BLOG: Power Perspectives

Have you ever wondered about electric power supply in remote areas? Power grid capacity only reaches so far. With increasing power need in remote areas—even in places like deserts, the arctic and jungles—it’s not surprising that hybrid power solutions are becoming more popular. Today’s blog post is focused on how hybrid power solutions can help increase efficiency in remote areas while cutting operating costs.

Power generation systems are essential to everyday life and economic growth. Some critical standby applications, such as hospital power, can even be the difference between life and death for those relying on vital electrical equipment. In cases like these, it is absolutely necessary to avoid power outages and interruptions.

Almost daily, we hear of new efforts being made either by a government entity or a given industry to actively pursue sustainable energy, with the ultimate goal of implementing it sooner rather than later. I find this quite encouraging, given the imperative to diversify our global fuel supply.

Sound regulation, testing and guidelines for electric generation products have never been clear in the United States. Today, most of the responsibility falls on state and local governments, but overlapping guidelines from hundreds of governmental bodies are confusing for manufactures, customers and the public. This results in varying sound regulations, testing and standards, which can be threatening to public safety.

It didn’t come in with all the fanfare of the new year, but January 8, 2013 marked the day we welcomed the 10,000th registered user of Caterpillar’s Electric Power SpecSizer tool. Considering that Caterpillar’s first generator set sizing software program was released in the mid-1980s, this may not seem like a big deal. However, we only began registering users in 2010, so this demonstrates a substantial increase (about 250 new users every month) in registered SpecSizer users.

By now, we’ve all seen the devastation wrought by Hurricane Sandy on the east cost of the United States. In many of the hardest hit areas, the initial recovery efforts were hampered by wide-spread power outages. We’ve worked with Cat dealers to mobilize equipment, personnel and other resources to help the affected areas, and hundreds of megawatts of portable generator sets are available to ease power shortages...

Selecting the correct generator set rating can be a confusing proposition. The seemingly endless number of variations and interpretations of generator set ratings are enough to make anyone uncertain. This post is a brief overview of a white paper I’ve written that helps clarify some of the confusion surrounding ratings...

There is a lot of talk about energy efficiency in the U.S. Capitol. Who will make it happen?

Very few people would know that there is enough landfill biogas power generation already operating in the United States to power millions of homes. Even fewer are probably aware of the carbon reductions that are possible...

While there are specific regulations associated with electrical system maintenance, these regulatory codes can be lengthy and confusing, and sometimes forgotten altogether...

What aspects of your power system are you currently monitoring? How do you manage all of the data? Has condition monitoring created any challenges for you? 

Events are important to Caterpillar. It gives us an opportunity to meet face-to-face with customers, hear about the power issues...

The seismic and wind resistance capabilities of a generator set can either be qualified or certified, but how do you know which is better?

Natural gas prices are at 10 year lows. Are utility companies doing enough to take advantage of...

The most common service calls for generators are failure to start due to battery failure. With so much riding on the ability of your investment...

Unfortunately, a general consensus about diesel fuel being 'good for life' is a common idea, but this belief is a myth.

Did you know that copper expands 67,000 times when it changes state from solid to vapor in an arc flash incident? Read more...

We share the results of our user survey and invite your feedback.

As technology has advanced, has your maintenance program? Does one type of maintenance program provide a better means to lower your operating costs...

I have had the opportunity over the years to participate, as both a presenter and an audience member, with a lot of diverse organizations that have a very common purpose: the advancement of combined heat and power, aka cogeneration...

What data do you want from a monitoring package, who should see it, and who should have authority to take action based on it?

Does the trend toward more renewable energy sources mean there will be less need for standby power, or more?

All generator set installations should conduct periodic load bank testing. But is it happening when not required by regulations?

Are environmental regulations driving higher costs? Are they driving business to other countries?

To be effective, a disaster management plan can never be written once, thrown into a drawer, and then pulled out again only when an emergency arises.  It is a living document ...

Para ser eficaz, un plan de manejo de desastres, no se pueden escribir una vez, dejarse en un cajón y buscarse solo en el momento de la emergencia. Se trata de un documento vivo...

Government owned utility companies are under increasing pressure to reduce costs. Both diesel and gas gensets can play a role...

Cost for commodities such as copper are at all time highs. Some things to consider that could reduce the amount your application needs...

Our online event was a success. Here's a summary of the activities...

I've often seen instances where a facility manager has a maintenance contract on the generator set/s but either doesn't ask or get offered a maintenance program on the electrical portion of the system...  Read more...