The following are principal components of the Stone Edge Farm Estate Winery & Vineyards MicroGrid. For a list of electrical terms and acronyms, please see our Glossary.
Emerson ASCO 7000 and 300 series automatic transfer switches connect the MicroGrid to or isolate it from the utility grid. When the switches separate, they create a physical opening, an air space. If the utility grid fails and the MicroGrid is already producing power, the ATSs can automatically route power onto the grid.
The Emerson ASCO MicroGrid Actuation Circuit was specially developed for the MicroGrid and appropriately named the “MAC switch.” It measures power quality at the PCC. If voltage and frequency are normal on the utility grid, that connection is maintained. If not, the switch looks for voltage and frequency on the emergency (i.e., MicroGrid) side, and finding it, first synchronizes them before switching to island mode. This switch can either be controlled or operated automatically.
Aqueous Hybrid Ion Battery
The Aquion Energy sodium ion (“saltwater”) battery consists of eight 48V battery modules connected in series and combined in one string by an Ideal Power grid-resilient 30kW AC/DC power conversion system. The battery’s unique chemistry combines abundant non-toxic materials; it is non-flammable, non-explosive, and truly sustainable.
Lithium Ion (Nickel Manganese Cobalt Oxide, or NMC) Batteries
LG Chem’s RESU lithium ion battery is a 10kWh 240V “peaker” battery that, like the Tesla Powerpack, delivers substantial power quickly for short intervals of time to accommodate peak loads. It is paired with a Solaredge SE 7600 inverter. (Visit site )
Our Tesla Powerpack was the first one made at Tesla’s Nevada Gigafactory. This utility-scale battery consists of five 50kW/95kWh cabinet-and-rack units, each containing 16 pods of lithium ion batteries identical to those that power Tesla cars. With its 250kW/475kWh rate and capacity, the largest on the farm, the battery can discharge considerable power in a short period of time through a 250kW Dynapower inverter. When the MicroGrid operates in island mode, the Powerpack can generate its own 60 Hz cycles to serve in a master or grid-forming role. (Visit site )
Lithium Ferro (Iron) Phosphate (LFP) Batteries
SimpliPhi Power protects the Critical Grid at Node 3 with a stack of three 3.5kWh 48V AccESS lithium ferro phosphate batteries that produce 5.7kW/10.5kWh output and capacity and are paired with a 6.8kWh Schneider inverter with charge controller. SimpliPhi battries are completely recyclable, non-toxic, hyper-inert, and have no flammable components, no thermal runaway, no need for heat mitigation, and 98% round-trip efficiencies. (Visit site )
Four SimpliPhi Power PHI 3.5kWh 48V LFP batteries provide a voltage “buffer” for the H2 park fuel cells. The hives feed a 30kW Siemens Sinamics DC/DC converter that boosts voltage to 380V for the Ideal Power 30kW inverter to output 480VAC/3P. (Visit site )
SimpliPhi Power’s PHI High Voltage 120kW/256kWh 480V LFP battery in the DER plant comprises eight cabinets, each containing a rack of ten 3.6kWh 24V modules wired in series with a second rack to form a string of 20. Each string has a Battery Management System (BMS). In island mode, this battery can function as a master, using the same 250kW Dynapower inverter as the Tesla Powerpack. (Visit site )
Seven SimpliPhi Power Smart-Tech 3.4kW units make up a back-up battery pack that displaces power at a rate of 23.8kW with 45kWh capacity matched with a 208V/3P SMA Sunny Island inverter at Node 1. (Visit site )
Eight Sony lithium iron phosphate batteries in a stack with a combined rate and capacity of 2.4kW/9.6 kWh are paired with a 6kW Outback inverter to protect Critical Grid servers at Node 2.
The Heila Techologies platform integrates DERS of different types and vendors into a coordinated self-organizing, self-regulating system. It enables an autonomously managing and optimizing microgrid to grow organically as assets are added or removed. Heila uses breakthrough software for decentralized decision-making, data collection, and learning over time. Hardware includes two functionally identical controller models: Node, designed for critical DERs, has a touchscreen for local user interface; Edge is designed for loads and non-critical DERs, smaller assets at the grid’s edge. (Visit site )
An Areva H2 Gen/Giner ELX Electrolyzer turns surplus solar power into hydrogen for energy storage. Using Proton Exchange Membrane (PEM) stack technology, the Giner electrolyzer splits water into hydrogen and oxygen in a cell equipped with a solid polymer electrolyte (SPE) that conducts protons from the anode to the cathode and separates product gases while insulating the electrodes. It offers fast dynamic response times, delivers pure hydrogen (99.9995%) safely at pressures up to 580 psi, and can be spooled to operate at increments of capacity. (Visit site )
Areva houses the electrolyzer and provides components for the balance of plant, including electrical wiring and electronics, heat exchanger/chiller for gas purification, reverse osmosis and de-ionization for water quality, and hydrogen drying. (Visit site )
Millenium Reign Energy’s Series 3 fueling station stores hydrogen gas in 24 one-kg carbon fiber and steel tanks at 6,500 psi. At that pressure, the dispenser will fill half a tank in a few minutes for a 150-mile range in the Honda Clarity and Toyota Mirai fuel cell cars. (Visit site )
The Plug Power ReliOn (GenSure) E-2200 fuel cell hives reverse the electrolysis process, transforming the chemical energy freed during the electrochemical reaction of hydrogen and oxygen to electrical energy. The byproduct is pure water. Each of three hive cabinets contains a stack of four 2.33kW units (total 28kW) of PEM (polymer electrolyte membrane) fuel cells. If individual modular units fail, they are easily removed and replaced. The kWh capacity is dependent upon the quantity of hydrogen stored. (Visit site )
Capstone’s C65 microturbine is a 65kW natural gas/hydrogen-fired external combustion engine that produces back-up electricity and operates at 90,000 rpm with peak efficiency at 80% (51-52kW). Essentially a stationary jet engine, it has one moving part and runs on two foil-air bearings, more quietly with increased speed. Exhaust temperatures can reach 588 °F., and this heat is captured for a CCHP plant. The microturbine operates on a 480V/3P service and produces a small amount of carbon dioxide; we are working to increasing hydrogen content in the fuel mix with the University of California, Irvine Power laboratory. (Visit site ).