September, 2017

Lessons from the Off-grid World: Resilient Distributed Energy Win-Win for Consumers, Utilities

distributed energy

The future of energy starts with a fundamental transition from a centralized structure dependent on fossil generation to a distributed structure relying mostly on renewable generation. This transition means a large number of small projects instead of a small number of large projects. And you, HOMER users, are the vanguard of this transition.

To ‘fuel’ this future, the grid-connected world can learn a lot of lessons from international (and Alaskan) experience with off-grid and isolated systems, which were the topics of many of the sessions held at HIMC2017. I’m going to talk about 6 such lessons.

HOMER’s HIMC2017 Highlights: Presentations, Panels, Training, and Tours

On Monday, September 18, HIMC2017 kicked off in Denver with a welcome from HOMER Energy CEO Dr. Peter Lillienthal.

We’re just catching up from HOMER Energy‘s HOMER International Microgrid Conference (HIMC2017), which took place this week near our home base, in Denver, Colorado. Approximately 200 attendees participated […]

HOMER Energy Brings Microgrid Modeling to Solar Power International the Week Before Denver Microgrid Event

spi wrapupThe HOMER Energy team poses at our booth in SPI's Microgrid Marketplace before a full day of conversations and HOMER Pro demos.

SPI wrapup … brief Solar Power International highlights On September 10-13, HOMER Energy joined thousands of exhibitors and tens of thousands of attendees at Solar Power International (SPI) […]

HOMER Energy Prepares to Host 5th International Microgrid Conference in Denver, Colorado

The HOMER International Microgrid Conference is the only event of its kind focused on bringing together global leaders and influencers in the microgrid community. Both an educational and networking event, the conference allows attendees to connect with others in their industry to discuss projects and collaborative opportunities. 2017 presentation topics include The Current Microgrid Market State, Microgrid Finance, and Grid Connected Case Studies. The third day offers an optional training in the HOMER software, and the fourth day includes optional tours of the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) in Golden, a tour of the nation’s largest public-private outdoor solar testing and demonstration facility at SolarTAC, and a look inside a leading edge effort to bring clean energy to existing commercial buildings with a visit to the Alliance for Sustainable Colorado’s LEED Platinum building, the Alliance Center.

Lessons from Irma and Harvey: Time for Transition to Resilient Renewable-Energy Microgrids

hurricane grid failure

Our out-of-date fossil-fuel-based infrastructure is failing a world where climate change is bringing more frequent, more extreme, more intense weather to the planet. And the lesson, if we are smart enough to learn it, is that as long as we’re dependent on fossil fuels, these weather events and other related disasters will wreak long-lasting havoc on human lives, the economy, and on the environment.

How to Reduce Energy Costs with Peak Shaving (HOMER Energy at Solar Power International)

For grid-connected commercial and industrial (C&I) customers, the demand charges associated with peaks in consumption during high-use periods can be substantial–up to 70% of the customer’s utility bill–and peak shaving is a great option to reduce these costs. In fact, a just-released National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) survey of U.S. demand charges found that more than 25% of commercial utility customers (or about 5 million customers)  in the U.S. alone would benefit from reducing peak demand consumption.