______________________________________________________

Polycrystalline Silicon
www.PolycrystallineSilicon.com

Polycrystalline Silicon

What is Polycrystalline Silicon?

According to the Renewable Energy Institute, Polycrystalline silicon, also referred to as "semicrystalline silicon," "polysilicon," "poly-Si," or just "poly," is a material consisting of small silicon crystals. Polycrystalline silicon cells are recognized by their visible grain known as the “metal flake effect.”

Semiconductor grade as well as "solar grade" polycrystalline silicon is converted to "single crystal" silicon - meaning that the randomly associated crystallites of silicon in "polycrystalline silicon" are converted to a large "single" crystal. Single crystal silicon is used to manufacture most Si-based microelectronic devices. 

Polycrystalline silicon can be as high in purity as 99.9999%.

____________________________________________________

____________________________________________________

What is Monocrystalline Silicon?

According to the Renewable Energy Institute, Monocrystalline Silicon is made from very pure Monocrystalline Silicon. 

Monocrystalline Silicon has a single and continuous crystal lattice structure with practically zero defects or impurities.

One of the many reasons Monocrystalline Silicon is superior to other types of silicon cells are the significantly high efficiencies – which are typically around 15%, compared to other silicon cells.

Because the manufacturing process required producing Monocrystalline Silicon is more involved and detailed than other types, this results in slightly higher costs for Monocrystalline Silicon than other silicon technologies.

What is Bulk Energy Storage?

Bulk Energy Storage refers to various methods to "store" electricity within an electrical power grid.

According to the Energy Storage Council (www.EnergyStorageCouncil.org), "bulk energy storage is truly one of the most promising new areas of the electricity industry. The Energy Storage Council believes that bulk energy storage will become the "sixth dimension" of the electricity value chain following fuels/energy sources, generation, transmission, delivery, and customer energy services."

Electrical energy can be stored during times that electrical generation from power plants exceeds the consumption by customers and the stored energy can then be utilized at times when consumption of electricity exceeds generation of electricity. Bulk energy storage permits power generation to be maintained at a more constant level, avoiding the sharp spikes in power generation so that the power plants can be more efficiently operated - reducing fuel consumption thereby reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

What are Flywheel Energy Storage systems?

Flywheel Energy Storage systems act as mechanical batteries that store power kinetically in the form of a rotating mass, or "flywheel." 

When the grid goes down, the power stored by the rotating flywheel is converted to electrical energy through the flywheel’s integrated electric generator. The system provides the DC energy to the Uninterruptible Power Supplies system until grid power is restored or the facility's back-up power generator can be started. Once either the utility is restored or the genset provides power to the input of the Uninterruptible Power Supplies, the Flywheel Energy Storage system will be re-charged by taking some current from the DC bus of the Flywheel Energy Storage until it is back up to full speed.

How Flywheel Energy Storage is Being Applied

The Flywheel Energy Storage system consists of an array of flywheel energy storage modules and power conversion electronics packaged in a standard 12’ x 40’ shipping container. This mobile container would interface with the grid’s three-phase 480-volt cables via a step up transformer. This matrix is capable of storing and recycling 250 kWh’s of energy. The rated discharge rate of a matrix is 1 MW therefore each container will provide rated power for 15 minutes or lower power for an extended period.

Monitoring and data acquisition has been specified such that system availability and power/energy parameters will be accessible via the website. Any time the system is operated, the kilowatts supplied or absorbed by the storage unit and the total system efficiency will be viewable via graphical display by day, week, month, etc.

While performing Frequency Regulation, the Flywheel Energy Storage system will receive two input signals from the System Operator.

1. Regulation Signal (RS): This will be the amount of regulation to be provided over the next time step. This value will be between (-)100KW and (+) 100KW. Minus refers to absorbing 100kW of power from the Grid. Plus refers to injecting 100 kW of power to the grid. The regulation signal refers to the amount of power being absorbed or injected relative to a base set point as described by signal 2. The amount of power being injected or absorbed will be as measured downstream of the Flywheel Energy Storage system and upstream of the step up transformer. This regulation signal will be updated every 4 seconds.

