Weekly Microgrid News: Bangladesh, Brooklyn, Ontario …& More — March 15, 2017
Bangladesh Embarks on Low-carbon Path
Some 9 solar microgrids have started operation in the char areas and islands of Bangladesh with the assistance of the state-run Infrastructure Development Company (IDCOL). Another 16 are at different stages of implementation and 30 more are in the pipeline. IDCOL sources state that the distribution network is being developed so that during future disruptions of grid power supply, Bangladesh Rural Electrification Board (BREB) system can fall back on solar power. Finally, BREB can supply power from microgrids. In addition, rooftop solar power facility installation has been made mandatory for new domestic, commercial, and industrial power connection.
Solar Experiment Lets Neighbors Trade Energy Among Themselves
The New York Times reports on the “Brooklyn Microgrid,” an energy-trading experiment taking place in the Park Slope neighborhood of Brooklyn. The project signs up neighborhood home and business owners with solar panels to connect to the microgrid and use a “virtual trading platform,” enabling solar-energy producers to sell their excess credits to buyers in the group (a/k/a their neighbors). The project is in the beginning stages, but its 50 current participants are proving the benefits of a “virtual, peer-to-peer energy trading system built on blockchain.”
Ontario Teachers’ Pension Fund Invests $2 Billion in Clean Infrastructure Partnership
The $171.4 billion Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan has announced it is investing $2 billion in a new partnership with Anbaric, a major developer of clean energy transmission and microgrid projects, to create a new development company, Anbaric Development Partners. The company will build clean energy infrastructure projects in North America and will upgrade aging transmission networks. The existing Anbaric management team will lead the new company. As part of the deal, the Ontario Teachers’ is committed to funding $2 billion in development costs.
More microgrid news highlights:
MHC Microgrid a Step Toward Renewable Future
Under the Skin of a Made-for-military Microgrid
2016: Another Monumental Year for Clean Energy
Atlantic City Council Prepares for Crisis with Microgrids, Casinos Would Benefit
Look for HOMER Energy’s “Microgrid News Highlights” feature weekly at microgridnews.com