Renewables

Inch Cape Offshore Limited has successfully deployed a ZephIR 300 lidar on the historic Bell Rock lighthouse, 17km off the Angus coast.  ZephIR 300 has been mounted on a platform on the north east of the lighthouse using a specially designed support frame measuring wind direction and wind velocity and will augment wind measurements from onshore sources and from a dedicated offshore met mast that is expected to be installed in October 2014. T...

  Offering a high voltage rating of up to 1500VDC, the MC4-EVO 2 connector from Multi-Contact enables longer cable strings to be used when linking solar fields. The PV connector reduces power losses to allow solar power operators to benefit from higher yields.

Expanding its VOW Widebody family of high-isolation optocouplers, Vishay has announced a series of devices which achieve 1 and 10MBd data rates. The VOW135, VOW136, VOW137 and VOW2611 optocouplers consist of a GaAIAs infrared emitting diode, optically coupled with an integrated photo detector.

The PowerRack, a mounting structure for inverters, has been released by Bentek. Complying with NEC 2014 section 690.12 Rapid Shutdown requirements, the PowerRack provides PV installers with a cost effective way to install three-phase inverters within 10 feet of the PV array. 

An integrated automotive sensor interface, from ams, has been utilised by BMW in the battery sensor of the i3 series EVs. The battery management system (BMS), which monitors the voltage and current of the 400V li-ion battery powering the electric motors, uses the AS8510 to provide extremely accurate measurements. This enables an accurate estimation of the range the vehicle can cover before the battery is completely discharged.

Answering the growing industry demand for the 'intelligent factory', an energy harvesting evaluation kit has been introduced by CHERRY. Targeting applications where a complex wire assembly and/or batteries would be inappropriate, the required RF-energy is created by the mechanical actuation of the switch and the data is transmitted wirelessly using RF-technology. The kit eliminates the need for complex and expensive connection systems, resulting ...

SiC MOSFETs, manufactured by Cree, have been selected by Sanix for use within its 9.9kW three-phase solar inverter. The 80Ω C2M0080120D MOSFETs will be utilised in the primary power conversion stage of the solar inverter, which is designed for use in the construction of commercial photovoltaic systems in the Japanese solar energy market.

A wireless string monitoring system, designed for industrial solar power plants, is being developed by TAIYO YUDEN. Configured by a management unit (base unit) and string sensor units (terminal units), the system measures and monitors the status of power generation in each string.

Meeting IEC50521 TUV 1500V- Class A (All Access), UL6703 1000V (Americas) and JET 1500V (Japan), the H4 UTX PV connector can be used globally. Introduced by Amphenol, the connectors are suitable for use by all PV module manufacturers, installers, developers, electrical distributors as well as inspectors, combiner box companies and engineering procurement construction firms worldwide.

Holst Centre/imec and OMRON have unveiled a prototype of what they claim is the worlds’ highest efficiency extremely compact vibrational energy harvesting DC power supply. This prototype is set to be demonstrated at the TECHNO-FRONTIER2014 exhibition in Tokyo this week.