2. Set Point (SP): This will be the nominal level of power being removed from the grid during the time on regulation. It will be a percentage of the full regulation signal and will be a variable during the demonstration phase of testing. This setting will remain constant over an agreed to time period – usually one to 24 hours. In addition to the set point and regulation signal the master controller will have input from the flywheel controller to know how much energy is in each flywheel. The system controller will then send a signal to the flywheel controllers, and load bank to control the power flow within and to and from the Flywheel Energy Storage system based on these inputs.

The system will be installed and demonstrated at a location in San Ramon, California. It will be run for a period of six months to demonstrate its ability to interface with the ISO signals and grid. Data will be independently collected through funding provided by the U.S. DOE and used to estimate the system performance over time. 

The Flywheel Energy Storage system will follow the regulation signal within a fraction of a percent. Unlike generation based Frequency Regulation, no fuel is consumed, and no emissions are generated. Analysis of presently used Frequency Regulation signals indicates that an energy storage module, which can store or deliver 1 MW for 15 minutes, would provide regulation services superior to services currently provided by generators. After development testing is completed the Flywheel Energy Storage system and will be commissioned and put on automatic control.

What are Uninterruptible Power Supplies?

Uninterruptible Power Supplies, also known simply as "UPS" as well as a battery backup system, maintains a continuous supply of electric power to a building, or certain electrical devices within a building by supplying power from the UPS system whenever power is not available from the grid or utility company.

Typically,  Uninterruptible Power Supplies are located between the source of the normal power supply - such as the electric utility company - and the electric load the UPS system is protecting. When electric power from the grid fails - whether through a lightning strike, failed transformer, or a black-out occurs, the UPS will instantly recognize the loss or interruption of power from the grid, and switch from the grid power to UPS power. 

Uninterruptible power supply systems can be designed to protect small or large loads, including systems small enough to protect one or more computers, to critical life support systems that may be found in a home or hospital, to  telecommunications equipment where an unexpected power disruption could threaten life or health or serious business disruption or computer data loss. 

Small Uninterruptible Power Supplies systems can protect loads as small as just one computer to large UPS systems that will power and protect a company's entire data center or a building such as an office building or hospital.  These systems can be as large as 3-20 megawatts and typically work in conjunction with a genset or a cogeneration plant.

What is Battery Energy Storage?

Battery Energy Storage, and Battery Energy Storage systems, use stored electrical power in batteries, and feed this energy to the electric grid (building, or facility) at times when it makes economic sense. For a "Net Zero Energy" building or facility, a Solar Cogeneration, or Solar Trigeneration energy system is used that stores excess solar power in the Battery Energy Storage system during the daytime, for use when the sun goes down, and during inclement weather.

What is Frequency Regulation?

The electric grid, because supply and demand of electricity is always changing requires continuous and instantaneous balancing of supply and demand of electricity – this continuous and instantaneous balancing of supply and demand of electricity is known as "frequency regulation."

What is "Power Factor" and "Power Factor Correction?"

Power factor is a measure of how efficiently, or inefficiently, that electrical power is used by a customer. For industrial customers, a low power factor is generally caused by inductive loads such as transformers, electric motors and high-intensity discharge lighting. Customers that do not use electrical power efficiently are being charged additional fees for the inefficient use of power by their electric utility company.  

An electric utility's power load on an electrical distribution system fall into one of three categories; resistive, inductive or capacitive. In most industrial facilities, the most common power usages are "inductive."  Examples of inductive loads include transformers, fluorescent lighting and AC induction motors. Most inductive loads use a conductive coil winding to produce an electromagnetic field which permits the motor to function. 

All inductive loads require two different types of power for the motor to operate:

Active power (measured in kW or kilowatts) - this power produces the motive force 
Reactive power (kvar) - this energizes the magnetic field of the motor.

The operating power from the distribution system is composed of both active (working) and reactive (non-working) elements. The active power does useful work in driving the motor whereas the reactive power only provides the magnetic field. Unfortunately, electric utility's customers are charged for both active and reactive power.

Example:  A customer's power factor drops, the system becomes less efficient. A drop from 1.0 to 0.9 results in 15% more current being required for the same load. A power factor of 0.7 requires approximately 40% more current; and a power factor of 0.5 requires approximately 100% (twice as much) to handle the same load. The answer to these problems is to reduce the reactive power drawn from the supply by improving the power factor.

