GE Stands Behind WiMax In The Smart Grid, Sees Costs Dropping

April 12, 2010

Utilities were excited at first by the high-bandwidth, long haul capabilities of the wireless communications technology WiMax in the smart grid.

That excitement has waned. High costs and coverage gaps led many to favor alternatives for tasks other than simple “backhaul” data transmission to and from local collection points.

CE's Luke Clemente sees 4G technologies such as WiMax as part of the Smart Grid technology mix. "I'm very confident of that."

WiMax supporter General Electric seems to acknowledge this present, more limited role for the technology, long championed by chipmaker Intel and its distribution partner Clearwire. And yet, the smart-meter manufacturer continues to consider WiMax a viable alternative across the smart grid.

The winning smart-grid technology has not been picked, says Luke Clemente, general manager for metering and sensing systems. Data from WiMax smart grid trials are still coming in. GE last month announced its first WiMax smart-meter trial in the United States, after striking a deal with Consumers Energy in Michigan, and last fall kicked off a test of WiMax-enabled smart meters with SP AusNet in Australia and GE-funded partner Grid Net. WiMax smart meters are just being installed.

Utilities apparently continue to keep an open mind toward the technology, even as many favor private, proprietary networks. “We’re still finding customers that are discussing (WiMax) with us,” Clemente says . “They are waiting to see more data on performance.”

The biggest concern about the technology is its high cost compared with alternatives, such as radio frequency, or RF, mesh. RF mesh is found in meters from Landis-Gyr and Elster and used by communications companies Silver Spring Networks and Trilliant. Clemente argues that costs should fall as volume manufacturing begins and overhead is spread among a greater number of products.

He says GE also tells customers they get more bandwidth for their money. The public 3G technologies that telecommunications providers deployed were not cost effective for the smart grid, but the 4G technologies, such as WiMax and LTE, could emerge as more affordable and competitive.

“I see (WiMax) as a 4G technology (and) I think 4G will be part of the mix,” says Clemente. “I’m very confident of that.”

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Posted by Mark Boslet

Valence And AEP Kick Off Large Scale Grid Storage Tests As Experimentation Continues

April 8, 2010

Utility-scale energy storage is a complex problem and the fuse of experimentation has been lighted.

Three or so trials of carbon-fiber flywheels are under way, including two in New York. In Massachusetts, Beacon Power is building a $69 million, 20 MW flywheel that spins when power is plentiful and transfer the motion back to electricity when it is not.

Compressed air storage is promising with players such as Energy Storage Power Corp. Compressed air is stored under ground and released to power a turbine when electricity is needed.

Flow batteries have attracted the interest of the Department of Energy and its money. The department put $7 million into a California demonstration of these water tank sized batteries planned by Premium Power Corp.

Sodium sulfur batteries are among the technologies being tested for large scale electricity grid storage

Other technologies are receiving similar attention: lithium ion batteries and lead acid batteries are being planned in massive scale. GE has said it will get into the sodium-based battery business and Ice Energy is installing its ice-based air conditioning technology in southern California.

It is impossible to know which technologies will win and whether any will ultimately make money. But with changing energy demand (i.e.: the prospect of tens of thousands of electric cars charging at night) and the introduction of intermittent renewable energy sources, such as solar and wind, the need for grid storage is undeniable

On Thursday, three energy companies announced new ambitious trials of their own. American Electric Power and MidAmerican Energy Holdings said they powered up the nation’s largest utility-scale battery in Presidio, Texas. The $25 million, 4 MW, sodium-sulfur battery will provide backup power in the event of a transmission line outage. It will last for eight hours.

Valence Technology said its lithium ion batteries will be installed on the micro grid of a residential development near Houston. The batteries will make power available for electric-car charging stations and for appliances to run affordably during periods of peak energy demand, when rates can be higher.

The trial is being supported by Energy Department and private money.

Clearly, experimentation continues on a thousand fronts. Only as the tests play out will vendors know which technologies will survive and which run out of gas.

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Posted by Mark Boslet

US Wind Energy Added More Capacity In 2009 Than Any Other Year

April 8, 2010

Iowa gets more of its electricity from wind power than any other state – 14%. Texas has greatest generating capacity and the largest farms.

Across the country, 85,000 people are employed in the wind energy industry, with 10 new manufacturing plants beginning operation last year.

Iowa gets more of its electricity from wind power than any other state - 14 percent. Texas has the most utility-scale farms.

These are the findings of the American Wind Energy Associations annual report on the industry, released Thursday. China is out muscling the United States and most other countries with its efforts to add wind generation and manufacturing capacity.

But the U.S. is not standing still. The study finds that the nation installed 10,000 MW of wind power in 2009, more than any other year. Sure, new project planning slowed during the year, but 36 states now have utility-scale farms and 14 have more than a GW of generating capacity.

Leading the wind turbine market is GE and the largest owner of wind farms is NextEra Energy Resources. Xcel Energy of Minnesota is the utility with the wind power feeding into its distribution gird.

According to the report, 10 manufacturing plants came into operation last year and 20 new ones were announced. Even the market for small, residential, turbines chugged along. It grew 15 percent, with 20 MW of capacity sold.

