Resource World Magazine

J U N E / J U L Y 2 0 1 6 www.resourceworld.com 59 businesses. • NEWLIGhT TEChNOLOGIES (USA) uses carbon capture technology to convert greenhouse gas emissions into AirCarbon, a high-performance material that replaces a wide range of oil-based plastics by out- competing on price and performance. • SENTIENT SCIENCE (USA) predicts failures in wind components before they happen, using materials science and high performance computing to determine the earliest point in time when cracks initiate and grow within rotating metal components. • SOLARKIOSK (Germany) offers modular off-grid solar powered business centres, enabling last-mile distribution of prod- ucts and services to untapped markets in remote rural areas worldwide. • VERDEZYNE (USA) is a bio-based chemi- cals company, with a synthetic biology platform that produces a variety of chemi- cals from renewable, non-food sources. • VIGILENT (USA) is pioneering the use of internet-of-things, machine learning, and predictive analytics to deliver dynamic cooling management in mission critical environments such as data centres. rEsEarchErs ExplorE capturing powEr froM rain drops Researchers at the Ocean University of China in Qingdao and Yunnan Normal University in Kunming have developed an efficient dye-sensitized solar cell coated with a graphene film that makes an all- weather solar cell triggered by sunlight and raindrops. The results of this study may help eliminate a major disadvantage of solar cells – that they produce no power when it's raining. The researchers used graphene elec- trodes to obtain power from the impact of raindrops. Raindrops are not pure water; they contain salts that dissociate into positive and negative ions. The positively charged ions, including sodium, calcium, and ammonium ions, can bind to the gra- phene surface. At the point of contact between the raindrop and the graphene, the water becomes enriched with positive ions and the graphene becomes enriched in delocalized electrons. This results in a double-layer made of electrons and posi- tively charged ions, a feature known as a pseudo capacitor. The difference in poten- tial associated with this phenomenon is sufficient to produce a voltage and current. virtual powEr plant providEs tool to ManagE costs PowerStream Inc., jointly owned by the Ontario municipalities of Barrie, Markham and Vaughan, has unveiled Canada's first- of-its kind virtual power plant. In a press release, the company reported that the virtual power plant dubbed Power House, shows how residential customers can simultaneously generate their own clean energy and work together as a virtual power plant to augment the grid. Power House uses an aggregate fleet of 20 residential solar and energy storage systems located at a customer's home that can be autonomously controlled through intelligent software to simulate a single, larger power generating facility. The technology being used is a combination of rooftop solar PV panels and a lithium-ion battery installed "behind the meter" at a customer's home. The company says customers will ben- efit from generating their own clean and renewable energy, leading to reduced exposure to peak electricity rates and sig- nificant bill reduction. "The Independent Electricity System Operator (IESO) is committed to assisting in developing and implementing new energy technologies and services to help utilities provide cus- tomers with more energy choices," said Bruce Campbell, President and CEO, IESO. "PowerStream's Virtual Power Plant is one example of a new solution that we expect to have significant potential in Ontario." From a utility perspective, the company claims leveraging carbon-free generating resources and fast-responding energy stor- age assets can play a pivotal role in several grid supporting functions. These resources can be used to reduce peak system loads, regulate frequency, and even defer capital costs associated with traditional electricity delivery infrastructure. PowerStream officials said customers will also have the added benefit of outage pro- tection by using energy from a combination of on-site stored and generated solar energy. thE caribbEan's largEst solar array goEs livE In a recent press release, the Phanes Group, headquartered in Dubai, announced its 33.4 megawatt (MW) photovoltaic solar array is now the Caribbean's largest solar power array. The array, known as Monte Plata, is installed and working in the Dominican Republic. It was designed and installed by the Phanes Group, with its partners General Energy Solutions (GES) and Soventix. More than 130,000 solar panels were installed for the project, and over 1,000 jobs were created, both directly and indi- rectly. A second phase of the project will increase the site's total capacity to 67 MW and is due for completion at the end of 2016. When finished, the whole project is expected to generate 50,000 megawatt hours of electricity each year. "With much of the Caribbean chal- lenged by expensive fuel imports, solar has the ability to liberate these island nations from economic and energy dependency, increasing the energy security and reduc- ing greenhouse gas emissions while helping elevate communities," said Martin Haupts, Phanes CEO. "Phanes Group is delighted to have played a central role in delivering this breakthrough project, and we remain com- mitted and excited about PV's opportunities across the emerging world." n

• Cover