The Era of Energy Mobility

It used to be when we did not have to move stuff in order to get energy for our needs.

Then came the industrial revolution. We discovered efficiency and convenience of steam engines and factory machines. Since then we started making energy further and further from where we need it. We erected dams on rivers far from cities, we dug and drilled the earth for something we could burn for energy - coal or oil. And we started moving huge amounts of stuff (through pipelines, with tankers, over power lines etc.) in order to get energy where we need it, spending energy to do so, and losing a big portion of it along the way. If you were asked to design the energy process from the scratch, would you choose a complicated system involving getting raw fuel (oil, coal) in one part of the planet, bringing it to the place we can process it to usable form (refined fuel), then move it again huge distances so it could be burned to generate energy? And then we need to transmit that energy (in electricity form) long distances again to the places where we use it. Permanent renewable sources - solar plants and wind farms - cut some steps but can't avoid other - we still need to move energy from the producer to the consumer, with the same losses, plus added complexity of the grid control and security.

What do you do if the grid is down or pipeline jeopardized? What if you need energy in a different place, especially where there is no grid - do you want to pull the power lines with you? We live in a wireless world - why do we still rely on steel and copper to deliver energy? You may ask: do we have a choice? Yes we do.

Autonomous Mobile Energy System (#AMES) is such a choice. It can be delivered to any location in the world and provide an uninterrupted source of clean energy on demand, then moved to another place if needed. 

Dr. Paul Jaffe from the US Naval Research Lab (NRL) says that today, a confluence of advances at NRL and elsewhere presents an unprecedented opportunity to develop two potentially revolutionary energy technologies: power beaming and space-based solar. Delivering energy without moving or employing mass and the prospect of collecting clean, continuous, abundant sunlight in space and distributing it globally present compelling capabilities for remote installation energy resupply, disaster response and many other applications. #AMES module is an ideal platform to build upon the ground segment of such space-based solar power system.

Modular architecture of the #AMES module makes it flexible allowing them when deployed over the remote area to be used as temporary cell towers, or nodes of the ground network for the internet-over-the-satellite system, such as Starlink, being currently deployed by SpaceX. 

In the mean time, if there is a source of waste heat, such as waste processing or a commercial operation, #AMES can serve as a thermal energy battery able to store excess energy and then use it for heating spaces or other purposes. 

Microsoft is experimenting with the underwater data server for the purpose of autonomy and efficient cooling. It is designed in the form of a cylinder of the size fitting the standard shipping container. Thus, Microsoft is convinced, it could be deployed to remote places like islands, or disaster areas to support relief efforts. Why not in the remote Northern areas with their natural cooling? Incorporated in the #AMES module, they could sink all of the waste heat into the onboard thermal energy storage to be then directed for heating and other useful purposes.

It's time to move away from moving energy around - we can get energy where and when we need it!

Tens of Thousands are without power - AMES Could Help

'Grand Bahama right now is dead'

Tens of thousands in Atlantic Canada still in the dark after Hurricane Dorian

As hurricane Dorian swept across the Bahamas, Florida and Nova Scotia I can't not to think that if there was an autonomous energy source in a container  - the source which would not depend on the grid nor on the fuel supply, people would have power and heat hours after the disaster instead of days and weeks, possibly even without losing it. This is Autonomous Mobile Energy Station (AMES), developed by Ascent Systems Technologies, British Columbia, Canada.

 

A self-contained module, using only sun and air to generate energy and store it in the built-in energy storage, would survive  the storm and be ready to deliver energy on demand. A number of modules deployed in advance in the areas prone to natural disasters, would help communities survive. Such a module could be also brought to any place in the case of emergency, rapidly deployed and supply heat and power for medical personnel providing aid to victims and provide relief to people.

Do we need The Grid, part 2

It was only yesterday that I wrote: Do we need The Grid?
And today we hear the news: 
Argentina and Uruguay reel after massive power outage

So do we really need the grid? Many of you might think: "You can't be serious". We cannot survive without the grid! But this is exactly my point - we cannot survive without it TODAY! We are slaves of the big monster - The Grid. Do we have to be? As I stated many times before - we don't. We can generate energy where we need it and get rid of grid. Well, may be not immediately. But why not to do it incrementally? There lots of places on Earth without grid, and there millions of people who don't have power. We can start generating energy there instead of pulling hundreds or thousands of kilometers of power lines of fuel pipelines.