If an AC motor were 100% efficient it would consume only active power. However, since most AC motors are only 75% to 80% efficient, they operate at a lower power factor. This means inefficient and even "wasteful" energy usage and cost efficiency because most electric utilities charge penalties for poor, inefficient power factor.

Simply installing capacitors will improve a commercial or industrial company's power factor and will result in savings on their electricity bill every month!

Additional potential benefits for correcting poor power factor include:

Reduction of heating losses in transformers and distribution equipment 
Longer equipment life 
Stabilized voltage levels 
Increased capacity of your existing system and equipment 
Improved profitability
Lowered expenses

____________________________________________________

What is the "Unified Smart Grid"?

The Unified Smart Grid is the name used for the future transmission power lines that would carry green electricity from the many solar power plants and solar power parks and wind farms that generate the power, typically in remote areas, to the "load centers" or major cities that would use the green power. 

Quite simply, our country's out-dated and inefficient National Electric Grid, lacks the ability to carry all the new green electricity being planned from hundreds of new solar power parks and wind power generation facilities.

The Unified Smart Grid will be a national interconnected network relying on a high capacity backbone of electric power transmission lines linking all the nation's local electrical networks that have been upgraded to smart grids. Europe's analogous project is sometimes referred to as the SuperSmart Grid, a term that also appears in the literature describing the Unified Smart Grid. 

Cost estimates to rebuild the nation's electric grid as a Unified Smart Grid have ranged from $350 billion to $450 billion.

Support for the unified smart grid came with passage of the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007.   Title 13 of this Act invested $100 million in funding for the years 2008 – 2012 and establishes a matching program to states, utilities and consumers to build unified smart grid capabilities.  It also creates a Grid Modernization Commission to assess the benefits of demand response and automated demand response and recommended a set of system protocols and standards to be led by the National Institute of Standards and Technology which would coordinate the development of smart grid standards.  FERC would then promulgate these standards and protocols for the unified smart grid through its official rulemaking capabilities.

The Unified Smart Grid received further support with the passage of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 that set aside $11 billion for the creation of a smart grid.

Building a Unified Smart Grid would help jump-start the renewable energy investments in solar power parks.  Thousands of megawatts of new solar power parks (both Concentrating Solar Power plants and Photovoltaic Power Plants) are being planned. Most are  located in the desert Southwest due to the solar energy resource. A Unified Smart Grid is needed to move the large amount of power, which is fairly concentrated, to the rest of the nation.  Without the new Unified Smart Grid, it would be impossible to distribute the green power to the nation. 

The new Unified Smart Grid is significantly more efficient than the present, nearly 100 year old technology that makes up our nation's present transmission and distribution network of how we get the power from central power plants to customers and major load centers.

Much of the new Unified Smart Grid will be comprised of "High Voltage Direct Current" transmission lines which is significantly more efficient than the present high voltage alternating current transmission lines.  

The new Unified Smart Grid will provide economic development, thousands of new jobs, and significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

What would the new Unified Smart Grid look like?

Source:  American Electric Power

__________________________________________________

For more information on the Unified Smart Grid, visit one of the following sites:

Central Power Plant
www.CentralPowerPlant.com

Electric Power Generation
www.ElectricPowerGeneration.net

High Voltage Direct Current
www.HighVoltageDirectCurrent.com

National Electric Grid
www.NationalElectricGrid.com

Transmission and Distribution
www.TransmissionAndDistribution.net

Unified Smart Grid
www.UnifiedSmartGrid.com

Wind Power Generation
www.WindPowerGeneration.com

_______________________________________________________

You Can't Have a Unified Smart Grid Without:

Advanced Metering System  *  Advanced Meters  *  Automated Demand Response  *  Automated Energy Management

Battery Energy Storage  *  Building Automation Systems  *  Carbon Free Energy  *  Clean Power Generation  *  Cogeneration 

Compressed Air Energy Storage  *  Decentralized Energy  *  Demand Side Management  *  Dispersed Generation 

Distributed Energy Resources  *  Distributed Generation  *  Distributed PV  *  EcoGeneration  *  High Voltage Direct Current 

Load Leveling  *  Locational Marginal Pricing  *  Micro-Grid  *  Net Zero Energy  *  Net Zero Energy Buildings 

Nodal Pricing  *  Onsite Power Generation  *  Pollution Free Power  *  Plug In Electric Vehicles  *  Renewable Energy Parks 

Rooftop PV  *  Solar Cogeneration  *  Solar Power Parks  *  Trigeneration  *  Virtual Power Plants  *  Waste Heat Recovery

_______________________________________________________

What is Engineering Procurement Construction?

