Here’s a bit of energy news that didn’t make it into our daily coverage during the past week. In this review, we collected some of less big, but nonetheless interesting news, of the week that went by, from the world of energy science and technology.
SEE ALSO: 6/20/2014 This Week in Energy: Beyond Headlines
Biofuel
Honeywell Green Jet Fuel to Power Flights Transporting Brazil National Soccer Team
GOL Airlines, the official airline of the Brazil soccer team, will use Honeywell Green Jet Fuel for flights carrying the team to cities across Brazil that are hosting World Cup matches. »
Renewables
Fewer Wind Curtailments and Negative Power Prices Seen in Texas After Major Grid Expansion
Curtailments of wind generation on the Texas electric grid have steadily dropped since 2011 as more than 3,500 miles of transmission lines have been built, largely as a result of the state’s Competitive Renewable Energy Zones (CREZ) program. Occurrences of wind-related negative real-time electricity prices have similarly declined as the CREZ transmission expansions have allowed wind power to flow to more electricity demand areas in the state. »
JA Solar Starts Mass Production of PERCIUM Solar Cell, Conversion Efficiency Reaches 20.4%
JA Solar Holdings Co., one of the world’s largest manufacturers of high-performance solar power products, launched mass production of its PERCIUM solar cell on June 20th. The PERCIUM solar cell, the first P-TYPE solar cell in industry that surpasses a conversion efficiency of 20%, has reached an average conversion efficiency of 20.4%. »
California Continues to Set Daily Records for Utility Scale Solar Energy
On June 1, 2014, the California Independent System Operator (CAISO) recorded a record midday hourly peak of 4,767 megawatts of alternating current (MWAC) of utility-generated solar electricity delivered into the California grid. With rapidly growing utility-scale solar capacity, CAISO has regularly recorded new hourly output records going back to 2010 when it first began publishing the daily data. When the hourly data are averaged over the course of a month to control for weather variation, the average peak hourly generation in May 2014 of 4,086 MWAC was 150% greater than the level in May 2013. »
Japan, ADB Announce Fund to Promote Low-Carbon Technologies in Asia
The Asian Development Bank (ADB) announced today the establishment of a new trust fund to support the adoption of advanced low-carbon technologies in its developing member countries (DMCs), with a grant of ¥1.8 billion (about $17.65 million) from the Government of Japan. »
Fuel Cells
Toyota Hydrogen Fuel Cell Electric Vehicle Will be Shown at 2014 Aspen Ideas Festival
Toyota’s first commercial zero-emission hydrogen fuel cell electric vehicle (FCV) is coming to the 2014 Aspen Ideas Festival. First unveiled in Japan on Wednesday afternoon, the vehicle will make its North American debut at the annual conference on Friday, June 27. »
ARPA-E Awards $33 Million for New Fuel Cell Projects
The Energy Department’s Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E) on June 19 announced $33 million in funding for 13 new projects aimed at developing transformational fuel cell technologies for low-cost distributed power generation. The projects, funded through ARPA-E’s new Reliable Electricity Based on Electrochemical Systems (REBELS) program, will focus on improving grid stability, balancing intermittent renewable technologies, and reducing carbon dioxide emissions using electrochemical distributed power generation systems. »
Energy storage
Toshiba to Supply Lithium-Titanate Battery for 2MW Energy Storage System Project in UK
Toshiba Corporation announced that it has been selected to provide the battery for the United Kingdom’s first 2MW scale lithium-titanate battery based Energy Storage System (ESS) to support grid management. The company’s 1MWh SCiB™ battery will be installed in a primary substation in central England in September. »
