Microgrid Industry News

How Distributed Energy Can Help Meet New Infrastructure Demands for Electric Vehicle Charging

The rapid expansion of the electric vehicle market is going to create two challenges for society: first, electrified transportation is going to increase our demand for electricity; second; in order to serve new EV owners, we will have to make rapid upgrades to our EV charging infrastructure. How will the transition to electrified transportation affect consumers, utilities and other stakeholders? We explore that question in light of the new HOMER Grid EV charging station design tool:

Earth Day 2020: Celebrating the 50th Anniversary

Today is the 50th Anniversary of Earth Day, when millions of Americans protested air and water pollution, pesticides and waste. That event prompted important actions that improved air and water quality. Now Earth Day is worldwide, and together we face the challenge of global warming. Renewable energy is progressing rapidly. Can we harness this technology to help mitigate climate change?

Electric Vehicle Battery Power Could Offset Residential Peak in Southern California Utility

A Southern California Edison study last fall found that simulated vehicle-to-grid charging by only 10 percent of customers could offset the utility’s entire residential peak load. While rapid growth of EV ownership is on track to put unprecedented stress on utility resources, the study suggests that using EVs as a “virtual power plant” can lessen the impact:

“Agrivoltaics,” a win-win strategy combining solar and agriculture

Competing land use priorities have pitted farmers and renewable energy developers against each other. As solar deployment grows rapidly, those conflicts could become more common. But, innovations with dual-use solar projects can create wins for both agriculture and clean energy, as well as new revenue streams for financially strapped family farmers. Call it “agrivoltaics:”

Distributed Energy Perspectives: Former CO Governor Bill Ritter

At the recent Distributed Energy conference in Denver, CO, keynote speaker Bill Ritter highlighted the actions of state governments, which he says are the leaders in forward-thinking clean energy policy. Transportation should be the next target for reducing carbon emissions, Ritter says, and states should be promoting renewable energy for rural Americans:

Selecting a Smart Microgrid Controller

Smart controllers ensure reliable, safe, and efficient microgrid power generation and distribution by helping coordinate and optimize system functions with intelligent capabilities. We spoke with Petra Píclová of ComAp, who will be presenting on this topic at the HOMER International Microgrid Conference, October 7-9 in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Join us to hear Petra and other professionals share their microgrid experience:

Microgrid Wisdom After the Wind

Adam Eberwein, Director of Microgrid Operations for EarthSpark International, explains what the company learned about resilient design of microgrids after Hurricane Matthew destroyed so much of Haiti. Adam will be speaking on Resilient Microgrids at the HOMER International Microgrid Conference in Cambridge October 7th:

Falling Renewable Power Costs Open Door to Greater Climate Ambition

Over three-quarters of the onshore wind and four-fifths of the solar PV capacity that is due to be commissioned next year will produce power at lower prices than the cheapest new coal, oil or natural gas options, according to the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA). That makes renewable energy the least-cost climate solution, IRENA says, and prices will continue to fall into the next decade:

California Utilities Plan Shutoffs to Forestall 2019 Fire Disasters

Reeling from several years of catastrophic wildfires and the financial losses that are looming in their wake, California utilities have a new strategy for dealing with fire risk: shutting off the electricity. The plan targets populations in high-risk fire zones – which include much of the state – and creates worrisome risk for vulnerable populations. MIcrogrids would improve resilience and soften the blow of power cuts.

2019 Community Power Scorecard

The Institute for Local Self-Reliance has released its “Community Power Scorecard,” an assessment of state policies that encourage clean local energy development. The top ranking states, in order, are Massachusetts, California, New York and Illinois. Not surprisingly, these same states are also moving ahead rapidly with other renewable energy initiatives including storage incentives and policies that facilitate the development of microgrids.

Navigant Report: Blockchain Establishes Secure Foundation for Distributed Energy

A new Navigant report concludes that blockchain technology will play an important role in the management and improved security of distributed energy. Characterized by decentralization, a growing number of diverse, interconnected resources, and the increasing use of digital technologies, distributed energy needs a framework for improved cyber security at both the network and device level, says Navigant Research.

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Learn about microgrid and distributed energy design and technology, finance and policy initiatives all over the world. Microgrid technology is exploding in popularity as our energy systems make the transformation to clean distributed power. Read about successful hybrid renewable energy and microgrid projects, how they were built, how they operate and who benefits.

2018 Trends that Will Impact Microgrid Development: Part Two

Last week we reported on important trends that are likely to affect the development of hybrid renewable energy systems in 2018, particularly work that is being done on the modeling, design and implementation of microgrids…This week we bring you the second installment of interesting trends to look for:

Hybrid Storage Systems to Power-Charge Energy Storage Growth

Which markets are best suited for battery storage and storage hybrids? Which regulations and incentives support or impede the implementation of standalone storage and battery hybrids? HOMER Energy’s John Glassmire, Steffi Klawiter, and Dhiwaakar Rajasekaran — along with the Joint Institute for Strategic Energy Analysis (JISEA) — answer these questions and provide key storage hybrid market insights in a groundbreaking new white paper.