Applications

Solar Arrays for Facilities

Distributed solar generation can provide a significant portion of a facility's energy use, and peak generation times tend to coincide with peak power usage times. Furthermore, there are federal and state subsidies to promote the use of solar power that can help make these systems a good investment. In many cases, Princeton Power can design and install a solar array at no-cost to the facility, returning our investment by selling the electricity generated by the array to the facility under a Power Purchase Agreement. A solar array located on a facility or near where the power is used is a step towards creating a secure, self-sustaining business protected from the price increases and reliability issues of the electric grid. Typical array installations are on flat roofs, tilted roofs, parking structures, or adjacent fields.

Energy Storage for Microgrids

Combining electrical energy storage, such as a lithium-ion battery system, with a solar array provides the ability to separate from the electrical grid and operate in a completely secure and reliable manner. Batteries also enable matching generation to time of use, peak-shaving, and significantly reducing the fuel and sizing for common backup diesel or biodiesel generators. Even small amounts of storage can have a major impact on reducing fuel costs, maintenance, and emissions. While lead-acid batteries are still the lowest-cost solution for backup power, newer lithium-ion batteries can provide high-efficiency (>90% round-trip), 10 year lifetimes, and deep-cycle capability, making them the most cost-effective solution for many applications…not to mention requiring less than 1/3 the volume. Hybrid lead-acid, which incorporates an ultracapacitor with a lead-acid base, flow batteries, flywheels, and other types of storage can be incorporated and controlled in the systems we build.

Energy Storage for Grid Support and Renewables Integration

Many of the issues facing the aging electrical transmission and distribution system can be mitigated by adding energy storage close to where power is needed, whether at the substation level or behind a customer's meter. Area Frequency Regulation and other ancillary services for grid support are lucrative markets in North America, where the benefits of using integrated energy storage systems are just becoming more widely known. PPS' Energy Storage System combines batteries with GTIB inverters and a communications system that allows it to interface with the electric grid and provide valuable services, as well as being programmable to run in a variety of grid support modes. Grid support services are critical to enabling further penetration of intermittent resources like solar, especially technologies like concentrating solar that can see wide swings in power output during short-term events like cloud coverage. Integrating with storage can be valuable to prove the cost-effectiveness of these generation technologies, the ESS provides a simple solution to demonstrating various types of storage.

High-power Conversion

Many different types of generators, including large wind turbines, hydroelectric generators, and different types of PV technologies, can be cost-effective as grid-connected generators in various applications. Princeton Power Systems specializes in converters and system design for 3-phase systems between 50 - 3,000 kW power level. Our products are ideal for control of advanced generators such as permanent magnet, axial flux, and new technologies including low-inductance machines.