DC Microgrids

Intel, Ford to Test DC Microgrids

Direct current. It’s so out it’s in.

May 17, 2011 - Intel and Ford Motor Company plan to retrofit select facilities to see if DC power can really curb their electricity consumption.

Intel will wrap the facility that houses the energy research group, part of Intel Labs, in Arizona in a DC microgrid, according to Brian Patterson, chairman of the Emerge Alliance, an organization dedicated to popularizing DC power. Ford, meanwhile, will retrofit a building that houses both manufacturing and offices to run on DC.

In both examples, DC power will be used to run computers, datacenters, lights and likely the heating and air conditioning systems. Ford may even go farther and add manufacturing equipment to the mix. The Ford facility will also include an energy storage system from Xtreme Power. (Xtreme has racked up a number of high-profile wins for its secretive battery/storage technology, so chalk up another one here.)

DC power didn't go away after Westinghouse won the Battle of Currents 100 years ago. It just went underground. Most electrical items -- notebooks, batteries, ships, planes, electric motors -- actually run on DC. Power gets distributed across the grid as AC, but then gets converted and reduced in voltage -- often a number of times -- before it actually gets consumed. Every conversion results in a loss. {continued}