We’ve partnered with Technica Communications* for a monthly roundup of some of the coolest cleantech press releases in a series we are calling Cleantech in Action. Some of the highlights this month include a gym built entirely from bamboo, solar and storage for cooler schools in Hawaii, and solar flowers.
World’s First Floating Wind Farm in Scotland Starts Generating Electricity
What: 30 MW Hywind wind farm
Where: Peterhead, Aberdeenshire, Scotland
Product and Vendor Utilized: Statoil
Cool Factors: Five giant wind turbines tethered about 15 miles from Peterhead in Aberdeenshire have started delivering electricity to the Scottish grid. The 30 MW wind farm project aims to generate enough power for approximately 20,000 households. Linked to the Hywind Scotland project, Statoil, and partner Masdar, will also install Batwind, a 1 MWh lithium-ion battery storage solution for offshore wind. Read more here.
SimpliPhi Power Batteries Deployed for New Zealand Utility
Who: Powerco
What: Base Power renewable energy units utilizing SimpliPhi Power batteries
Where: New Zealand
Products and Vendors Utilized: Construction by The Downs Group, renewable electricity from solar panels and PHI 3.4 batteries from SimpliPhi Power (a Technica Communications client)
Cool Factors: The utility calculated that off-grid distributed and renewable assets combined with storage was more cost effective than extending the reach of the grid by two kilometers, or having to repair the transmission lines of approximately 20 poles. SimpliPhi Power’s non-toxic, scalable energy storage solutions were deployed in New Zealand by utility, Powerco, as part of an off-grid renewable energy unit named Base Power. Powerco has initially approved 20 news units over the next 12 months. Watch this video to learn how one customer has had “no worries” about outages since using a Base Power unit. Read more here.
100 MW Wind Power Facility in Ontario
Who: Belle River Wind
What: 100 MW wind farm
Where: Ontario, Canada
Vendors: Samsung Renewable Energy, Inc. and Pattern Energy Group
Cool Factors: Built with Ontario-made products, Belle River Wind provided jobs for more than 235 Ontario workers during construction and 12 permanent positions during operations. Now up and running, the facility is expected to generate enough clean energy to power approximately 35,000 Ontario homes each year, based on average annual residential energy use in Ontario. Compared to coal-fired generation, it will also avoid more than 300,000 tons of CO2 each year which is the equivalent of taking more than 60,000 cars off the road. Read more here.
Eos Energy Storage Batteries in New Jersey Water Treatment Facility Microgrid
Who: Public Service Electric and Gas Company (PSG&E)
What: 1 MWh Microgrid
Where: Caldwell, New Jersey
Products and Vendors Utilized: Battery system by Eos Energy Storage and solar system by Advanced Solar Products. Siemens Energy Management integrated the battery system, solar facility and existing diesel generator.
Cool Factors: Eos Energy Storage commissioning 250 kW of this 1 MWh battery 896 kW-DC solar PV system at the wastewater treatment plant in the Borough of Caldwell, New Jersey. The batteries are a central component of PSE&G’s on-site solar-plus-storage microgrid that will help keep the facility operate during extended power outages. The Caldwell wastewater treatment plant microgrid is part of a 3 MW-DC portion of the Solar 4 All program. The initiative develops projects that integrate solar with other technologies to reduce the impact of solar on the grid or to demonstrate reliability and grid resiliency of solar for critical facilities during prolonged power outages. Read more here.
Tesla Restores Electricity to a Puerto Rico Children’s Hospital
Who: San Juan Hospital del Niño
What: Solar + storage project
Where: San Juan, Puerto Rico
Products Utilized: Tesla solar panels and batteries
Cool Factors: Tesla used its solar panels and batteries to restore reliable electricity at San Juan’s Hospital del Niño. The company brought power back on line at this children’s hospital in less than three weeks after Governor Ricardo Rossello tweeted that he had spoken with founder Elon Musk. According to El Nuevo Dia, the hospital’s new system allows it to generate all the energy it needs. Read more here.
Other Projects We’re Watching at Technica Communications:
*This series is sponsored by Technica Communications.
More about Technica Communications: Founded in 2009, Technica is a boutique, full-service public relations, social media, content marketing firm, based in the Silicon Valley of California.
With over 80% of its client base focused on the cleantech and sustainability markets, Technica possesses the deep expertise and contacts required to deliver top quality results in these challenging sectors. Since the majority of Technica staff have previous journalism and newsroom experience, we specialize in highly-effective reporter outreach. Technica’s domain experience includes renewable energy, energy storage, electric vehicles, green building, LED lighting, smart home products, and more.
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