What if - a heretical thought - when power grid goes down we don't bring it back, but instead we bring energy generation right where it needs to be? It may not even cost more than restoring the old grid and waiting until it fails again, or somebody decides to cause it to fail.

The technology is here - it is called distributed autonomous generation. All what needs to be done is to combine state-of-the art solar thermal collector with an ultra-efficient thermal energy storage and an energy booster under proper control. We have done it at Ascent Systems Technologies. We even packaged it in a self-contained module that can be delivered on demand to any geographical location in the world, deployed within hours and start delivering uninterrupted clean energy.

Autonomous Mobile Energy Station

It Is Time to Consider Transitioning to Autonomous Distributed Energy

Storm leaves more than 275,000 people without power in Southern Quebec

Hundreds of thousands of people are still without power in southern Quebec after the region was hit freezing rain and strong winds.

Quebec-Hydro says the storm Monday caused branches and trees to come in contact with their network, leaving 275,000 people without power by early Tuesday morning.

The Crown corporation says the hardest hit areas were Laval, Lanaudiere and the Laurentians.
Meanwhile, the city of Laval opened two community centres for the night to help people without electricity.
By Tuesday morning, more than 80,000 people in the city were without power, while more than 90,000 were still left in the dark in Lanaudiere.

Hydro-Quebec spokesman Louis-Olivier Batty said Monday evening that teams from regions less affected by the power outages had been called in as reinforcements.
From The Canadian Press.

Few weeks ago it was a cyclone Idai which was of course much more catastrophic disaster in Africa. Now it is a storm, blackout, people without heat in Canada. Isn't it time to consider transitioning to distributed autonomous energy generation? Consider AMES module developed by Ascent Systems Technologies. Multiple modules can be deployed throughout the areas affected by the disaster. In the case of one or even several modules going out of service, it will not affect other modules, so the impact will be minimized and localized. Individual modules can be quickly brought back to service without disrupting large areas. Moreover, the modules can be deployed in the "at risk" areas in advance. They would "hibernate" in the transport configuration and can be automatically and remotely activated when needed. Imagine how many lives can be saved and large economic loss can be avoided?

Climate change, natural and other disasters are not going to go away - on the contrary they will become more frequent and more severe. We need strategic thinking. 

We are launching a crowdfunding campaign

We need energy for everything in our lives. However, when a disaster or unexpected failure strikes, we're faced with many serious problems. We can’t survive without energy for long! Moreover, hundreds of millions of people around the world don’t have access to reliable and affordable energy. At Ascent Systems, we developed a solution that can serve as an uninterrupted source of clean energy on demand. No fuel, no emissions, anywhere in the world! We want to bring it to the people.
This is why we are launching a crowdfunding campaign: Autonomous Mobile Energy System.

After the Hurricane Maria hit in 2017, Puerto Rico was left without power for 8 months (see previous post)! In February 2018, earthquake in Mexico left half a million homes without power. Today we heard about the flood in Kenya and a volcano eruption in Hawaii. With the power lost it is not just lights – everything needs energy: businesses cannot function without it, schools cannot operate without computers or equipment, hospitals without hot water and so on. It costs not only money but also human lives. In Florida, people died in a senior housing because air-conditioning didn’t work. These events are becoming more frequent and more severe. Hundreds of millions of people live in a permanent state of disaster such as refugee camps, war zones, epidemics and other humanitarian crises. For them access to energy and clean water (which also requires energy) is a matter of life or death.

Today, when energy is needed on demand, practically the only solution is diesel generators, which require constant supply of fuel. There are several problems with this solution: 1) cost of fuel delivery can be high and it accumulates with the time; 2) burning fossil fuels creates emissions harmful for environment; but perhaps the most important, 3) a disruption of fuel supply, which is very likely in places where it is needed the most, will leave vulnerable people without source of energy and, in many cases, jeopardize lives.     

Unfortunately, renewable energy technologies are still expensive, intermittent in energy generation and can hardly be portable.

