Page 17 - PCIM and APEC 2021 - Technical Coverage, eBook

APEC - Energy APEC - POWER SUPPLY

Today, the main driver or value proposition for investing in new storage is renewable energy storage.
“Turning renewable energy into a monetized asset; through peak shaving, the smart lithium battery
can charge when electricity rates are at their lowest and discharge during the most expensive

hours of the day to avoid paying peak prices,” Wasmuth said. “The decentralized energy system of
the future creates opportunities for companies to use energy storage combined with renewable
energy, not only to provide their own power but also to sell excess energy back to the grid through
what is called a virtual power plant.”

A virtual power plant is a cloud-based distributed energy solution that aggregates the capabilities
of distributed energy resources, such as wind and solar power, for power generation. Virtual power
plants aim to aggregate disparate facilities into a single control system, enabling intelligent energy
production, storage, and demand.

“Japan’s NTT bets on battery storage and the green transformation,” said Wasmuth. “It is investing
more than 1 trillion yen [US$9.3 billion] in renewable energy and storage by 2030. Its goal is to
provide more than 10% of the nation’s renewable-energy capacity by 2030.”

In the future, a group of power plants could also consist of fleets of electric vehicles. The decentralized
and decarbonized distributed energy system of the future will provide new opportunities for the

energy ecosystem.
Saving Standby Power

in the Smart Home

By Maurizio Di Paolo Emilio, editor-in-chief of Power Electronics News and
European correspondent for EE Times

Smartphones and home appliances are amongst the applications that have evolved in recent years.
One of the significant challenges is to optimize energy consumption as more and more devices
enter the market. With IoT, connectivity becomes increasingly important, as it allows maintaining
proper communication, and as a result, standby consumption is turning into a real challenge. During
APEC, Power Integrations announced LinkSwitch-TNZ, a new switching power supply IC family
that reduces standby consumption in smart-home applications and appliances to solve some
For More Information of these challenges. In an interview with Power Electronics News, Adnaan Lokhandwala, senior

product marketing manager at Power Integrations, pointed out that today, many devices operate
in standby mode and, to meet various regulatory requirements, new solutions combining offline
▶ Live Coverage of APEC 2021 power conversion, lossless zero-cross detection and, optionally, X-capacitor discharge functions
are required.

26 SEPTEMBER 2021 | www.powerelectronicsnews.com SEPTEMBER 2021 | www.powerelectronicsnews.com 27