Engineering Procurement Construction, also referred to as; Engineer Procure Construct, "EPC" or Engineering Procurement and Construction, is the terminology used when an owner, for example, is seeking to build a new cogeneration power plant uses when the owner is seeking a "turnkey" project solution.  EPC contracts are not only a very common form of contracting within the construction industry,  but increasingly becoming the norm, particularly in the electric power generation (power plants) and utility sector. 

The construction company, via the EPC contract with the owner, provides for the design, engineering, procurement of all related supplies, components, materials, labor, services, etc.  The contractor, with approval/permit by EPC contract with the owner, may sub-contract part of the work. 

What is Front End Engineering Design?

Front-end Engineering Design, also known as Front End Engineering  or "FEED," is the preliminary engineering and conceptual design completed in advance of the start of EPC (Engineering, Procurement and Construction).  Front End Engineering usually concludes with the engineering firm's presentation of an Engineering Feasibility Study or Analysis.

Front-end Engineering Design includes a design team that includes and integrates all or most engineering fields such as mechanical engineering, electrical engineering, environmental engineering, civil engineering, power engineering, chemical engineering, etc.  The FEED design team includes the project visualization and conceptualization stages, including "what-if" decision making analyses, integrating the client company's goals, objectives into an efficient and economic engineering solution. 

What is Balance of Plant?

Balance of plant or "BOP," consists of the remaining systems, components, and structures that comprise a complete power plant or energy system - not included in the prime mover and waste heat recovery (ex. gas turbines, steam turbines, heat recovery steam generators (HRSG), waste heat boilers, etc.) systems.  In solar power parks, BOP is referred to as BOS or balance of system.

Engineering, Procurement and Construction 
(EPC) Contracts 
and Performance Guarantees

Engineering Procurement and Construction or "EPC" contracts with long-term performance guarantees are becoming increasingly popular for some renewable energy technologies, such as commercial-scale photovoltaic systems.

Engineering Procurement and Construction contracts give the owner unprecedented assurance that the system will provide the long-term energy benefits advertised without wasting time and money with the Architectural and Engineering ("A&E") firm or expensive change orders that take additional time and resources to process and integrate. These performance guarantees cover the entire installation and go way beyond manufacturer warranties that only cover specific parts and not the system as a whole.

EPC and performance guarantee contracts can be a wise choice for many reasons. Oftentimes, the Architectural and Engineering firms do not have the in-house expertise to understand fully how to specify renewable energy systems. Due to the newer nature of these technologies and the rapidly developing nature of many technologies, this is a specialized field of its own for each renewable technology type.  If the Architectural and Engineering company specifies particular equipment, while it may be feasible, it may not be the optimal design or the most likely to be available at construction.

EPC contracts also provide more flexibility in equipment choices that can reduce change orders and construction delays. For example, many photovoltaic modules change specifications and dimensions on almost a monthly basis. Even the oldest and most reputable manufacturers are working to keep pace with fierce competition in the field today. Given that the modules are the heart of the photovoltaic system, it reasons that specifying a particular module in the construction documents might result in a change order and result in cost over runs and delays by actual construction.

Contractor Benefits

In an EPC contract with a performance guarantee, the contractor has a strong financial incentive to use the most reliable and highest performing equipment and to ensure the highest standards are maintained throughout installation and that any details that could influence long-term performance are addressed. Practices ranging from cherry picking the highest output modules to over-sizing wiring and conduit to improved operations and maintenance (O&M) plans might not be necessary for inspection or commissioning but can contribute to meeting the contractor's long-term performance liability. These same practices in turn enhance the long-term energy performance to the greater benefit of the facility and those that operate it.

Performance guarantee contracts attract top renewable energy contractors with long-term success in their fields. Less capable or experienced contractors will not savor the extra liability involved, nor will they have the expertise or even access to the top quality equipment necessary to fulfill a performance guarantee.

