Dear Friends,
The big news this past month here at HOMER Energy by UL was the success of our 8th Annual HOMER International Microgrid Conference. As an entirely virtual event, it was quite different from our previous conferences. Although I missed meeting people in person, being virtual allowed a much larger audience including many who would not have had the travel budget to attend in person. We can hope that the pandemic will be behind us a year from now, but we are waiting to see how that goes before deciding on the format for 2021.
On the other hand, we are confident that 2021 will be a banner year for renewables. In addition to the pent-up demand from 2020 and continuing price declines and manufacturing ramp-ups, we are expecting big and very renewable-friendly policy changes from the incoming US administration.
In addition to a review of some of the highlights of our conference, this issue of our newsletter has a fascinating article about a solar microgrid above the Arctic Circle. That is a real testament to how cost-effective solar and storage have become.
We also have a story that highlights the role of microgrids in making municipal services more resilient. I’m sure we will be continuing to see more emphasis on resilience.
We have more exciting plans for 2021, including an expanded webinar series and enhanced capabilities to model larger front-of-the-meter systems. As always, we love to hear from our users and readers, so don’t hesitate to contact us with questions.
Sincerely,
Dr. Peter Lilienthal
Founder, HOMER Energy by UL
Global Microgrid Lead, UL Renewables