Drawing on our experience in space applications, we have designed an Autonomous Mobile Energy System (AMES). It combines advantages of several technologies in one module. It can fit into a standard shipping container, be delivered to any geographical location in the world, get rapidly deployed and serve as an uninterrupted source of clean energy on demand. The brain of the system is control software, which uses real-time data from the built-in sensors and machine learning algorithm for optimal decision making.

We are currently testing our technology on the research facility at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver. We received support from the Government of Canada. Now we need $100,000 in order to complete the research and development and build a full-scale prototype for field testing.

People, justifiably, only believe in something new when they actually see it working. This is why we need to build a full-scale prototype, test in the field and demonstrate its efficiency. We have all ingredients for success: a great concept, space-inspired technology and a highly skilled and passionate team. We just need your help to push it through.

You can help in one or more of the following ways:
- Contribute to the campaign, any amount would be greatly appreciated
- Get the word out about Ascent and Autonomous Mobile Energy System, tell you friends, post on Facebook, twitter etc.
- You can donate in kind, or offer your expertise
- We are open to new partnerships or equity investment

THANK YOU VERY MUCH IN ADVANCE FOR YOUR SUPPORT!

Back to Earth: Rebuilding Puerto Rico

I like talking about space and the future but real life and present day immediate problems beg to lower my gaze back to sinful Earth.

From the special IEEE Spectrum report.
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On September 19 2017 as Hurricane Maria started churning through Puerto Rico, engineers of Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority (PREPA) helplessly stared at the computer monitors that displayed real-time conditions on the grid. One after another, transmission lines were failing, and the team hastily debated their course of action. In this fragile state, the network wouldn’t be able to absorb an oversupply of power, excess voltages, or swings in frequency. They could inject test currents into the downed lines, to see which ones could be restored, or else reduce the level of electricity being put on the grid, to protect the remaining transmission system. Hour after hour, the urgency was rising.
By nightfall on the 19th, the crew knew their efforts were futile. Winds topping 280 kilometers per hour had begun toppling transmission towers, snapping concrete power poles, entangling lines, and battering power plants. The PREPA engineers at their workstations watched in dismay as small outages spread and bloomed like a virus. Finally, at 2 a.m. on 20 September, all went into total blackout. All of Puerto Rico was now in the dark.
Four hours later, Maria barreled into the island as a Category 4 hurricane. The storm tore a diagonal 160-km-long path from the island’s southeast to its northwest, demolishing tens of thousands of homes, washing away roads and bridges, stripping the limbs from lush green palms, and leaving in its wake a littered and jarringly lifeless landscape. Unofficial tallies after the storm suggest that about 1,000 people lost their lives.
In the months to come, Puerto Ricans—who are, after all, citizens of the United States, a country of unquestioned technological preeminence—would discover how breakable their modern society actually was.

Water treatment facilities couldn’t provide drinking water, markets and restaurants couldn’t refrigerate food, banks couldn’t operate ATMs or conduct transactions. Cellular and Internet access was gone. Street lights and traffic lights stopped working. Schools, hospitals, and stores closed indefinitely, factories and businesses shut down.

After the storm cleared step one was to figure out the exact scale of what had happened, all over the island. The control center was running on a diesel generator, but island-wide communications were down. That meant the usual way of gauging conditions on the grid—using automated remote terminal units at substations to collect and send data to the central supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) system—didn’t work. PREPA’s grid reaches nearly every home, business, school, and hospital on the main island, as well as on the smaller islands. For months, the utility was unable to say just which customers were still in the dark. At first they relied on outage reports coming in via satellite phone and from amateur radio operators. 

Under normal conditions, Puerto Rico’s generating capacity exceeds 5,800 megawatts, but peak demand is only around 3,000 MW. About half of the electricity comes from PREPA’s 10 oil-fired power plants. Much of the rest is produced by a pair of natural-gas power plants and a coal plant. Renewables—including seven solar farms, two wind farms, and seven hydropower sites—supply just 2.4 percent of generation.
Puerto Rico's grid is lopsided: seventy percent of its power generation is in the south, while 70 percent of power demand is in the north. This is the biggest problem for PREPA. Hurricane Maria sliced straight through the middle of the vital connections between North and South. 
The transmission system consists of 4,000 km of line divided among three voltages. The backbone is a 230-kilovolt ring around the island, with two South-North corridors dividing the island into western, central, and eastern loops. This feeds an extensive 115-kV network that delivers power to population centers. Finally, a 38-kilovolt “subtransmission” network serves remote areas, as well as islands via underwater cable; it also supplies power to PREPA’s 51,000 km of distribution line.
Even four months since the hurricane the scenes of destruction were still evident. Steel lattice transmission towers lied in broken piles. High-voltage wires wraped around treetops. Where there was a wind farm, only the masts of turbines are sticking out, their blades shorn off, stuck up like fat white flagpoles. Near the beach town of Humacao, a large solar farm has been reduced to fields of broken glass and twisted metal.

