Solar Power International ‘09: Here Comes The Sun
October 29, 2009 by iCeL Team · 3 Comments
The Solar Power International ‘09 conference in Anaheim, California hosted 900 exhibitors and 20,000 attendees. Esteemed keynote speakers included Robert Kennedy, Jr. New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson, and US Secretary of Labor Hilda L. Solis. Eco entertainer Ed Begley also gave an inspiring account of how much the environment has improved in the last three decades due to changes in consumer behavior, renewable technology, and government legislation.
Robert Kennedy, Jr., lifelong environmental advocate and currently a senior attorney at the National Resources Defense Council, spoke of the coming democratization of energy distribution in America. Mr. Kennedy described a recent breakfast he had with a number of political dignitaries including US Energy Secretary Steven Chu, Al Gore, Bill Clinton, the EPA’s Lisa Jackson, Dept. of the Interior Secretary Ken Salazar, and Senators Jeff Bingaman, Nancy Pelosi, Harry Reid among others. The discussion centered around the creation of a national grid system that would allow all Americans to participate in the energy marketplace through the exchange of renewable power that their home or business produces. This incredible scenario is just one example of the many ways in which solar energy integration is evolving.
iCeL Systems CTO Dr. Wartena was heartened by his experience at Solar Power International ‘09. After walking the floor of SPI ‘09, he stated enthusiastically, “I was really impressed by the aesthetic integration that solar panels have made. Many of them don’t even look like solar panels anymore. They look like sleek plates of black glass.” The barrier for solar adoption based on appearance seems to finally be dissolving, at the same time as government resistance. At Solar Power International 2009, it was clear to all- times they are a’changing.
IBEW Training Electrical Workers In Green Technology
September 15, 2009 by iCeL Team · 2 Comments
The International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) has gone green, training unions across the US to install renewable energy systems and retrofit buildings for energy efficiency. The IBEW is determined to remain on the cutting edge of the Cleantech industry and will be training its local unions, starting with Local 11, to install iCeL’s intelligent energy storage systems. iCeL is very excited to work with the best electricians in the country, expanding the Smart Grid while creating green jobs for the skilled union members of America.
iCEL St. Paul: Green Union Jobs For The Twin Cities
August 24, 2009 by iCeL Team · 2 Comments
Due to corporate cutbacks and outsourcing, the City of St. Paul Minnesota lost 2,900 manufacturing jobs in December 2008 alone. This disquieting number adds to the more than 75,000 jobs lost over the past year. Fortunately, according to the Minnesota Green Jobs Report, green jobs are expected to grow in Minnesota to 72,467 by 2020. This makes for a phenomenally promising equation. As lost jobs are restored, the greening of an industrial capital will take place, increasing quality of life for St. Paul citizens on numerous levels. iCeL Systems, Inc. is looking forward to being part of Minnesota’s much-needed green job growth with its latest iCeL Energy Lab.
iCeL St. Paul (iSP) is slated to open its doors this fall and sales are already under way with Fortune 500 businesses. iSP will produce and install iCeL energy storage and management systems throughout the State. This will employ electrical workers, administration and sales staff, and other renewable energy companies. iCeL St. Paul plans to create approximately 500 new local jobs over the next several years.
Headed by solar professionals from Minnesota’s Energy Harvest Group, iCeL St. Paul is led by people who understand the renewable energy business inside and out. Having been to every energy storage technology on the market, it was iCeL’s extreme versatility and functionality that captured the attention of Dan Thees, Pete Treacy, and Al Christensen in the fall of 2008.
