what's in store for energy archives - planet forward - 克罗地亚vs加拿大让球

hydraulic regenerative braking system for passenger vehicles

thu, 21 jun 2012 11:11:56 +0000

using a very elastic material, researchers have developed a hydraulic regenerative braking (hrb) system that will soon be ready for passenger vehicles. the use of hydraulic regenerative braking systems in passenger vehicles has the potential to save billions of gallons of gasoline annually in the u.s. these systems have already been successfully integrated into large vehicles such as garbage trucks and buses, resulting in fuel savings of 25-30 percent in city driving. a regenerative brake slows a vehicle by converting its kinetic energy into another form of energy, which can be used immediately or stored until needed. in conventional braking, the excess kinetic energy is converted to heat by friction in the brake linings and therefore wasted. hybrid vehicles improve on conventional braking and most commonly rely on electrical regenerative brakes, with excess energy stored in a battery or bank of capacitors for later use. switching from an electrical to a hydraulic system will result in even more gains in energy efficiency and power for passenger vehicles. but improving the fluid energy storage, known as an accumulator device, remains a challenge. working at the university of minnesota, the lead institution for the nsf-funded engineering research center for compact and efficient fluid power, engineers have developed a new accumulator device. the device is connected to the drive train. when the driver brakes, it captures the kinetic energy to slow the vehicle down and route the energy into an accumulator. during acceleration, the accumulator pushes out fluid and the device acts as a hydraulic motor, assisting the engine and reducing the fuel required to accelerate. upon reaching the maximum hrb system speed, the system will disengage, at which point the vehicle will be powered by the engine alone. ]]>

prosperity energy storage project

mon, 14 may 2012 07:38:06 +0000

public service co. of new mexico (pnm) and its research partners are testing and demonstrating numerous benefits of the solar power-storage system at its prosperity energy storage project. the site features 500kw of poly c-si pv panels and 500kw/1 mwh rated battery. the features of the battery include:

smoothing: battery storage provides the ability to “smooth” the output of the solar facility. for example, when a cloud casts a shadow on the solar panels, the advanced battery system and smart grid technology immediately dispatches energy to fill the gap created by the cloud.

shifting: stored energy can be dispatched as “firm” energy when energy demand increases, similar to how a natural gas plant can be used today during times of customer peak usage. this allows pnm to use renewable energy when it’s most needed.

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proton exchange membrane (pem) fuel cells for batteries

mon, 02 apr 2012 10:22:02 +0000

we are headed towards a society that will be largely unplugged – from fossil fuels, wall outlets, etc. – but this relies on the portability of the power system. what we are trying to do is to bring the revolution of electrochemical energy conversion storage.

a battery is an energy storage device. fuel cells, however, are energy conversion devices. they allow the conversion of chemical energy to electrical energy. we are working to develop high performance fuel cells using the most efficient and cost effective materials.

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construction of the crescent dunes for solar energy

wed, 14 mar 2012 19:00:42 +0000

tonopah solar energy, a wholly owned subsidiary of solarreserve, proposes to construct, own, and operate the crescent dunes solar energy project. the project will be a solar generating facility located northwest of tonopah, nevada, in nye county with a nominal net generating capacity of 100 megawatts (mw). when completed, tonopah solar energy’s facility will supply approximately 480,000 megawatt hours annually of clean, renewable electricity – enough to power up to 75,000 homes during peak electricity periods utilizing its innovative energy storage capabilities.

the cresent dunes solar energy project will utilize concentrating solar power (csp) technology, with a central receiver tower and the advanced molten salt system technology from united technologies corp. if all permits are received by december 2010 as planned, the plant would be available for operation in 2013. the project will help meet the increasing demand for clean, renewable electrical energy in the us and help reduce reliance on fossil fuels and associated greenhouse gas emissions.

the key project benefits include that the the proposed solar facility will generate approximately 480,000 mwh of renewable energy per year and can avoid or displace greenhouse gas emissions produced by fossil-fueled power plants. it will be able to help meet growing demand for clean, renewable energy sources. the project will significantly reduce the use of water for cooling by using a more costly hybrid cooling system. the energy storage inherent in the technology provides a stable yet flexible electricity product to better meet nevada’s peak demand profile and improve grid reliability. and lastly, the project will promote economic development by creating up to 400-500 construction jobs during the peak of construction and up to 50 permanent jobs.

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