Better technologies and other economical factors have prompted energy users and electric utilities to consider solar panels, wind turbines, fuel cells, and microturbines driven by biogases.  To step up this effort, authorities at all levels are providing incentives for new users of these alternative sources.

Thus, State governments in the United States are establishing requirements to direct an aggressive use of renewable energies in their portfolio mixes. Energy conservation regulations are requiring certain percentages of their power to be derived   from renewable sources. For instance, New Jersey is mandating that 6.5 percent of the State's power is to come from renewable sources by 2012.

A number of financial incentives from federal, state d local governments are offered to promote renewable energy projects. These inducements come in the form of tax credits, planning and installation assistance and capitalization grants. The combined incentives may reach up to 25% level of the total costs.

So, Enerconsult considers that these renewable sources have come of age now, and are viable technologies that must be given full consideration.

With the support of the Latin American governments, Enerconsult and allied partners have installed Solar Home Systems. The projects were responsive to development needs of rural areas that did not have economic means to attain conventional electric service but did have good conditions to use the solar energy.  The Solar Home Systems were installed in regions that have annual solar radiations above average through the year. Single supplies were allocated to each home to drive typically up to three lamps and a TV. A summary of the project characteristics is given in article “Photovoltaic Electrification in Economic-Depressed Areas” (see Articles).

Enerconsult and allied Partners also supervised the installation of a 250 kW MICON Wind Turbine at Malabrigo near Trujillo, Peru. This mill has a   three-bladed rotor diameter of about 30m. The output is connected to the national grid and run via remote supervisory control. Malabrigo has a 8.7 m/s annual average wind speed, i.e., an excellent renewable energy capacity. The coast of Peru has significant wind energy resources and the government is interested in promoting more sites for wind farms in the near future. A summary of the project’s characteristics is given in article “Small Wind Mills in Peruvian Coast” (see Articles).

Enerconsult is participating in the formulation of a South American Distributed Generation project using bagasse (sugar cane waste, abundant in the Region) as a biomass source to drive two 30 kW microturbines  for On-and Off-Grid Electricity Production. Enerconsult will select the biomass pyrolysis gasifier that conforms the raw material characteristics. The planned CHP is expected to be very efficient as excess heat can be reclaimed in the pyrolysis stage and from microturbine exhaust gases.

While the concept of fuel cells has been around for more than 100 years, the first practical units were developed for the U.S. space program in the 1960’s. Because of technology improvements in recent years, and significant investments by auto companies and electric utilities, fuel cells of diverse types are expected to have applications for Distributed Generation within the next few years. Nonetheless, PAFC units (Phosphoric Acid Fuel Cell) are already fully available and are being commercialized as DG or CHP products. Currently, there are 200-kW phosphoric acid fuel cell units at a cost of approximately $4000/kW. Efforts are underway to reduce the cost of phosphoric acid fuel cells. The U S. Department of Energy (DOE) is helping to promote fuel cell technologies by offering as much as a $1000/kW federal subsidy to reduce the cost to the purchaser. Enerconsult is following closely this technology’s developments and has had consultations with U.S. and international manufacturers on the PAFC integration with electric grids for critical applications.

In the rapidly-changing world of renewable energy, small Hydro Powerplants are becoming highly desirable assets after the Blackout of August 14-15, 2003.   Its value as readily available sources of power was recognized during the restoration of power as these units are “black start capable” giving enough electricity to restart its larger generators of the grid. In addition, hydrogenerators, small or large, have higher   capabilities to withstand the transient shocks to power systems. They can tolerate wider swings in frequency and voltage than thermal units due to the mass of the water turning their blades, while the other plants have only steam or air with far less masses. Enerconsult engineers are specialists in Hydro Powerplants as they have participated in the engineering, design and construction of many hydro projects, from small run-of-river plants to huge mega projects (Brazil-Paraguay’s Itaipú 12600 MW Powerplant, the largest power station operating in the World).

Enerconsult can help with the preliminary appraisal of alternative energy projects including their utility interconnection requirements.  Enerconsult is also a full engineering consulting firm that can perform studies and basic design to ensure that the DG or CHP integration is properly engineered. For those purposes, compliance with IEEE 929 and 1547 and UL 1741 will be verified, and the required permits from your utility will be processed.

For international projects, Enerconsult has relationships with a network of trade and procurement consultants, financial institutions and the multilateral lending banks to ensure affordable financing and competitive financial packages. If you need further information, contact us directly to info@enerconsult.net or Tel. 773-401-6261.