According to Christensen, iSP’s Executive VP of Government Affairs, “We caught the iCeL bug last October when Chaz Haba sat down with the Mayor of St. Paul…The metro area cities and counties are very interested in using this new technology in numerous applications, some designed as power back up systems at data centers, some combined with renewable for street lighting in city parks, others as auxiliary power to run lights on Metro Transit buses and lastly for peak shaving or load shifting energy management systems used for day to day operations in municipal buildings or to increase efficiencies in low income government housing.”
iCeL St. Paul is extremely fortunate to have the mayor’s office on their side, as Chris Coleman was recently named one of 15 Green Leaning Mayors by Grist Magazine. “To sustain our city in a new century and preserve a bright future for our children, we must act as responsible stewards of our urban environment,” Mayor Coleman strongly states in his vision for a Sustainable St. Paul. Coleman has stewarded numerous green transport initiatives and is committed to working with energy providers to reducing carbon dioxide emissions.
iCEL Systems Inspires New WattPlot MultiMATE
Over the past year, iCeL Systems has joined forces with WattPlot, a comprehensive software tool which provides real-time reporting on renewable energy system data. WattPlot allows iCeL customers to monitor their energy storage systems remotely via desktop or smart phone.
For the Anaheim Energy Field project, iCeL CTO Dr. Ryan Wartena, made some special requests of WattPlot. Wartena was extremely impressed with WattPlot’s ability to completely exceed expectations by developing a whole new product to meet iCeL’s needs for the Energy Field, which feeds into the Anaheim Public Utility grid.
Andrew Welch of WattPlot recently shared his experience developing the new software.
“Earlier this year, iCEL Systems of California presented us with a challenge. They install 3-phase renewable energy systems, using six OutBack inverters arranged as three pairs: one pair for each phase, and each phase with its own MATE! They wanted a way of monitoring all three MATEs on one screen, viewing each phase as a reporting set, as well as having an overall power production plot, summarizing the three phase reporting sets – a set of sets! They also needed to be able to send a MATE command to all three MATEs simultaneously.
Such capabilities were beyond the standard WattPlot, but we were intrigued by the possibilities and got right to work on a custom solution for iCEL. There was a deadline to meet: the new system was being installed in the new Energy Field park in Anaheim, CA, and the ribbon-cutting ceremony [hyperlink to News article of Anaheim Ribbon Cutting], was only a few weeks away!
I am pleased to report that, not only did we meet the deadline, but some of the work will be applied to the next major WattPlot release. Version 4.4 is still some weeks away, but the final result will be all of the current WattPlot PRO features in a package that can mix and match MATEs and reporting sets, all in a single monitor program. We call it WattPlot MultiMATE and we’re very excited!”
Flexible, innovative, and customer-oriented, WattPlot and iCeL Systems are two companies clearly devoted to providing the ultimate functionality for all their clients, big and small.
Anaheim Energy Field Ribbon Cutting
June 15, 2009 by Jenn Breckenridge · 4 Comments
In June of 2009, iCeL Systems, Inc. joined together with the Mayor of Anaheim, Public Utilities General Manager Marcie Edwards, and the Anaheim Center for New Energy Technologies (AC-NET) to cut the ribbon on the visionary Anaheim Energy Field.
Located in central Anaheim, at 1625 S. Ninth Street, the Energy Field transformed a three-acre segment of overgrown weeds into a colorful playground and park for the neighborhood. Hundreds of solar panels line the far end of Energy Field and are even incorporated into the roofs of picnic shelters and lunch tables.
The large solar array paired with a 50 kilowatt-hour iCeL System is an initiative of the Anaheim Public Utilities Department (APUD). The APUD believes small, distributed power generation is a potential key asset for future “smart grid” configurations and is investigating iCeL’s intelligent energy storage system as a means to efficiently distribute affordable green energy.
During this pilot program, the City will be able to monitor and manage the iCeL System with a secure web-based platform from any computer or smart phone. “It is exactly this kind of technological advancement and partnership that will continue to put Anaheim at the forefront of innovation,” said the Mayor.
After the Mayor, Marcie Edwards, and City Council Members completed their opening speeches, iCeL Systems CEO Chaz Haba and CTO Dr. Ryan Wartena gave an educational tour of the their interactive energy storage and management system.
Dr. Wartena was excited to share the unique intelligence and functionality of the iCeL System with city leaders who are inundated with energy and environmental concerns. “I feel the opening of Anaheim Energy Field is a landmark occasion for energy storage. This pilot project is enabling renewable energy to be a part of the local community’s shared energy management capabilities.”
Members of the Anaheim community now have a special opportunity to learn about renewable energy at Energy Field, while reaping the benefits of its renewable energy supply at home.