SENTECH News

• August 12, 2008 -- DOE to Invest up to $24 Million for Breakthrough Solar Energy Products, Sentech to Participate on Two Selected Industry Teams
  
  U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy John Mizroch announced today that DOE will invest up to $24 million in Fiscal Year 2008 and beyond—subject to the availability of funds—to develop solar energy products to significantly accelerate penetration of solar photovoltaic (PV) systems in the United States. Twelve industry teams have been chosen to partner with DOE to advance integration of solar energy systems into electrical grid, and Sentech is participating on two of these selected teams.
  
  Sentech will work with General Electric (Niskayuna, N.Y.) in collaboration with candidate utilities including American Electric Power, Duke, and Hawaii Electric Company to develop product concepts for integrating solar PV generation with the electrical grid for commercial and residential use. The residential improvements will integrate energy storage, responsive loads, and utility demand side management and are expected to reduce homeowner energy bills and support utility needs to reduce peak loads. New and enhanced inverter and distribution system control concepts for both commercial- and utility-scale installations will be developed.
  
  In addition, Sentech will team with the Florida Solar Energy Center of the University of Central Florida (Orlando, Fla.) with SatCon, EnFlex, SunEdison, Northern Plains Power Technologies, Lakeland Electric Utilities, and additional utilities to develop new grid integration concepts for PV that incorporate optional battery storage, utility control, communication and monitoring functions, and building energy management systems. The Florida Solar Energy Center of the University of Central Florida will validate an anti-islanding strategy for PV inverters to allow PV generation to remain connected to the grid during some grid disturbances, while still meeting safety operation requirements. New inverter architectures with advanced controls will be introduced, bringing even more stability and security to the home.
  
  Link to full article
  
  
• July 31, 2008 -- SENTECH Supports DOE’s Water Power Technologies Program 
  
  With FY 2008 appropriations, the U.S. Department of Energy is developing a comprehensive Research, Development, Demonstration & Deployment (RDD&D) Plan for a wide range of advanced waterpower technologies. In addition to conventional hydropower technologies, these technologies include marine and hydrokinetic devices (which offer the potential to capture energy from waves, tides, ocean, and river currents), as well as marine thermal gradients (ocean thermal energy conversion - OTEC). A 2007 Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) report stated that the estimated potential increase in generation capacity is conservatively at 23,000 MW by 2025 (this estimate does not include potential contributions from OTEC). These new technologies highlight the possibility for energy extraction from water without the need to build new dams or diversions. DOE will focus on research to improve the reliability and performance of these technologies while reducing cost. The Program's 2008 conventional hydropower priorities are the continued improvement in efficiency and environmental performance of turbines and dams.
  
  SENTECH staff is providing engineering, environmental, maritime, and policy analysis and strategic planning support to DOE’s Water Power Program.  We are actively engaged in the review and analysis of the potential performance parameters and associated impacts and use analysis associated with the deployment of these innovative technologies.  We are also developing a comprehensive marine technology assessment database that will be used by both government and businesses to monitor technology and project developments as the industry continues to grow. For more information, contact Mike Reed at 240-223-5509 or mreed@sentech.org.

• July 25, 2008 -- Maryland Home Performance with ENERGY STAR, a Maryland Energy Administration program administered by SENTECH, participated in Congressman Roscoe Bartlett’s Strengthening the Mid-Atlantic Region for Tomorrow (SMART) Green Conference on July 18, 2008 in Frederick, Maryland.
  
  Several Maryland Home Performance contractors exhibited at the conference and explained the importance of energy improvements to homeowners. Glenn Dickey, Technical Services Director for Maryland Home Performance, gave a presentation as did Chandler von Schrader of the national program. Glenn Dickey is pictured with Congressman Bartlett. www.mdhomeperformance.org
• July 7, 2008 -- Sentech to Support DOE EERE for Another Five Years
  Sentech is part of the core team recently selected to assist the U.S. Department of Energy's Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy programs to provide technical, engineering, analytical, and management support to the Office of the Assistant Secretary and the Deputy Assistant Secretary for Technology Development. The team is led by Energy Works, LLC - a joint venture of New West Technologies and Energetics, Incorporated. Sentech and BCS, Inc. round out the core team that will provide the bulk of the effort. Also on the team are Booz Allen Hamilton, SAIC, Nexant, Energy and Security Group, Princeton Energy Resources International (PERI), Technology and Management Services, Sullivan International Group, and Antares, Inc. The contract was signed on June 25th and is for five years and $85 million, with a base period of two years and $32 million. For more information, contact the Sentech Contract Manager, Mr. Howard Lowitt, at hlowitt@sentech.org.
  
• May 8, 2008 -- SENTECH’s Sustainable Buildings Group administers Maryland’s version of the U.S. Department of Energy and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) program, Home Performance with ENERGY STAR . Launched in November 2007, the Maryland program encourages homeowners to get energy improvements done by trained and certified contractors. 
  
  On April 30th, EPA, on behalf of Maryland Home Performance with ENERGY STAR, commenced an advertising campaign for the program. The spring campaign focuses on Montgomery County and Prince George’s County. Advertisements will be seen and heard through The Gazette, Metro stations and on WYPR 88.1 FM.
  
  If you are a Maryland homeowner and are interested in getting energy improvements on your home, please visit www.mdhomeperformance.org and click on "Find a Contractor." For more information, press clippings and events, please visit www.mdhomeperformance.org/Press.html. 
• May 3, 2008 -- Volunteers from Sentech participated in the Greater DC Cares Servathon on Saturday, May 3rd. The team helped with weeding, planting, and installing an underground watering system in an organic garden at Emery Elementary School in Washington, D.C. After the event, volunteers were treated to a well-deserved after party organized by Greater DC Cares. We are proud to serve our community and happy to support the environmental education program at Emery!
  
