Industry news

HOMER Pro, a complete rebuild of the HOMER software for economic optimization of microgrids, was released this week by HOMER Energy LLC.The HOMER (Hybrid Optimization of Multiple Energy Resources) software is the global standard for early stage microgrid design and analysis. Originally developed at the US Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory, HOMER was licensed to HOMER Energy LLC

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Renesas Electronics Europe today announced the availability of its “Connect it! – Ethernet R-IN Solution Kit”. The new kit is an evaluation tool for industrial Ethernet networking. It includes all the hardware and software components system manufacturers need to set up industrial Ethernet slave networks and serves as a starting point for their own developments. The solution kit facilitates integration

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At the Electronica trade fair in Munich this week, ProTek Devices, Inc. will debut a new electrostatic discharge (ESD) circuit protection diode for industrial applications such as assembly line automation, access control systems, machinery, and more. The new overvoltage protection component is the PESD2CAN. It’s designed to protect two industrial Controller Area Network (CAN) bus lines from ESD and other

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If India is going to provide power to its more than 1 billion people over the next five years, it will need to invest about $250 billion during that time, according to Reuters. The country’s power minister, Piyush Goyal, speaking at the World Economic Forum conference in New Delhi this week, noted that most of the money would need to

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ACME Solar has emerged as the largest successful bidder in the recently concluded solar power capacity auction in Andhra Pradesh. With this success, the company claims that it is on track to have an installed solar power capacity of 1 GW in India by 2017. Andhra Pradesh government had called for proposals to set up 500 MW of solar power

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The Mayor Newcastle, England, now drives around in an electric car! This makes him the first “Lord Mayor” in the UK to do so, as far as I know. The revelation comes to us via a recent press statement from the Newcastle City Council — so it’s pretty clear that at least part of the reason for the switch is

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Congested cities, troubling unemployment due to the absence of transit, and environmental issues from automobile pollution all point towards the need for much greater development of mass transportation. Even as transit ridership is growing to all time highs, the US is short on extensively developed systems that reach the many who could benefit from affordable transit. While the idea of

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Building-integrated solar photovoltaic modules are fast catching up in the rapidly evolving construction business where emphasis on energy efficiency and self-reliance are becoming increasingly popular. The Swiss Center for Electronics and Microtechnology (CSEM) recently announced that it has created white solar PV modules which would be apt for use in buildings and may offer applications in several other consumer-centered sectors.

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The new Indian government is taking serious initiatives to boost the power sector, which is in dire need of financial and structural reforms. A large number of these reforms will be implemented in the renewable energy sector. India’s minister for coal, power, and renewable energy last week announced that his government would push for an unprecedented $100 billion investment in

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The dream of flying cars dates back to the 1960s when the animated series “The Jetsons” envisioned a future where these airborne vehicles dominate the sky. In the past few years the flying car concept has evolved with a few real prototypes, but few are as wild as the Skylys flying car from Mix Aerospace. Albeit still in the beginning

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