The article (located below a large video) concerned tying improved battery technology to renewable power generation systems, such as solar or wind. Those renewables have always worked well when the power source is available. But when the wind isn’t blowing or the sun isn’t shining, those systems have had to revert back to using AC grid power. Better and long-lasting batteries mean that homes or buildings powered by renewables don’t have to use AC power as often, if at all.

A recent test by Nextek that was authorized by the U.S. Army’s Construction Engineering Research Laboratory (CERL) in Champaign, IL have shown that an entire building can be powered by solar, with enough energy left over to store in batteries, charge electric vehicle stations or even sell back to the AC energy companies.

The future of renewables is looking brighter almost every day, and Nextek is proud to be one of the companies lighting the way.

That philosophy integrates perfectly with Nextek’s Direct Current solutions, which allow businesses and building managers to upgrade their electrical systems to more efficient, lower-cost DC systems by retrofitting components without overhauling systems or making costly infrastructure changes.

In the video, Savage talks about Nextek and the EMerge Alliance, which is an open industry association developing standards leading to the rapid adoption of DC power distribution in commercial buildings. He also discusses the trend towards low-voltage interiors in the workplace, and the move towards providing high voltage car charging at workplace stations.

You can watch the video here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IAE29WUmbrs

In case you’ve forgotten (and who could blame you), the Eymorgs were the race of alien women who stole Mr. Spock’s brain to run their computer and environmental equipment in an episode of the original “Star Trek” series.

According to the study’s web site, the “in-vitro neural system is used to explore new learning mechanisms that may underlie the massively parallel real-time control capabilities of the brain.” Essentially the scientists hope to create an entity that could learn and adapt to changing inputs rapidly, and crate functional solutions for Smart Grid operation. Since Smart Grid operation includes real-time communications among both suppliers and users of electrical power, rather than the unilateral delivery of power with no user feedback to help control usage and costs, this ability is considered critical. As the study website states, current control algorithms “do not yet exist at sufficient scale to guarantee stability over a wide range of nonlinear operating conditions, as witnessed by the August 2003 blackout.” The Smart Grid will eventually coordinate power distribution from both large generating facilities, as well as smaller and even residential generators using solar, wind and other renewables. It will also create an interactive environment in which sensors installed in users’ locations provide information used to manage power use.

The study, which began in 2009, is scheduled to run through October of 2013.

Although Germany receives less sunshine than any part of the United States (including Alaska), it has become one of the largest producers of solar energy, thanks in large part to subsidies that allow business and residential customers to afford the new technology until it becomes established. And with that growth in solar, which includes customers supplying surplus electrical power back to the nation’s power grid, comes concerns over the volatility of all that distributed generation causing the grid to behave erratically. The solution is believed to be in increased power storage, which would smooth the release of surplus power into the grid. Increased storage would also allow consumers to use more solar power and less non-renewable generated electricity.

According to Eric Wesoff of The Energy Collective, the initial battery systems will be lead-acid technology, which might give way to lithium-ion or other emerging battery formulations as prices fall.

Should the subsidy work, the combination of generated and stored renewable electric power could significantly increase the nation’s independence from non-renewable forms of power generation, such as coal and oil. Renewable energy advocates and businesses invested in new power generation and use technologies will be watching Germany’s subsidy program carefully to determine the viability of this next step in the advancement of solar power.

The car will come with a standard AC charge port, but will also have a DC port. The difference does more than just add flexibility to the car’s charging options. AC charging is typically done using 110 or 220 volt systems, such as those found in a home. Those deliver 1 to 5 kilowatts of power, meaning it takes hours to charge the car’s batteries. A DC vehicle charger, such as those found in Nextek-designed microgrids, can deliver 50 kilowatts, which will bring the Spark to 80 percent charge in just 20 minutes. The charging speed will be important to the Spark, since it will not have a gasoline engine backup like the Volt.

The Spark EV will be introduced this summer in California and Oregon. Sticker price is expected to be less than $25,000 after tax incentives.

Looking at the photovoltaic solar resource map of the two countries, it’s immediately obvious that about 98% of the continental United States gets more sunlight than anyplace in Germany.

