solar power

GE and Nissan team up to promote EV smart charging

2010-05-04T07:57:00.001-07:00

In the race to build a smart-charging infrastructure that fuels the coming plug-in car revolution, GE and Nissan have joined forces to research new technology developments that will make smart charging a reality. The two companies have signed a three-year Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to explore new technologies that are needed to build a reliable, dynamic smart-charging infrastructure.

The MOU brings together two companies with expertise in the most critical elements needed to make smart charging work. GE is a world leader in the energy sector, with a customer base that cuts across the entire electric grid network. Nissan is one of the world's top automakers and a leader in electric vehicles. The all-electric, zero-emission Nissan LEAF is scheduled to launch later this year in Japan, the United States and Europe.

"In the past few years, we have seen an acceleration of innovations in plug-in hybrid and electric cars that have sparked a revolution in smart-charging technologies," said Mark Little, Senior Vice President and Director, GE Global Research. "Together with Nissan, we will take a comprehensive look at what technologies will be needed in the car, on the grid and at home or work to make smart charging a reality."

GE and Nissan have outlined two key areas for potential collaborations. The first relates to the integration of electric vehicles with homes and buildings. The second focuses on electric vehicle charging dynamics with the larger electric grid. In coming months, GE and Nissan will work to identify specific projects they can partner on in each of these areas.

Much of the GE work will be conducted at GE's global research operations located in Niskayuna, New York, where the latest electric transportation research and smart grid technology will facilitate the collaboration. Nissan will participate mainly through it Nissan Technical Center North America, located in Farmington Hills, Michigan, with support by the Nissan Advanced Technology Center in Japan.

"Nissan's vision is to realize zero-emission mobility through a holistic approach by collaborating with various partners in a broad range of industries," said Shunichi Toyomasu, Corporate Vice President, Nissan Motor Co., Ltd. "Working with GE, we expect this joint research project will provide insight for the home/building and electric grid connections which supports electric vehicle."

Pictured is GE scientist Matt Nielsen in the Smart Grid Lab at GE's Global Research Center in Upstate New York. Matt is the research lead for GE on the MOU with Nissan.

Understanding Solar Power

2008-06-25T21:36:00.000-07:00

If you want information on solar electric systems, written in a non-technical manner that you can easily understand, you've come to the right place.

With all the technical jargon kept to a minimum (and when necessary, fully explained), you will have all the answers to the questions that have made you a little hesitant, in the past, to get more involved in this clean, renewable form of energy production.

The environmental importance of alternative forms of energy production cannot be overstated.
Solar power, wind power and micro-hydro power are non-polluting, renewable and sustainable forms of energy production and their use should be actively encouraged.

An important step in this direction is to have readable, easy to understand information available.

Now, with the information offered here, you will be able to move forward and take advantage of this clean, renewable source of electrical power.
Now days, most people realize that solar energy is here to stay.
It works, it's affordable and the positive environmental impact is substantial.

However, many people are slightly baffled by the idea of having plenty of electrical power, without the large utility companies being involved.

How does solar power work?

How do the various components of the system hook up and interact with each other?

Could I install it myself?

Can I still use all my appliances?

How will I know if its being installed correctly?

What if I'm already tied into the regular power grid?

These and just about any other questions you may have are all answered in Understanding and Installing Your Own Solar Electric System.

Solar-Panels Installation Guide

2008-06-19T20:46:00.000-07:00

| Solar-Panels Installation Guide
Save yourself $3000 by installing them yourself

Solar Panels now come in many shapes and sizes to reflect growing demand for the products. In fact, there are so many companies out there and so many new products that figuring out which ones to buy has become much more difficult than it should be.

In our own search for the right solar-panels we quickly learned that we just didn’t know enough about solar power and solar panels in general. We knew we needed help in understanding the new solar panels but where would we find that help? We needed a simple guide that even we could understand.

We had decided to install solar panels in our home, we just didn’t know enough about them to make a good decision. So we did an internet search, which quickly revealed a number of sources of information. We were relieved that there was so much information out there to help us!

It looked like all of the books were basically the same so we bought one called ‘The Solar Energy Installation Guide” The title sounded right on and we were excited to get started.

learn more

2008-06-16T03:11:00.000-07:00