• April 21, 2008 -- Governor Linda Lingle and U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Assistant Secretary for Electricity Delivery and Energy Reliability (OE) Kevin Kolevar announced the selection of a Hawaii project as part of a nationwide demonstration to modernize the country’s electricity grid system. The project team is led by the UH/Hawaii Natural Energy Institute and includes General Electric, Hawaiian Electric Company, Inc., Maui Electric Company, Columbus Electric Cooperative, the New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology, Sentech, and UPC Wind.
  
  This flagship project is one of nine being announced by OE today that will demonstrate the benefits of distributed generation and renewable electricity management on real-world electric grids. More information of the projects can be found at http://www.energy.gov/news/6170.htm.
  
• April 10, 2008 -- SENTECH receives ORNL Small Business of the Year Award
  
  SENTECH has received the 2007 Small Disadvantaged Business of the Year Award from Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL). A special recognition plaque was presented this morning at the 9th Annual ORNL Small Business Awards Ceremony where the Laboratory Director, Thom Mason, delivered the keynote address. SENTECH has provided a variety of technical support services to ORNL since 1993.
• March 28, 2008 -- Sentech Expands Service On New Contract with Department of Energy
  
  SENTECH continues to rapidly add staff and respond to client requests for its new contract to provide Engineering, Analysis, Planning, Systems Engineering, and Related Energy Services to the Office of the Assistant Secretary and the Deputy Assistant Secretary for Business Administration, Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) (Contract No. DE-AT01-07EE11182). "This is the largest contract in our company's history, and we want to maintain our product and service quality as we add staff to meet our client's needs," stated Jonathan Hurwitch, SENTECH's Executive Vice President and Project Manager for the new contract.
  
  The new contract is distinctive for SENTECH in that as a clean energy company, the company's core capabilities are focused on the technical content. On this project, that extensive technical knowledge is combined with business process expertise to help improve overall efficiency in the EERE organizaton. "We are in a unique position to bridge the information gaps between research and development project management and business management in order to help develop business processes that will be responsive to both groups' needs," stated Jo Blais, Deputy Project Manager. SENTECH anticipates significant benefits for EERE as information technology and business process efficiencies are designed and implemented.
  
  SENTECH - along with their partners Project Performance Corporation, SAIC, and Courtesy Associates - have been meeting with clients to discuss critcical performance issues and to determine their specific staffing needs to ensure continuity of services. To date, Sentech has hired seven new staff and anticipates 10-12 new hires by the end of May 2008.
  
  For more information, contact Jo Blais at jblais@sentech.org or Jon Hurwitch at jhurwitch@sentech.org.
• November 1, 2007 -- SENTECH is proud to announce that the company has become a Building Performance Institute Affiliate. Started in 1993, the Building Performance Institute (BPI) supports the development of a highly professional building performance industry through individual and organizational credentialing and a rigorous quality assurance program. SENTECH has met the stringent requirements necessary to becoming a BPI Affiliate to provide the highest-quality training and certification to contractors for a Maryland Energy Administration funded program called Maryland Home Performance with ENERGY STAR.
  
  The Maryland Home Performance program trains remodelers and trade contractors to BPI standards to perform whole-house energy audits using state-of-the-art diagnostic equipment. The trained and certified contractors will then recommend cost-effective comprehensive improvements that will yield the highest energy savings for the homeowner. For more information on the Building Performance Institute, please visit: www.bpi.org. For more information on Maryland Home Performance program, please visit www.mdhomeperformance.org or contact Asa Foss at afoss@sentech.org or (240) 223-5541.
• October 2, 2007 -- SENTECH Engineer, David Smith, is a co-inventor on a new patent awarded to Ford Motor Company. “Closed-Loop Power Control System for Hybrid Electric Vehicles," U.S. Patent 7,275,610 B2, describes a control system and control method for a hybrid electric vehicle powertrain having an engine, an electric motor and an electric generator with gearing for effecting split power distribution from separate power sources. Power delivery to vehicle traction wheels is coordinated to meet a driver's demand for power as much as possible without violating predefined maximum and minimum powertrain limits, including the limits of the battery subsystem. This technology is related to other work by Smith that was patented last year ("Control System for a Hybrid Electric Vehicle Powertrain," Ford Motor Company, U.S. Patent 7,117,964, October 10, 2006). For additional information, contact David Smith at dsmith@sentech.org.
• September 14, 2007 -- SENTECH is awarded contract with DOE Office of Energy Efficiency to provide services and support to the Assistant Secretary and Deputy Assistant Secretary for Business Administration. New employment opportunities are now available through SENTECH and partner companies SAIC, Project Performance Corporation, Ernst & Young, and Courtesy Associates.
• September 10, 2007 -- SENTECH signed a subcontract to conduct a study of the benefits, barriers, opportunities, and challenges of grid-connected, plug-in hybrid vehicles (PHEVs). SENTECH, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, General Electric Company, and Electric Power Research Institute will partner to establish potential value propositions that will lead to commercially viable PHEVs. Business scenarios will be developed based on economic advantages that either increase the consumer value of PHEVs or reduce the consumer cost of PHEVs. Phase 1 of the study is slated to extend from September 2007 though July 2008. For more information, see www.sentech.org/phev.
• September 2007 -- SENTECH is awarded a contract with the Office of Naval Research (ONR) to provide Technical, Programmatic, and Engineering Services and Support. ONR's mission is to foster, plan, facilitate and transition scientific research in recognition of its paramount importance to enable future naval power and the preservation of national security. SENTECH's partners include Intelligent Power & Energy Research Corporation, Vista Consultants, DJW Technology, and Mr. Thomas J. Gross, a Rear Admiral in the U.S. Naval Reserve (retired).