What’s the difference? Why are they so far ahead?

Simple—the German people and government have dedicated themselves to renewable power (much of it transmitted, by the way, through Direct Current systems, similar to Nextek’s technology). They have committed to making the investment now, bearing slightly higher energy costs, to reach a future that is essentially cost free.

During one day in 2012, more than 50% of the entire country’s electrical power needs were met by renewables. Germany is far enough along in the adoption of solar and other renewable power generation systems, that they can envision a day in the not-too-distant future when 100% of their power will be provided without reliance on fossil fuels or without purchasing energy from foreign, and sometimes antagonistic governments.

Think about that last phrase. Imagine our power needs being met without buying oil from Venezuela or the Middle East. Imagine no drilling or fracking. Sure, it won’t happen overnight, but if we refuse to commit to the future, the future will never get here.

The United States has the land and resources needed to free our nation from these dependencies. Do we have the will? We at Nextek hope so.

Speaking to CEOCFO Senior Editor Lynn Fosse, Savage gave an overview of the energy industry today, and outlined how Nextek’s technology aims to bring what is essentially a 100-plus-year-old system into the 21st century. The key to these industry advancements is an integrated system that provides for direct current (DC) power generation from renewable sources, and advanced usage management, using computer models and wireless controls. Nextek markets this as its Direct Coupling® technology, and continues to research the possibilities for improvements in the system.

CEOCFO is an online site that conducts interviews with the heads of innovative companies.

The standards will be contained in NEC Article 393, and will include those for low voltage peripheral equipment certified for use with the grid systems. Previously, only standards for lighting equipment were referenced. The move is partly due to efforts by the EMerge Alliance®, an industry association dedicated to the adoption of new standards for DC power distribution within commercial buildings. Nextek Power Systems is a member of their Governing Board.

The new standards open the door for both developers and users to implement a variety of systems and equipment, such as security systems, audio speakers, and HVAC controls into the commercial building environment.

Armstrong’s DC FlexZone

In conjunction, Underwriters Laboratories (UL) has updated and published the UL 2577 Outline of Investigation to expand its scope to allow for other low voltage peripheral equipment to be certified for use with the grid systems. That organization, which has standards development organization status in the U.S., will now work with its Canadian affiliate, ULC, to harmonize standards, since both countries have the ability to use low-voltage grid systems.

Low voltage suspended ceiling power distribution systems, now known as DC FlexZone Systems, were developed by Armstrong Industries in 2008. They send low-voltage (24VDC, which is safe to the touch) power directly through the grid, in lieu of wires. Equipment such as luminaires can simply be placed into the grid, and moved to different locations, without the need for expensive and time consuming rewiring.

Thanks to solar panels on the roof and walkways, the building actually generates more electricity than it uses, sending the surplus to the grid.  Sending excess power back to the grid is possible thanks to careful design and planning the company carried out with its architect, Gensler and green building consultant Paladino & Company.

PNC Financial specified a direct current (DC) power system from Nextek Power Systems to significantly increase the efficiency of their lighting system and its use of renewable energy generated at the building site. Nextek’s innovative Direct Coupling® platform eliminates wasteful power conversions inherent in conventional systems.

Most of the lighting in this PNC bank branch is connected to the Nextek patented DC microgrid that uses the solar power before it gets converted into grid-compatible ac power.  This allows the power generated at the site to be used avoiding two conversions:  one from DC (solar) to AC (the grid), as well as from AC (the grid) back to DC (the electronic light fixture) amounting to a large integrated efficiency improvement.  When the sun’s not shining, the DC microgrid powers itself by converting the grid power into DC at higher efficiency than any single device can accomplish affordably on its own.  For more, see the video AC or DC Power?

Nextek CEO Paul Savage says PNC Financial’s use of DC microgrid technology represents a growing trend in net-zero energy building design. “In today’s competitive marketplace it is not enough to install solar panels on the roof and put a plaque on the door announcing you’re sustainable.  Thoughtful design that reduces the building’s power requirement first is what’s needed, and that’s what PNC is doing.”  By connecting the clean DC power generated by the sun to dc consuming lighting inside the building, and adding daylight harvesting and other control strategies, the branch’s lighting will consume 70% less power from the grid.

