HOMER Energy Welcomes NSF/ASEE Summer Fellows

by Daniel Walker 06.11.2012
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This June, HOMER Energy welcomes two new members to the team. Steve Frank and Kathryn Schumacher are joining HOMER this summer as part of the NSF/ASEE Engineering Innovation Fellows Program (EIFP). This program brings together NSF fellows with leading industry partners such as HOMER Energy. Steve Frank began his engineering career with a B.S. from [...]

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Micro-grids Rank High for Top Utility Issues 2012

by Peter Lilienthal, Ph.D. 05.17.2012
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The Intelligent Utility newsletter lists their take on the: “Top Five Issues of 2012 (so far)”.  Of the five issues listed two of them speak directly to the core of HOMER Energy’s business. Issue # 1: Keeping the lights on while integrating renewables… Issue # 4: Dealing with intrusions into their business domain such as [...]

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End “Drive by Development” – HOMER’s Nathan Johnson Focuses on Rural Energy Needs

by Marilyn Walker, Ph.D. 04.23.2012

Nathan Johnson is working with HOMER Energy for a year through a fellowship provided by the National Science Foundation and the American Society for Engineering Education. Nate has just completed a Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering from Iowa State University. He is focusing on developing the new HOMER Energy algorithm for the smart grid and beyond. [...]

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Microgrid Value Propositions

by Peter Lilienthal, Ph.D. 01.13.2012

Microgrids are power systems that can operate autonomously using combinations of conventional generation technologies, such as diesel gensets and combined heat and power systems, renewable resources, other new generation technologies, such as micro-turbines and fuel cells, energy storage systems, and load management systems.  They have three distinct value propositions that are useful for segmenting their [...]

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Solar Energy International Honors Walt Ratterman as a “Solar Hero”

by Marilyn Walker, Ph.D. 12.14.2011

Solar Energy International of Carbondale, Colorado USA has a established a scholarship fund in honor of fallen solar hero Walt Ratterman, who lost his life in the 2010 Haiti Earthquake: “SEI is deeply saddened by the loss of Walt Ratterman, who perished in the January 12, 2010 earthquake in Haiti.  Walt was an instructor, alumni, [...]

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The Island Energy Challenge

by Peter Lilienthal, Ph.D. 10.19.2011
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Petroleum is the problem Islands face extreme challenges from an energy security perspective. Pipelines supplying inexpensive and plentiful natural gas are not an option for them.  Only very large islands, such as Taiwan, can use coal or nuclear. These factors have left most of them completely dependent on liquid fuels derived from petroleum, mostly diesel.  [...]

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Clean micro-grid technologies are going to change the utility industry

by Peter Lilienthal, Ph.D. 04.18.2011

Large electric grids like we have in North America are awe-inspiring.  They are undoubtedly the most complex machines ever built.  People don’t usually think of them as a machine, but really they are a set of components connected by wires just like any electronic machine.  Only in this case it spans millions of square miles [...]

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Powering Health

by Peter Lilienthal, Ph.D. 04.04.2011
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HOMER Energy has renewed its contract with the US Agency for International Development and Tetratech to design hybrid renewable energy systems for rural health clinics and hospitals in Haiti. Called “Powering Health,” the work includes updates to a simplified online model of the HOMER software www.homerenergy.com customized to the needs of rural health clinics. The [...]

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