It’s been a long time coming, but the FAA has finally released guidelines for commercial UAV operations that would allow unmanned aerial vehicles – drones – carry cameras to inspect wind farms and other utility infrastructure. The technology has been available for years. YouTube is full videos from hobbyists flying quad-copters with GoPros showing the
The perfect marriage: silicon and perovskite solar cells
Around the world, researchers are busy working on ways to improve the efficiency of silicon solar cells. Their latest trick? “Pimp” the glass plate that protects the solar cell with a thin-film solar cell made of perovskite. As a result, they expect to achieve an efficiency of 30%. Silicon solar cells are just too good
TE Connectivity plant wins environmental steward award
The N.C. Department of Environment and Natural Resources has recognized the TE Connectivity Pegg Road plant in Greensboro as a 2014 Environmental Steward, one of only 21 facilities in North Carolina to earn the coveted award for a commitment to superior environmental performance. “Companies like TE Connectivity show that economic success and environmental stewardship can…
JuiceBox Energy announces 8.6-kWh energy storage system
JuiceBox Energy has announced its new 8.6-kWh lithium-ion energy storage system for solar energy storage and smart home connectivity. With this product release, JuiceBox enters the rapidly growing residential energy storage market with a safe and reliable, web-connected product that can be installed on new and existing solar energy installations. Distributed energy generation is at
Kirk Key interlock safeguards small circuit breakers
Smaller footprint bolt lock offers greater product options for switchgear applications Kirk Key has developed a reduced size mechanical bolt interlock for smaller stature breakers. Modelled on the KIRK Standard Duty series Type F, the smaller Type FF ensures that workers follow a pre-determined sequence of operation to safely access electrical switchgear. Manufactured with a
Red Lion adds HSPA+ cellular plug-in module to Graphite HMI platform
New communication option creates powerful hmi solution to remotely monitor and control equipment Red Lion Controls, the global experts in communication, monitoring and control for industrial automation and networking, today announced the availability of an HSPA+ (GMHSPA) cellular module for its Graphite Human Machine Interface (HMI) platform. The new module uses an HSPA+ cellular network to
Delta Electronics’ Consolidated Sales Revenues for March 2015 Totaled NT$14,745 Million
Delta Electronics, Inc. announced its consolidated sales revenues for March 2015 totaled NT$14,745 million, representing a 26 percent increase as compared to NT$11,673 million for February 2015 and a 4 percent decrease as compared to NT$15,353 million for March 2014. The company’s cumulative consolidated sales revenues from January to March in 2015 were NT$43,203 million,…
Enerpac X-Edition torque wrenches set new standards in safety, simplicity and performance
Enerpac introduces the new X-Edition hydraulic torque wrenches. Available in two models, the S-Series square drive and the W-Series low profile hexagon, these tools incorporate the simplicity, reliability, and quality of Enerpac’s industry-recognized S&W Series torque wrenches with advanced safety and performance features. The S-Series and W-Series feature a tough manifold design with enhanced safety
Cellular IP gateways provides high speed transmission with simplified deployment
Consistent wireless access in a data transmission network comes with the adoption of HSPA technology for high speed transmission, a simplified deployment design for an easy-to-use experience, and industrial-grade performance. Moxa’s OnCell G3111/G3151-HSPA switches offers users the best price-to-performance ratio 3G IP Gateway. In addition, with the best price-performance ratio among competing devices makes OnCell
Network video firm intros high-end security dome cameras
Axis Communications, a developer of network video devices, has introduced the Axis’ Sharpdome technology with new AXIS Q61-E Series of cameras. The Sharpdome technology with its mechanics and a dome geometry provides full scene fidelity and amazingly sharp images in all directions. In addition, the technology lets cameras identify objects as much as 20° above
Plug & Play 5 and 6 port gigabit switches
Antaira Technologies, a developer and supplier of industrial device networking and communication equipment for harsh environmental applications, announces its expansion in the industrial gigabit networking infrastructure family with the LNX-0501G-SFP and LNX-0601G-SFP series. Antaira Technologies’ LNX-0501G-SFP series is a 5-port industrial gigabit unmanaged Ethernet switch, with 4*RJ45 10/100/1000Tx and 1*dual rate 100/1000 SFP slot. The
Catalyst from Rutgers U. promises more efficient H2 generation, better fuel cells
Editor’s note: This article is based on the findings of a patent-pending HER (hydrogen evolution reaction) catalyst Ni5P4 as reported in the Royal Society of Chemistry’s Energy & Environmental Science. If successful, the catalyst could provide a way to inexpensively generate and store excess wind power, as hydrogen. The catalyst’s operating stability and efficiency will
Acoustic emission measurements promise better composite-blade damage analysis