Blue square tarps dot the landscape; these temporary roofs are all that shield the buildings’ occupants from the elements. After the storm, 200,000 Puerto Ricans decamped for the mainland United States in search of jobs, medical care, simply for normal life.

As of late February, the US Army Corps had brought in nearly 1,000 emergency generators. Truck-size 1-MW units went to hospitals and other critical facilities, while 25-MW units went to damaged power plants. The unit also received nearly 4,500 km of wire and more than 37,000 wood, concrete, and galvanized steel poles; another 13,000 poles were slated to arrive this spring. At first, supplies barely trickled onto the island, in part because inventories across the United States had been depleted by the disastrous 2017 hurricane season and wildfires in California.

Back in January PREPA announced a milestone: One million customers—roughly two-thirds of its residential, commercial, and industrial users—had their lights back on. The utility continues to boost generation. Most of that power however is coming from oil-fired units and a natural-gas fired plant. Other sites, though, sit idle.

If  Puerto Rico's grid recovery has been slow and contentious, modernizing the island’s electric system will likely take many years, billions of dollars, and a lot of creative thinking.

The restoration of Puerto Rico’s power grid is a timely object lesson on the vulnerabilities of modern electrical networks and on the emerging technological options for minimizing those vulnerabilities. Power experts are now not just repairing Puerto Rico’s grid but doing so with an eye toward a future that portends storms of increasing intensity and frequency. Grid operators around the world are considering the merits of microgrids, utility-scale energy storage, and distributed and renewable generation. But for Puerto Rican officials trying to rebuild their shattered electrical infrastructure, these possibilities are of much more than abstract interest.

There are a number of new ideas, and most share a common theme: a shift away from traditional centralized power plants and toward more distributed systems. For that to happen, government agencies have to agree on the plan. Microgrids, for example, still can’t connect to the main grid. The Puerto Rico Energy Commission is only now finalizing the rules to allow that to happen. But even the micro-grids are prone to disasters, although damage would be limited.

Here is the solution which could limit the scale of any disaster virtually to a point. Autonomous Mobile Energy System (AMES) can be delivered to any place which urgently needs energy, rapidly deployed and provide an uninterrupted source of clean energy regardless of external conditions 24/7.  

In case of disaster the module can be folded back into the transport configuration and withstand hurricane of category 4 and maintain its power ready to start generation again the moment the storm subsides. Ten thousand modules deployed each at the place of energy consumption would not require transmission lines therefore would not be affected by the grid being out. Moreover failure of any one module would not affect any others therefore the damage is minimized to negligible amount.

Such approach is also practically hacker- and terrorist attack-proof - a single module is not an attractive target comparing to the centralized grid or a pipeline.

And additional bonus - it does not require huge investment to start incrementally generate energy and contribute to the global problem.

Sustainable future is in distributed on-site clean energy generation.

Ascent - Connecting Technologies

Previously we talked about the Future of Grid. With all the latest natural disasters - hurricanes, wild fires, earthquakes - it is time to talk about the future without grid now. Ascent Systems Technologies developed a concept of a Universal Energy Module. It combines advantages of state of the art solar technology, smart energy storage and energy booster in one integrated package. Thanks to the optimized configuration the system can fit in a small shipping container and quickly delivered to any geographical location in the world with no access to grid, such as remote communities, temporary accommodations, but especially to disaster sites in desperate need of power, heat, and hot water. Once delivered to the site, the module would automatically deploy itself to serve as a fully autonomous source of uninterrupted clean energy regardless of the time of the day or weather conditions.

Multiple modules can be combined into an array for increased capacity.  

Modules deployed in different geographical locations would be connected via intelligent network for constant monitoring of environments parameters and system performance. Welcome to energy freedom!