Nextek Power Systems, Inc. is a founding member of a broad business alliance dedicated to the adoption of DC power systems (www.emergealliance.org).

PNC Bank is a member of The PNC Financial Services Group, Inc. (www.pnc.com).  PNC (NYSE: PNC) is one of the nation’s largest diversified financial services organizations providing retail and business banking; residential mortgage banking; specialized services for corporations and government entities, including corporate banking, real estate finance and asset-based lending; wealth management and asset management.  Follow @PNCNews on Twitter for breaking news, updates and announcements from PNC.

The EMerge Alliance is an open industry association leading the rapid adoption of safe DC power distribution in commercial buildings through the development of EMerge Alliance standards. These innovative standards integrate infrastructures, power, controls and devices in a common microgrid platform to facilitate the hybrid use of AC and DC power throughout buildings for unprecedented design and space flexibility, greater energy efficiency and improved sustainability. The nonprofit Alliance is accepting new members at various levels. For more information, please visit http://www.EMergeAlliance.org.

Nextek Power Systems is a pioneer in the invention, design and sales of Direct Coupling® power systems for buildings. These dc microgrids minimize the consumption of grid power, and provide an optimized path for distributed renewable resources like solar PV to do more work. Efficient, flexible and reliable, Nextek Power Systems are saving money for diverse customers around the world. Find out more at nextekpower.com.

Global warming, which in many places manifests in protracted, devastating droughts, coupled with rapidly growing populations and developing economies, makes creating and maintaining clean water supplies a critical need. But the growth in need has been accompanied by a decrease in future sources of traditional—read nonrenewable—energy. The cost of producing such energy has increased dramatically (the price of oil, for example, has gone up approximately 1500 percent since the early 1970s) and shows a long-term trend of skyrocketing even further as reserves lessen and new sources prove more difficult to access.

Water, of course, covers about 70 percent of the earth’s surface, but almost all of that is seawater, so the issue becomes converting the vast quantities of saltwater into freshwater. But the conversion of saltwater into fresh is energy intensive. Consider that the production of desalinated water costs 2.1 times more than retrieving fresh groundwater and 70 percent more than surface water, as well as the fact that energy expenditures account for 60 to 70 percent of the day-to-day operating costs of a seawater conversion plant (according to an article published by The New York Times), and it becomes imperative to understand that the clean water issue is inseparable from that of developing feasible renewable energy sources.

Progress in the science of desalinization therefore must be accompanied by better water conservation techniques, and most importantly by developments in renewable energy technology.

In other words, make energy less expensive and feasible production of clean water will follow. Solar, wind, biomass, geothermal, wave and other forms of renewables, especially when used in combination, can provide virtually uninterruptable sources of power—power that can be harnessed to fuel the production of clean water from saltwater.

Further, the development of microgrid technology means several of these renewable technologies can be deployed at virtually any location, without connection to the main power grid. For example, some remote communities in Haiti now use portable solar power charging stations to provide energy for lighting, cooking and other needs, and connect their residents to the rest of the world for the first time in their lives. On a larger scale, such technology could eventually make community-based, remote desalinization operations possible around the world, improving health, sanitation, agriculture and more. This is a future in which governments, businesses and individuals can all participate.

Although the cost of renewable energy is today still higher than traditional sources, progress in the field’s technology indicates that discrepancy is rapidly diminishing, and that within the foreseeable future renewables will be cheaper to produce.

Advancements in the areas of clean water production and renewable energy must go forward hand-in-hand to provide the quantities of freshwater needed throughout the world in the future. The cost to develop these technologies will prove less than that of finding and extracting nonrenewables, and far less than the cost in quality of life for billions of people around the world if clean water remains out of their reach.

NOTE: This blog has been entered in the Masdar “Engage: The Water-Energy Nexus” contest. See the contest entries here: www.masdar.ae/engage. And please vote for our entry at http://masdar.ae/en/adsw/detail/how-to-vote.