Wind turbine blades continue to grow in length to capture ever more energy. To maintain the economics of this scaling, designers must drive towards minimizing the blade mass while retaining the same reliability in performance. This requires ever more detailed understanding of the response of composite materials under various loading conditions, including damage initiation and
8-port Gigabit switch delivers plug-and-play performance to industrial apps
Red Lion issued a press release today to announce the addition of the N-Tron series 1008TX unmanaged Gigabit Ethernet switch to our industrial networking portfolio. The new 8-port all-Gigabit switch delivers plug-and-play wire-speed performance to industrial applications. Housed in a compact hardened metal DIN-rail mountable enclosure, the 1008TX provides industry-leading shock (200g) and vibration (50g)
Eaton inverters power 73-MW Redwood Solar Farm in California
Power management company Eaton announced multiple contracts to provide solar inverters, electrical distribution equipment and services for the 72.9-MW Redwood Solar Farm in Kern County, California. The project, developed by sPower and 8minutenergy Renewables, is expected to generate 146 million kilowatt-hours (kWh) of sustainable electricity annually to power approximately 9,200 California homes and reduce greenhouse
Antaira unwraps a 6-port 10/100Tx managed POE switch
Antaira Technologies, a developer and supplier of industrial network devices and communication equipment for harsh environmental applications, announces its expansion in the industrial power-over-Ethernet (POE) infrastructure family with the LMP-0600 series. Antaira Technologies’ LMP-0600 series is a cost effective 6-port industrial poe+ managed Ethernet switch that supports a 48~55 Vdc high voltage power input. Each
Global single-axis tracker revenues expected to reach nearly $2 billion in 2019, IHS says
Global single-axis tracker revenues are expected to grow 120%, to reach nearly $2 billion in 2019, according to IHS, a global source of critical information and insight. For the first time, single-axis trackers will be the preferred type of structural balance of system (BoS) ground mount in the Americas in 2015. Overall global ground-mount solar
Solar Monitoring: Critical data for critical systems
In our first article, we took a general overview of solar monitoring and why it is far more than just watching the energy production meter “spin” and counting dollars of revenue. Yes, production is important, but it is not the only metric we should be interested in as operators of large scale PV systems. In
A new school of leadership
For many years, leadership maintained an idiosyncratic or dictator style. With this, a boss would give his team instructions and solely decide the best method of execution. This left little room for creativity and could have created a hostile work environment. However, in this fast-paced era of technology, things change rapidly. At last year’s Women
Report: U.S. advanced energy grew 14% in 2014, almost $1.3 trillion global
At nearly $1.3 trillion in estimated global revenue for 2014, the market for advanced energy products and services is as large as apparel and fashion and almost four times the size of the semiconductor industry worldwide, according to a report commissioned by Advanced Energy Economy (AEE), a national business association. In the United States, advanced
Particle in fluids counter comes with built in dilution system for dark fluids
The German company PAMAS develops and manufactures Automatic Particle Counters for fluid contamination control. The company product range includes measuring instruments for long-term condition monitoring of liquids such as hydraulic or lubricating oil and for contamination analysis of particulate matter in water, pharmaceutical suspensions, and other fluids. Intended for stationary online measurement of dark fluids,
IHS ranks the top 10 transformative technologies: #4 power storage
It is generally accepted that technology has the capability to change the world: from the Gutenberg printing press to the steam engine to the microchip. But how can we determine which technologies are likely to have the greatest potential to transform the future of the human race? What is the process to distinguish between the
Tocardo installs three tidal turbines in Dutch ‘Afsluitdijk’
Tocardo Tidal Turbines, producer of tidal and free-flow water turbines, has installed three of its T1 tidal turbines in the Dutch ‘Afsluitdijk’ (ow-shla-dak), a 32 km long primary sea defence. The three turbines are the first to be installed closely together in an array. Dutch Tidal Testing Centre, a long-standing partner of Tocardo, will manage
Moventas’ Senior Engineer answers gearbox questions
The Senior Engineer column has been in the wind industry since the 1980’s. The column’s author has spent his entire career in power transmission and knows darn near everything there is to know about gearboxes. In an industry as young as ours, he says, there are false beliefs that he wants to correct. Because all
Keeping an eye on gearbox reliability in wind turbines
Research on the effect of high water content in wind-turbine gearbox oil suggests that it could be problematic for rolling contacts (friction) and have a detrimental effect on bearing life, according to Jon Leather, wind energy technical manager for Castrol Industrial. The impact of water content in synthetic gearbox oil depends on whether the water…