Obviously the industry has a tough battle ahead considering the gargantuan resources China is putting behind wind energy and that country’s cheap labor. The challenge is all the more daunting give the tight credit conditions that linger in North America.

But look to the bright side. At least credit is not as tight as with solar farms.

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Posted by Mark Boslet

Router Company Highlights Failure Of Smart Grid Standards, Forms Independent Working Group

April 6, 2010

Smart-grid router company SmartSynch highlighted the failure of smart-grid standards Tuesday by forming an independent industry group to push for needed standards in communications gear.

Stephen Johnston said that despite three years of efforts, standards still are missing for smart meters and network equipment.

GridRouter maker Smartsynch hopes to push for IP-based communications standards on the smart grid. It has attracted a small group of supporters including AT&T and Motorola.

Now with utilities pouring billions of dollars of federal funds into early stage smart-grid efforts, projects risk of falling short from equipment that doesn’t interoperates or which can’t be easily installed.

Smart-grid standards initiatives date back more than three years. Yet smart meters from a company such as GE don’t work alongside one from Elster or Landis-Gyr, or connect smoothly to a GridRouter from SmartSynch.

“Without standards, we could be setting up the smart grid to be not as good as it could be,” Johnston said. “It’s a huge problem.” Prices also could be higher since competition among vendors is reduced.

On Tuesday, SmartSynch hopes to make a dent in the problem by forming an “ecosystem” group around its GridRouter. The group will push for interoperable, IP-based standards and has attracted several big name supporters: AT&T, Motorola, Rogers Communications, Itron, Cooper Power Systems and Battelle Energy. “We anticipate more,” Johnston said.

A day earlier, executives from Google, Intel, Honeywell, GE, AT&T and venture firm Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers made news with a letter to President Obama. They called on the Obama Administration to make the distribution of energy-use data to homes and businesses a priority.

But without standards, this could be more difficult than it seems. “If every utility deploys a proprietary system, those utilities can’t benefit from each other,” says Johnston.

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Posted by Mark Boslet

Solar Arms Race Heating Up

March 19, 2010

Interest in the solar market is on the rise. But the industry is finding it difficult to know which solar technology will win in the long run: thin film or polysilicon.

Two days ago, manufacturing powerhouse GE placed a big bet on the business, promising to develop a line of low-cost cadmium telluride thin-film cells to rival those of solar leader First Solar.

Polysilicon has the efficiency title but GE wouldn't have chosen thin film without a good reason

Late Thursday, polysilicon maker SunPower fired back. It boasted of record efficiencies in its cells: 20 percent in the market now and 24 percent under development.

The arms race is off to a full sprint. The trade off is greater efficiency versus lower price. As long as polysilicon, or crystalline, cells keeps making efficiency gains, the price advantage of thin film can be kept at bay. But as the price of thin film falls, the pressures rise for crystalline efficiency gains.

SunPower CEO Tom Werner says he sees an increasingly competitive market. But he says he has no increase in shifting to thin film. There are several good reasons. For one, fewer polysilicon cells are required on a rooftop to generate the same amount of power.

SunPower is pushing hard on efficiency. Werner says the first 24-percent cells were made in the fourth quarter, besting the 20 percent efficient cells in production now. The company also has the key $1 a watt manufacturing target in its sights for 2014. Today’s cost is just under $2.

SunPower may have a technology lead over Chinese makers. But they, too, are pushing the efficiency dial. Suntech now produces at 19 percent with improvements under developmet. JA solar in February said 18.7 percent efficiency was in its labs.

Thin-film companies aren’t running scared. The race is on in earnest to produce the least expensive, most efficient cell, says GE. With that in mind and “after having completed an exhaustive survey of the PV landscape, we determined that thin films were the optimum path,” says GE’s Danielle Marfeld.

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Posted by Mark Boslet

GE Targets The Solar Market And Sales Leader First Solar

March 18, 2010

GE shook up the solar market Thursday by announcing plans to develop a line of thin-film solar panels using the cadmium-telluride material that has given First Solar its market lead.

GE said it would rely on cadmuim teluride technology from PrimeStar Solar, in which it hold a majority share

The manufacturing giant said its products would benefit from the cost advantage thin-film has maintained over the traditional polysilicon used by many Chinese makers. Panels are expected in the market by 2011.

The company said it is working with PrimeStar Solar, a cadmium telluride start-up in which it holds a majority ownership.

GE’s return to solar – it at one time produced crystalline silicon cells – appears to have been delayed a year by the global downturn. But its commitment to thin film appeared strong, despite recent industry skepticism that thin film will be able to keep up with polysilicon cells, which continue to make efficiency improvements.

Some polysilicon manufacturers now boast of laboratory cells operating at 19 percent efficiencies and greater compared with the 11 percent or so from thin film.

“After having competed an exhaustive survey of the PV landscape, we determined that thin films were the optimum path for GE,” said the company’s solar R&D leader Danielle Merfeld. The company’s product development will take place in Colorado, New York, China and India.

GE intends to market to utilities rather than consumers.

