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September 11-14, 2023
The Venetian Convention and Expo Center Las Vegas, NV

Press

EMerge Alliance to Facilitate Duke Energy DC Home Demonstration Participation by Original Equipment Manufacturers

Press inquiries, contact Tim Morris, 703-738-9470, tmorris@re-plus.com

The EMerge Alliance, in collaboration with Duke Energy and Direct Energy Partners, to solicit participation by commercial manufacturers of dc based power components for the DC Home Demonstration project at Duke’s Emerging Technologies Research and Innovation Center in Mt. Holly, North Carolina.

The EMerge Alliance – today announced a collaboration with Duke Energy for recommending participation by original equipment manufacturers in the Duke Energy DC Home Project being conducted at Duke Energy’s Emerging Technologies Research and Innovation Center in Mt. Holly, North Carolina.  The mission of the project is to construct and evaluate a full scale and fully implemented DC powered home using production and prototype dc equipment that is either currently available or being readied for introduction to the residential market.

The demonstration project is intended to explore specific standardization and equipment compatibility issues through an actual implementation of various DC system topologies and device types. It will also look to provide technical guidance for design implementation tools, resources and standards for DC power nanogrid/microgrid deployment both within and outside the current public utility domain.

Participation is open to commercial original equipment manufacturers of products in all major categories of microgrid power systems including: sources, conversion/power management, storage, circuit protection and distribution, loads and controls, on a non-discriminatory basis.  Applicants need not be members of the EMerge Alliance or current suppliers to Duke Energy, Direct Energy Partners, or Rectify Solar.  Applications are being accepted on-line at https://bit.ly/DCProductsDemo from now until June 30, 2022. The Residential Technical Standards Committee of EMerge will make technical evaluations of all applications and provide recommendations to Duke Energy project management for their possible use in the demonstration home.

EMerge Chairman Brian Patterson, said “Duke Energy is a participating member of the EMerge Alliance and currently chairs the DC Metering Technical Standards Committee. The EMerge Residential TSC co-chairs are currently held by Direct Energy Partners and Recify Solar.  EMerge members have the common goal of enabling safely delivered, cleaner, affordable, and reliable energy, by applying sound physics and economics to the use of cleaner and more diverse renewable sources of energy in an increasingly networked environment, and in that context, we are happy to assist Duke Energy in this watershed project.”

David Lawrence, Technology Development Manager at Duke Energy’s Emerging Technology and Innovation Center, describes efforts by Duke Energy to prepare for a future in which utilities will provide electricity to homes and businesses by alternating current – the standard now – and by efficient direct current. “Duke Energy has followed dc technology for a number of years and is interested in the advancements and standardization that the EMerge Alliance is pursuing,” said Lawrence. “Our Emerging Technology and Innovation Center is an ideal proving ground to study this technology, and the DC Home project will be a vehicle for this work.”

EMerge Alliance is an RE+ Events Partner and plans to facilitate a live demonstration of a multi-tier networked hybrid ac/dc microgrid, based in part on learnings from the Duke Energy project, at the 2022 RE+ Conference and Exposition (formerly SPI, ESI and Smart Energy Week). Duke Energy project participants will also be invited to participate in the EMerge demonstration located in the RE+ Infrastructure section of this event, September 19-22, at the Anaheim Convention Center.

About the EMerge Alliance
The EMerge Alliance is a non-profit open industry association containing commercial, government and academic member organizations developing standards leading to the rapid adoption of hybrid AC/DC microgrids in commercial/industrial and residential buildings, neighborhoods and communities. EMerge standards integrate building and campus infrastructures, power, controls and devices in microgrid platforms to facilitate the hybrid use of AC and DC power.  The standards facilitate greater energy resiliency and sustainability while maximizing the potential to use of distributed clean and renewable local energy. Learn more at: http://www.emergealliance.org or for direct support: help@emergealliance.org

About Duke Energy 
Duke Energy (NYSE: DUK), a Fortune 150 company headquartered in Charlotte, N.C., is one of America’s largest energy holding companies. Its electric utilities serve 7.9 million customers in North Carolina, South Carolina, Florida, Indiana, Ohio and Kentucky, and collectively own 51,000 megawatts of energy capacity. Its natural gas unit serves 1.6 million customers in North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Ohio and Kentucky. The company employs 27,500 people. Learn more at: duke-energy.com

About Direct Energy Partners
Direct Energy Partners (DEP) delivers a software platform to accelerate the design, engineering, procurement and commissioning process of multi-vendor DC Microgrid Systems. DEP’s mission is to accelerate the adoption of DC Microgrids worldwide. Learn more at:  https://www.directenergypartners.com or for direct support: info@directenergypartners.com

About Rectify Solar
Rectify, LLC is a family-owned business with offices in Indianapolis, Indiana and Campbell, California, promoting energy efficiency, sustainability, and savings with solar installations, battery systems, electric vehicle charging stations, insulation, roofing and more. With a heritage of 1,000+ completed solar installations and 10+ years experience, safety and quality is their top priority. Learn more at: https://www.rectifysolar.com or for direct support: info@rectifysolar.com

 

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