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News, Trends, and Advances
May 2015

Security Comes First:
Renewable Energy and the Boko Haram Kidnappings

It’s 10 PM. The lights in your village of Chibok, in a remote corner of Nigeria, went out for the night half an hour before. Blackness and quiet cover the land, and you drift off to sleep in your bed in the girls’ dormitory. Suddenly, you are startled awake by footsteps and loud voices – men’s voices – telling you that the village is under attack, and that they are soldiers here to keep you safe. “Hurry! Hurry now!” they implore. “Get on the bus! Quickly! You must come with us – now!” There is no light, only a few torches held by the men, and you rush to the bus in alarm. Only when you are on the road, in their bus or truck, do you realize with horror that these are no soldiers. These men are not your rescuers, but your captors.

And so it was that 276 school girls were brutally kidnapped in the night, because there were no lights to reveal the truth. Read more


Batteries for Your PV System: How Much Do You Need?

With Tesla’s big stationary storage announcement recently, much attention was paid to how battery prices have fallen faster than expected. The $350 per kWh price for the 10 kWh battery was ahead of most analysts’ forecasts. Not surprisingly, the emphasis has been on using those batteries—at least initially—for backup power and demand charge reductions, but as SolarCity CTO Peter Rive recently noted, they’ll also soon be used for grid-connected solar customers. That grid-connected solar-plus-battery combo is exactly what Rocky Mountain Institute and HOMER Energy analyzed in The Economics of Load Defection released last month.

But just as important as how cheap batteries are getting is another crucial question: how much battery do you need? Read more


HOMER NEWS & EVENTS

Deep Dive Workshop Before ACEF in Manila, June 15

HOMER Energy is hosting a half-day "deep dive" workshop on Monday, June 15, preceding the Asia Clean Energy Forum in Manila. The workshop will feature case studies from speakers presenting their analyses on modeling mini-grids using HOMER. (Parties interested in presenting should submit an abstract proposal to workshops@homerenergy.com as soon as possible.) The workshop will also include an expanded demonstration of HOMER Pro.

WHEN:June 15, 2:00-5:30 PM
WHERE:Asian Development Bank, Manila
COST:Free, but participants must register for the ACEF and separately for the workshop
Click here to register for the Deep Dive HOMER Workshop and demonstration

Click here to register for the Asia Clean Energy Forum

A full-day HOMER training will be held on Saturday, June 20, following the ACEF. More information and registration information is available below.


Full Day HOMER Training in Manila, June 20

HOMER Energy is offering its first-ever open training in Asia on 20 June 2015 in the capital city of Manila, the Philippines. The one-day training will follow immediately after the Asia Clean Energy Forum.

Seats are very limited, so REGISTER NOW.

Click here to learn more and reserve your space.


Upcoming Online Training for HOMER Pro Users


Save the Date! Microgrid 2015 Conference, October 14-15, Australia

HOMER Energy announces our major microgrid conference and HOMER training for 2015 in Canberra, Australia, October 14 and 15, 2015. Opportunities to speak and to sponsor are now available. Find out more at www.microgridnews.com.


Watch Now: HOMER Energy Webinars Available Online


HOMER Pro Update

HOMER Pro version 3.2.2 was released on May 19, 2015. The latest version includes Leonics converters in the component library, supports authenticated proxy servers, and incorporates various improvements and bug fixes. Download the latest update now.

WHAT WE'RE READING

Advocacy Group Proposes New Market Player: The Microgrid Organizer

The Microgrid Resources Coalition has proposed a new microgrid participant — the microgrid organizer — which it hopes will eliminate complexities and confusion in regulating multi-customer microgrids...

When a microgrid serves a single entity, say a university, it is clear who is in charge — the university. But it’s less clear when there are multiple entities served, as is the case with many of the emerging community microgrids. They might include a combination of businesses, homes, schools and institutions.

Who within the microgrid is responsible? Should they all be regulated? Or just certain ones. And if so which? Read more

(Source: Microgrid Knowledge)


Powerhive Plans to Bring Microgrids to 200,000 Homes in Kenya

Powerhive, Inc. has announced that its industry-leading portfolio of off-grid metering and control solutions has successfully completed over two years of field testing in Kenya, paving the way for its commercialization and scale-up. With financial and technical backing from First Solar, Inc., a leading global provider of photovoltaic (PV) solar energy solutions, Powerhive pioneered the delivery of locally generated energy in Kenya’s Kisii province, where over 90% percent of the population does not have access to electricity.

With plans to expand its coverage to over 200,000 households in Kenya, Powerhive leveraged the pilot projects to test and refine its range of solutions, designed to enable microgrid deployments in rural regions. Read more


US Army Demonstrates Energy Informed Operations Microgrid

The US Army tested its base camp power and energy technologies during a demonstration on Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri, April 13-24.

The Communications-Electronics Research, Development and Engineering Center (CERDEC) assembled, monitored, managed and demonstrated its Energy Informed Operations, or EIO, microgrid. The EIO system was designed with an open architecture to allow power resources to easily plug in and play into the grid.

“Increased capabilities, for the Soldier, have caused energy demands on the battlefield to increase,” said Marnie Bailey, CERDEC Command, Power and Integration Directorate, or CP&I, EIO team lead. “Energy Informed Operations aims to provide the Soldier the ability to interactively monitor and manage power systems in order to optimize power availability, allowing the unit to maintain mission critical systems needed to achieve mission success.” Read more

PARTNER NEWS & EVENTS

HOMER Industry Partner News

HOMER Energy is pleased to announce REDT Energy, manufacturer of vanadium redox batteries, and SolarCentury, one of the world’s most trusted, respected and long-standing solar panel companies, as our newest Bronze Industry Partners.

Northern Power Systems Reports Double Wind Turbine Orders in First Quarter 2015

ABB and Samsung SDI Join Forces to Develop Microgrids Globally


2nd Microgrid Development for Public & Private Sectors WEST COAST

Revolutionize energy storage systems, renewable technologies, and structural design to enhance energy reliability and overall microgrid productivity. Following the success of the First Annual West and East Coast Microgrid Conferences, the 2015 West Coast edition continues to provide a platform for public and private sector professionals to demonstrate and discuss their successful microgrid projects and lessons learned. Click here for more information.


Gold Industry Partner

Northern Power Systems


Silver Industry Partners

ABB Microgrid Solutions Schneider Electric American Vanadium
Leonics Discover Energy Cadmus
Sustainable Power Systems Sustainable Power Systems Alpha Energy
Aquion Energy Aquion Energy


Bronze Industry Partners

Sustainable Power Systems Smart Hydro
Trojan Battery



Connect, Converse, Collaborate

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