and secure local power supplies during the peak of the 2013 summer.

In an emailed statement, the British company said the additional generation capacity was placed at strategic locations across the country for a period of two months to act as a back-up for the Tunisian grid. The plants helped ensure a consistent and reliable power supply throughout the summer when energy demands were at their highest.

The contract, awarded by the Société Tunisienne D’Electricitié et du Gas (STEG), saw Aggreko install four separate power plants of 30 MW each at Enfida, Mateur, Bouficha and El Jem - enough capacity to supply more than 190,000 Tunisian households.

Christophe Jacquin, Managing Director, Aggreko North and West Africa, said: " The tactical use of temporary power to address seasonal energy shortfalls is a valuable option for our large utility customers as it allows them to maintain critical supply while taking the steps to address the gaps in their generation and supply networks.”

UPS manufacturer Borri Ltd has replacing its Rotation+ 6-10kVA series with a ‘plug ‘n’ play’ B500R, claiming 98% operational efficiency.

Incorporating online double conversion as well as Eco modes, Borri B500R UPS units have a 0.9 output power factor.

Designed to offer easy scalability, the B500R series can incorporate additional runtime with unlimited battery modules. N+1 redundancy to share the critical load can also be achieved with the parallel positioning of another B500R UPS unit. The units come with an adjustable dot matrix LCD display with a menu system and monitoring and shutdown software.

This software is compatible with a multitude of operating systems including Windows, Linux, IBM and HP and as well as virtualised platforms such as VMware ESX 3.5, 4.0, 4.1 and VMware ESXi 4.0, 4.1, 5.0, 5.1. 

A Californian based company that specialises in engaging customers with the utility industry, Opower, has launched what it is calling a Behavioral Demand Response (BDR) system that tells customers how to reduce energy without needing a smart meter in their home.

The Opower BDR allows utility companies to deploy a cost-effective demand response service to all their customers, regardless of having a meter. Opower BDR can inform customers of their household electricity usage and offer tips and advice to reduce peak usage, specific to their own home. It will alert users via web, text, phone or print of specific measures they can take to reduce energy at peak times.

The system comes after five years of research that showed householders reduced energy use when informed of their energy use compared with other households in the area.

The Opower BDR can be deployed as a standalone solution for cost-effective demand response without devices, or used in conjunction with existing direct load control programmes.

Customer participation in household demand response initiatives has been low, often due to lack of understanding on the customer’s side and the cost of installing metering devices in homes.

Emerson Network Power has released a 300W AC-DC power supply for manufacturers of industrial and medical equipment to be able to use a single output power option. Called the LCM300Q-T-4, it features a digital control, which enables firmware updates to modify parameters such as peak load handling, voltage control, and to create unique fan speed profiles.

The new model offers a 24 V output, which can be trimmed to ±20%, with 5 V standby. It has efficiency greater than 91% at full load, a typical power factor of 0.98, and a power density of 7.1 W/in3.

The unit is safety approved for use in industrial and medical settings such as light industrial applications and factory automation, including battery charging; medical, dental and laboratory applications; as well as for telecom and datacom equipment.

Fuel cell manufacturer ClearEdge Power is celebrating the millionth operational hour of its PureCell Model 400 fleet in the field.

The PureCell Model 400 system provides up to 400 kW of assured electrical power, plus 1.5 million Btu/hour of heat for combined heat and power applications.

The on-site power generating system adheres to the strictest air emissions requirements, is highly energy efficient and virtually pollution-free, no fossil fuel is combusted in the production of power.

An estimated 660 000 barrels of oil has been saved by the use of the PureCell for distributed energy generation.