When we released HOMER Pro 3.0 in October of last year, we announced that we would be committed to quarterly releases and bug fixes as often as every two weeks, when necessary. HOMER Pro 3.1 came out on January 20, 2015, right on schedule, along with two interim releases. The most recent version, 3.1.2, is now live on our website. You can see the changes made on our Version History page, and we recommend that all HOMER Pro users download this free update. We greatly appreciate our kind and communicative users who have provided us feedback on HOMER..

We are also happy to announce that we have extended the trial period to 30 days, giving you more time to put HOMER through its paces before making a buying decision. If you had a 14-day trial and would like more time, please contact our support desk about extending it. Meanwhile, more improvements are coming. Our development team is hard at work on 3.2, coming out in April. We are particularly excited about anticipated improvements to the advanced grid module.

Much of the Alaskan energy landscape is powered by islanded microgrids. As a result, Alaskan communities have developed unique technical expertise in various aspects of remote microgrid design, construction, and operation. They still face financial and operational challenges related to heavy reliance on diesel generation as an energy source, however. The Alaska Center for Energy and Power (ACEP) has launched the Global Applications Program (GAP), which seeks to expand and leverage the “Alaskan knowledge economy” surrounding microgrids and create global synergy to overcome barriers related to their design and operation. More

We have noticed, with enthusiasm, that many different US states are funding microgrid programs, often based on competition for funds. Although the massive loss of power and critical infrastructure following Superstorm Sandy was a driving force behind this trend, the result is a massive public education project in how microgrids can and will be a critical part of the energy future, even in areas where the grid is both reliable and affordable most of the time. Some of the recently announced projects include the NY Community Grid Project, recent awards from the California Energy Commission and the State of Connecticut.More

HOMER Energy has a few slots left in our 2015 Webinar Schedule. Our customers love how HOMER Energy’s webinars series offers vital, relevant information about the products, companies, and services available for developing successful multiple energy resource projects. It is standard to have 500-1000 participants wanting to hear from you. Contact us if you would like to provide an educational webinar about your product or service to thousands of people interested in the microgrid and hybrid energy industry. Contact webinars@homerenergy.com to learn how you can book a webinar.

In their article, “Off-Grid Energy in India: Identifying Early Adopter Markets,” Sanjoy Sanyal and Pamli Deka outline a strategic approach based on market analysis to identify areas of India that have the most potential to become early adopters of off-grid or microgrid energy systems. “Geoffrey Moore, in his book Crossing the Chasm, identified the need for [such] markets. The challenge for clean energy enterprises is to find a manageable subset of India’s potential early adopter markets. It is by no means an easy challenge, but the parameters that we propose could be an improvement over existing approaches.” More

The town of Les Anglais, Haiti, is in the final stages of installing a solar-powered microgrid that will provide electricity to 450 homes and businesses.  Energy production is scheduled to begin in early February, 2015. The timing is a boon to the residents of Les Anglais, as government-mandated hikes in fuel prices will result in an overall 14.9% increase in the cost of kerosene by March, 2015, despite falling global oil prices. The microgrid will not only provide consistent, safer, and cheaper electricity to residents, it will allow the town to develop agricultural processing capabilities, using microgrid electricity to process breadfruit. More

HOMER Energy CEO Dr. Peter Lilienthal is on the move in March and April, speaking at four different conferences and events. So be sure to come meet with him and learn about what's happening at HOMER Energy and in the world of microgrids.

HOMER Energy CEO Dr. Peter Lilienthal will speak at this 2.5-day conference, to be held at Anchorage's Alaska Pacific University on March 4-6, 2015. The event promises to provide an opportunity for participants to learn and share information about wind systems on island and islanded grid environments through expert panel discussions, stakeholder dialogue and training sessions. Attendees include researchers, operators, manufacturers, military and government officials, and other stakeholders. There will be an optional live HOMER training following the main event.

More information and registration at: http://events.r20.constantcontact.com/register/event?oeidk=a07eadndys3a3c98277&llr=hmdvnysab

HOMER Energy CEO Dr. Peter Lilienthal will be presenting on “Emerging Markets & Business Models” at the Distributed Wind 2015 conference on March 24, 2015 in Washington, DC. According to the event website: Distributed Wind 2015 is committed to the advancement of both distributed and community wind energy.  This two-day event includes a Business Conference with sessions focused on advancing the knowledge of distributed and community wind professionals that want to learn more about growing the market for this sector of the wind industry. The second day begins with a lobby 101 session, followed by a full day of meetings on Capitol Hill. All meetings are organized by DWEA and led by DWEA members. There is something for everyone involved in distributed wind industry.

 

The Advanced Power and Energy Program at the University of California Irvine is once again hosting the Microgrid Global Summit - March 25 and 26, 2015. The conference brings together global experts from industry, government, and academia with the theme "Empowering a New World of Energy." HOMER Energy CEO Dr. Peter Lilienthal will speak. Registration and more information are available here.

The Microgrid Global Summit will follow immediately after the 15th Annual International Colloquium on Environmentally Preferred Advanced Power Generation (ICEPAG) Clean Energy Conference, at the same location. Discounts are available for registering at both events.

Partial state of charge is a critical issue in the design and management of solar microgrids. In this on-demand webinar, HOMER Energy joins market partner Trojan Battery Company to discuss the ways microgrid integrators can develop top-performing systems using HOMER simulations and Trojan industrial batteries with Smart Carbon technology. The webinar recording also includes all Q&A discussion from the live event held on Sept. 2. View webinar (registration required)

Introduction to HOMER Pro Modeling Software -- February 17 and 19 -- 100% online

Introduction to HOMER Pro Modeling Software - March 10 and 12 - 100% online