STREAMING ONLINE ( In Berkeley)
APL commissioning and long run test streaming online 16 hours a day, five days a week.
Click here for the live feed
The big project for APL in 2015 is proving long run time operation, and establishing a formal track record of the Operation & Maintenance details encountered in the process. Towards this end, we have elaborated our long run testing program at Berkeley, and are setting in motion similar programs at several sites around the world. The goal is to push us quickly through the pilot projects of 12-24 hour daily run times, to certainty of this capability, and clear track record of doing so across a diversity of site conditions.
We plan to make this process as public as possible, so are starting with a live webcam on run operations at our Berkeley headquarters. This continues our popular live web stream from last December, but now upped to a permanent feature– 16 hours a day, 5 days a week.
At the link above you will see a real time view of our testing and new machine commissioning area. For now these two activities are co-located, so you will see tend to see one machine with lots of activity around it, and one machine just sitting there running. So far there is no live metering info, or other feed back on the run specifics; the first step is just getting our realtime activity, live on the web daily.
Additional live data, an interactive camera, and performance charts will follow emerge as we progress. But for now, enjoy the thrilling/boring live feed of a biomass gasification based generator, running daily on the web!
HIRING IN HAITI:
Is your future to be found at the end of this wire?
Our project partners at Limye’ Pa’w (Your Light in Haitian Kreyol) in Haiti are hiring! The wire above (left) feeds their distribution network in rural Haiti, which went live this week with commercial power generated via an APL Power Pallet. They’re now looking for an Operations Manager to help manage their pilot project. Following successful implementation of the pilot they expect to expand to other communities throughout 2015 and beyond. Limye’ Pa’w has a very impressive and ambtious plan to scale village electrificiation projects across Haiti.
The project is based on Power Pallet generation using local ag wastes ( corn cobs ). This is not an easy project in any dimension, but the seriousness and tenancity they have brought to it over the last two years is unusually impressive. The leaders of the project are exemplary ( both expat and local. This is a great opportunity for someone looking for real hands on work, providing new energy access to communities in need. For all the details, click here for the job link, or the above right image to check out their website.
USEFUL ENERGY ( In Liberia )
One year ago this week we installed the first v5 Power Pallets at the Booker Washington Institute in Kakata, Liberia. So how are they doing a year later? We just got these photos this week. The school has been closed due to the Ebola crisis, and only just reopened after six months.
All the activities you see here–sewing, cutting wood, welding, using a computer, even making cold drinks–are being powered by Power Pallets running every day, using rubber tree chips for fuel. It’s great to see the energy being put to such a productive and educational use, and nice also to know that they no longer have to rely on diesel for power.