Contract Provisions

Certain provisions should be included with any EPC contract to ensure coordination and consistency with the remainder of the project. All contracts and subcontracts related to the project should include provisions requiring participation in the integrated design process including coordination of design with other related aspects of the project.

The EPC contractor needs to work with the Architectural and Engineering firm to understand the building elements that are necessary to the integration of the renewable energy system. In addition, an EPC contract needs provisions to ensure coordination with the larger project construction team. While coordination is important, this type of design and construction contract allows the contractors to do what they do best and frees more of the agency's critical planning resources for other aspects of the project.

Additional provisions standard with other construction contract terms should also be included in the EPC contract. These include requiring the team to perform enhanced commissioning over the first year and developing an O&M manual and training for the system.

Through a combination of EPC contracts combined with long-term performance guarantees, the construction relationship is transformed from being sometimes adversarial to being a win/win situation for everyone involved.

Engineering Procurement Construction and 
Front End Engineering Design (FEED) and 
Project Development Services

What are "renewable energy resources?"

"Renewable energy resources" include; 

• Biomethane  

• B100 Biodiesel

• E100 Ethanol

• Hydrogen Fuel

• Solar Power & Energy (for homes and businesses)

• Synthesis Gas

• Utility Scale Solar Power Plants

• Wind Power Generation

What is "carbon free energy?"

"Carbon free energy" is energy that is produced or generated without producing any carbon dioxide emissions.  Even nuclear power plants generate "carbon free energy."

Energy Efficiency Measures and Energy Conservation Measures such as Automated Demand Response and Demand Side Management and Energy Efficient Lighting, while not "generating" carbon free energy, provides significant increases in efficiencies, thereby reducing the overall need for energy, which may come from central power plants that are very inefficient and generate significant amounts of carbon dioxide emissions.

______________________________________________________

How we make and distribute electricity is changing! 

The electric power generation, transmission and distribution system (the electric "grid") is changing and evolving from the electric grid of the 19th and 20th centuries, which was inefficient, highly-polluting, very expensive and “dumb.”  

The "old" way of generating and distributing energy resembles this slide:

According to Monty Goodell, Founder and Chairman of the Renewable Energy Institute, "our increased dependence and reliance on foreign energy supplies represents a Clear and Present Danger to our national security, our economy, and the lives and livelihood of every American. Energy - including the energy we use from imported fossil fuels, is the very "lifeblood" of the American economy as it is for every industrialized country.  An economy dies without it's lifeblood of energy. This Clear and Present Danger we face is far more serious than the problems related to greenhouse gas emissions.  And while greenhouse gas emissions are very serious issue, in the long-term, pales in comparison to America's vital national security interests and America's economic stability in the short term.  For this reason alone, America needs to transition away from its addiction to foreign energy supplies. And America's abundant renewable energy resources such as the energy we receive from the sun, and renewable energy technologies such as concentrated solar power (CSP) plants - can supply 100% of America's power requirements with a concentrating solar power plant measuring 75 miles by 75 miles, located in the Southwest U.S.  By generating America's power from concentrating solar power plants, America resolves its' short-term Clear and Present Danger as it relates to importing its energy from foreign countries, and the long-term problems relating to greenhouse gas emissions."

Continuing, Mr. Goodell states that "too many Americans have forgotten what happened to us in 1973, when the Arabs and OPEC brought the United States economy to a screeching halt during the OPEC Oil Embargo.  This happened because they (mainly the country of Saudi Arabia) disagreed with our foreign policy and is the reason why they "turned off the tap" of our need for their oil supplies. When Saudi Arabia and OPEC stopped the vital flow of oil to our country in 1973, they caused an "oil shock" that severely and negatively impacted our economy. 

Mr. Goodell's question for us to ponder is, "do these countries who sell us 60% of our daily energy requirements, like us and our foreign policy, or might they leverage our addiction to their fossil fuels, and turn off the tap to make us adjust or revise our foreign policy??  Like any addict, America's foreign policy may be held hostage to its addiction, and in this case, our addiction to foreign oil, may over-ride our national interests."

Have American's forgotten the gas shortages and long lines at 
their gas stations to get gas during the Arab Oil Embargo of 1973? 