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Posted by Mark Boslet

Headquarters For GE Wind Business Has Solar Energy But No Wind Turbines

February 1, 2010

It makes sense that a company serving the alternative energy business should have a headquarters that reflects the values of the green movement: energy conservation, resource efficiency and renewable fuels.

Teh $45 million redesign comes with efficient air conditioning, water heating, larger windows and preferred parking for hybrids

It’s similar to the head of Tesla Motors diving an electric car. (What about that?)

This was the idea behind the revamped headquarters for GE’s wind turbine and renewable energy business. The $45 million redesign features solar power and reduced water consumption. But one key element is missing.

The company that claims to be the largest supplier of wind turbines in North America, with $6 billion in global revenue and 13,500 turbines installed around the world, has no turbines spinning actively on site.

In a Monday press release, GE said its Renewable Energy Global headquarters in Schenectady, NY, has low-flow faucets, improved insulation, an efficient hot water heater and air conditioning system, larger windows, bike racks and preferred parking for hybrid vehicles. It also has a 48 KW solar system providing power to the facility. But no wind turbines.

So, maybe Elon Musk doesn’t drive a Roadster.

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Posted by Mark Boslet

Analysis: General Electric 500GB Holographic Disc Is Too Costly For Consumer Success

April 28, 2009
Holographic discs could be the technology after Blu-ray

G.E.'s holographic discs could be the technology after Blu-ray

Yesterday General Electric said it successfully developed a digital storage technology that will allow standard-size discs to hold the equivalent of 100 DVDs or about 20 single-layer Blu-ray discs.

G.E.’s holographic discs could hold 500 gigabytes of data, when Blu-ray stores 25-gigabyte to 50-gigabyte, and a standard DVD holds 5 gigabytes.

When this next-generation disc comes in 2011 or 2012, G.E. expects it will cost less than 10 cents a gigabyte. When Blu-ray was introduced in late 2006, a 25-gigabyte disc cost nearly $1 a gigabyte, and is about half that now.

Furthermore, as a reader pointed out, the $2,700 player price tag will also have to come down to the $200-$300 level before the technology gets any mass-market traction.

But for storage expert Tom Coughlin, of Atascadero, Calif.-analyst firm Coughlin Associates, 500 gigabytes might just not be enough with ultra-HD and 3D coming to your home soon.

Tom Coughlin is an expert in digital storage and organiser of the Creative Storage conference

Tom Coughlin is an expert in digital storage and organiser of the Creative Storage conference

Follows, Coughlin’s take on G.E.’s technology:

I think G.E.’s holographics will be useful for high resolution video content. For instance the ultra-HD format being promoted by NHK in Japan would have 8k resolution requiring about 16 times the storage capacity of a Blu-ray. Combined with 3D this could require at least 500 GB and possibly more.

The argument for physical distribution is that for high resolution content it will remain cheaper and faster to buy a disc than download the content.

Too costly for consumers

However, regarding the price I think it must ultimately be less than 10 cents a GB to be popular. At 10 cents a disc a 500 GB disk would cost $50 and I don’t think consumers would pay that price. I think the price of a disc must be less than $10 in volume (without any cost for the content). Note that Blu-ray has had to quickly discount their prices to increase demand for the new format.

But a higher capacity physical format at the right price point could be very attractive for future high resolution content distribution.

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Posted by TechPulse 360

Siemens Posts Solid Quarter, Sticks To 2009 Targets

January 27, 2009

Siemens is sticking to its financial targets for fiscal 2009 – which ends in September – despite troubled economy.

For 2009, the German conglomerate expects revenues for its three core sectors (industry, energy and health care) to be in the range of €8 billion to €8.5 billion.

Today, Siemens reported its first-quarter results (Sept-Dec ’08) that beat analysts’ expectations with €19.63 billion in revenues (a 7% raise) and operating profits of €2.01 billion (a 20% increase). The company’s profit was led by its energy division, where profits more than doubled to 756 million euros.

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Music Is Still A Killer App; Startup Unveils Virtual Flute For iPhone

November 12, 2008
Smule CTO and co-founder, Dr. Ge Wang demonstrating the Ocarina virtual flute

Smule CTO and co-founder, Dr. Ge Wang demonstrating the Ocarina virtual flute by blowing into the iPhone microphone

Smule had for me the best presentation at this year’s Under the Radar (UTR) Mobility conference.

“It was awesome,” agrees Debbie Landa, founder of Dealmaker, the organiser of the UTR conference.

The Menlo Park, CA., startup showed off its latest “sonic” or musical application, Ocarina, that transforms the iPhone into a virtual ancient flute by blowing into the phone microphone. Find out more about the history of the ocarina instrument on Wikipedia.

Smule is one of the rare developer that has been successful in charging consumers for iPhone applications with 100,000 paid customers. Ocarina costs 99 cents and was developed in 4 to 6 weeks.

CEO, Jeff Smith also said it was shipping one new iPhone application every 2 weeks and that it received a lot of interest from big brands that want to advertise in Smule’s applications.

If the 7 people startup ever find it hard to make money selling 99 cents software, making iPhone apps for others or in-application advertising might well fill its coffers beyond all hopes.

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Posted by TechPulse 360

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