Distribution

The Phase-EQ technology is a patented power electronics device that gives utilities dynamic, dispatchable control of power from phase-to-phase in a three-phase circuit. This can be installed at feeder mid-points, or at the substation. Inter-phase balancing can be automated to make all power downstream of the device appear as perfectly balanced three-phase power to the upstream system. The Phase-EQ can also be given measurements for a different point in the feeder to “virtually” balance to that point. This technology has been supported and vetted by NYSERDA for its ability to increase solar and EV hosting of distribution systems.

Enertechnos Capacitive Transfer System (CTS) cable is built using standard cable manufacturing equipment but arranges the conductors in a structure that creates a linear capacitor along the length of the cable. The unique line configuration and termination develops a bulk, series capacitance to balance the cable inductive reactance, which causes voltage drop and power factor issues over long distances. Performance has been simulated using 100m test cables and MATLAB® models that increase frequency to simulate longer cable lengths. Results of the models have been validated by the UK National Physical Laboratory and Brunel University. Enertechnos is focused on 33kV cables to start and can reduce to 11kV easily. Increasing voltage would require a thicker dielectric,so longer cable lengths would be required to achieve the necessary capacitance.

The Sigora Smart Meter and accompanying software provides mobile-enabled pre-pay, software-regulated wattage ceilings, wifi access points at meters, a secure RF-based network for transmittance of power and transactional data, and real-time theft detection and intervention. The meters can support single phase, split phase, and three-phase configurations.

Virginia Polytechnic Institute & State University will develop a GaN- and SiC-based, utility scale, high power (100 kW), multilevel, medium voltage DC-to-AC inverter that can receive power from sources like batteries or solar panels and transfer it directly to the medium voltage level of the utility grid. The team will also integrate the developed inverter with an existing medium voltage AC-to-DC converter to build a bidirectional solid-state transformer that converts low-voltage AC to high-voltage AC without using heavy, low-frequency materials such as copper and iron in its design. If successful, the project could lead to the first commercially viable medium voltage solid-state transformer, using just a single-stage process to obtain ultra-high efficiency power conversion.