"Apparently so."  Mr. Goodell states that "in 1973, America was 'addicted' and 'over the barrel' of foreign oil to the amount of 40%.  Forty percent of our energy 'needs' in 1973 came from countries - many of which didn't like us then, and I'm afraid, many of them still don't.  The difference between 1973 and today - is that today we receive 50% MORE foreign oil now than we did in 1973.  And now we know about the problems relating to greenhouse gas emissions that we didn't know then.  America needs to change course, and change course now, in terms of its' energy supplies and how we keep America's economy strong, without the threat of being held hostage to a middle-east tyrant or regime, that could once again, turn on us, and turn off our supply of foreign oil." 

Remember ????

"Sadly, most Americans have forgotten the long lines of people waiting in their cars - lined up and waiting for gasoline at their nearby gas station, with lines that were many blocks long.  And, after waiting 4-5 hours, many even waiting overnight in many places, to finally take their turn to fill up their car with gasoline, only to find that the gas station had run out of gas."

"Let me Repeat.... That was 1973 when we imported 40% of our daily energy requirements in the form of crude oil from overseas, and from foreign countries - and many of these from countries that don't like us.

Today, over 35 years later, America has yet to learn the lesson.  We cannot continue our reliance on energy from foreign countries that supply us with 60% of the crude oil that our refineries use as a feedstock for producing gasoline and diesel fuel for our cars and trucks comes from overseas. 

America is "over the barrel" and it's not our barrel, but the barrels of oil that we are addicted by and owned by other countries.  Why have we not learned the lessons we needed to learn in 1973 when we were cut-off from the vital energy supplies we need? 

Countries like China, are growing rapidly, and have an insatiable need for crude oil. China, with their booming economy, is increasingly growing in its clout and control over international supplies of crude oil - whether they do this through their ability to buy as much oil as they need on a daily basis, or whether they simply but American drilling rigs, technology, and explore and produce oil and gas from their own fields. China, is buying large amounts of oil for their country, and causing upward pricing on declining supplies. What happens if Russia, with all of their oil and natural gas, along with China and Venezuela, with or without the help of OPEC, decided to NOT sell oil to us????

To be sure, greenhouse gas emissions are a problem, and to some, greenhouse gas emissions are also a Clear and Present Danger, but not to the extent that it presents an imminent Clear and Present Danger. 

America's reliance for 60% of our energy "needs" coming from foreign suppliers is un-acceptable.

The "driver" to get America to begin reducing and eliminating fossil fuel use should be our nation's national security and the welfare and safety of its citizens. And this can all begin with developing and investing in our own renewable energy resources and renewable energy technologies, let's start by putting solar on every rooftop that has a clear and unobstructed view of the Southern sky. See www.RooftopPV.com  or  www.DistributedPV.com  for more information.  Let's create incentives begin with adopting a national "Feed In Tariff" as Germany did in 1990. 

We simply do NOT have the luxury of time on our hands.  We need to end our dependence and reliance on foreign fossil fuels, especially from countries that don't like us! We need to rapidly begin expanding renewable energy resources and renewable energy technologies from our vast and abundant renewable energy resources, such as; solar, solar energy systems, solar cogeneration, solar trigeneration, "solar on every roof," along with; Biomass Gasification, B100 Biodiesel, Biomethane, E100 Ethanol (from cellulosic, agricultural waste, sugar cane, etc., and NOT from corn), Geothermal Power Plants, Natural Wastewater Treatment, Synthesis Gas, Waste To Energy, Waste To Fuel and Wind Power Generation where it makes economic and environmental sense."   

For more information, call/email:

American Energy Plan
www.AmericanEnergyPlan.com

Wind Power Generation
www.WindPowerGeneration.com

Zero Emission Energy
www.ZeroEmissionEnergy.com

Zero Emission Power
www.ZeroEmissionPower.com

^{______________________________________________________}

We support the Renewable Energy Institute by donating a portion of our profits to the Renewable Energy Institute in their efforts to reduce fossil fuel use through renewable energy and their goals to end fossil fuel pollution by reducing/eliminating Carbon Emissions, Carbon Dioxide Emissions and Greenhouse Gas Emissions.

The Renewable Energy Institute is "Changing The Way The World Makes and Uses Energy by Providing Research & Development, Funding and Resources That Creates Sustainable Energy via 'Carbon Free Energy,' 'Clean Power Generation' and 'Pollution Free Power' Through Expanding the use of Renewable Energy Technologies."