Rooftop-mounted microgrid combines wind, solar, storage

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From pv magazine USA

Hover Energy, a Texas-based wind power tech company, said it will begin commercial-scale production of its residential and commercial 36 kW wind-powered microgrids at its facility in Memphis, Tennessee, in January 2023.

The Hover Array System is a rooftop-mounted microgrid combining wind, solar and energy storage with the company’s integrated energy management system (IEMS) software platform. The IEMS system integrates energy generated by both wind (alternating current) and solar (direct current) into a unified 480 V, three-phase direct drive power system to provide back-up power to building owners and residential customers.

Hover Energy’s consumer wind turbine is mounted along the windward-facing edges of the rooftop to generate continuous power throughout the day. The wind technology uses an “aerodynamic design that uses the building as a sail” to deliver commercial scale power. The company’s on-site solar panels are mounted on the rooftop center, away from the shadow of the turbine’s parapet, generating sufficient solar power during most of the daily peak afternoon hours.

Initial testing of the Hover Array System shows that the 36 kW system can offset 100% of a building’s power consumption in most cases. However, as with any microgrid system, daily time of use is the only setback to providing continuous power around the clock.

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“Hover spent nearly eight years in R&D, followed by two years of rigorous testing at our installation site,” said Chris Griffin, Hover’s president and CEO.  “We know of no other wind technology that has survived two hurricanes (i.e. Ian) and is still functioning properly.”

Hover Energy has worked with RealTime Group since 2021 and Jabil since 2017. It installed its first array system on Jabil’s Strategic Development building in St. Petersburg, Florida, in 2021.

Hover Energy is by its management team and $710,000 in debt financing it raised in April 2019. In the past, Griffin served as CEO of wind turbine startup Regenedyne, and before that he spent 15 years in corporate finance at a number of Wall Street firms.

 

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