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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:

Combined Dispatch Algorithm “Two-for-one Deal” Accurately Models Microgrid Controller

combined dispatch algorithm

By Cycle Charging during periods of low net load, the Combined Dispatch algorithm helps avoid using a diesel generator at low loads. By Load Following during periods of high net load, the algorithm maximizes the use of available renewable energy. Due to this flexibility of being able to account for both high and low loads, the Combined Dispatch algorithm is a better option than choosing between Load Following or Cycle Charging (and potentially making the wrong choice). It is also a better option than running both strategies by default, which doubles the processing time. On top of that, we’ve seen that Combined Dispatch can perform as well, if not better than, either Load Following or Cycle Charging.

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.

Comet ME’s Jubbet a-Dhib Microgrid — a HOMER Pro Case Study [UPDATED with Confiscation & Return, Reinstallation News]

Jubbet a-Dhib microgridThe returned solar panels are unloaded in Jubbet a-Dhib, a village in the West Bank, Palestine.

Ice Cream, Appliances, and Autonomy: Rural Electrification Project Lights West Bank Village (Read about a tragic update followed by positive outcome for Jubbet a-Dhib microgrid in updates below […]

Microgrid Controller, Components Enhance SolarTAC’s New GridNXT Test Facility

On the HOMER InternationaI Microgrid Conference (HIMC2017) “bonus day,” HOMER Energy invited attendees to tour a number of microgrid-related facilities in the Denver area. I was lucky enough to attend all three tours along with microgrid industry professionals from around the world. The highlight for me was the last tour of the day, a visit to a solar testing facility near Denver International Airport.

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.

Move to Distributed, Renewable Power Inevitable, Even in Areas Served by Utilities

grid defection

New distributed energy technologies and business models bring many unprecedented choices in how we create and distribute power. There are three overarching questions, of course: Is this energy model resilient against power outages and grid failure? Is it socially and environmentally responsible? Does it benefit the bottom line?
We are no longer stuck with grid power that doesn’t provide a definitive “Yes!” answer to all three questions. 

MGN Weekly: Moving Past Lights and Chargers in Developing World; Syrian Microgrids Save Lives

von Bismarck syrian hospital microgrids

“Light is, of course, great, so is entertainment [like computers and TV],” says Busso von Bismarck, founder, manager, and head of business development at energy storage provider Qinous. “But I think it’s important to go further and allow people to run machines with electricity: milling machines, welding or workshops, water pumping. These are applications which make economic growth possible.”

MGN Weekly — Advancing Africa’s Top Priority: Light and Power …and More Microgrid News — May 18, 2017

Africa's top priority: light and power for all

Solar microgrids in India’s northern Uttar Pradesh state did little to improve household incomes, encourage business ownership, or reduce the long hours that people spend on daily household work, a new study finds. According to the year-long, randomized survey of nearly 1,300 households in 81 non-electrified rural communities, villagers did buy less kerosene for their lamps, since they could flip on light bulbs at night. But their lives were otherwise unchanged, showing that local officials, energy companies, and NGOs alike need to address other pressing issues — such as underfunded schools or dismal job prospects — before rural electrification can really lift people out of poverty.