Microgrid News Highlights, September 27, 2016

Industry study: Microgrids to Become ‘Fundamental Building Block’

National Electrical Manufacturing Association (NEMA) report concludes that “from 2025 onwards, fully controllable, independent microgrids interconnected with [direct current] links will allow for full decoupling from the alternating current (AC) electric power system. They will also facilitate the segmentation of the distribution system, a new paradigm for electric grid management.”

Kenya Signs 361MW Power Deals Under Obama Energy Plan

Six power projects will be developed across several sites in Kenya following the signing of deals between the United States Trade and Development Agency (USTDA) and Kenya. The projects will add 361 megawatts of clean energy to Kenya’s national grid. They include a grant agreement to support the development of a 10-megawatt (MW) solar photovoltaic (PV) project in Gitaru and a 40 MW solar PV power plant in eastern Kenya.

What Off-grid Countries Can Teach Us About Clean Power

Just as phones spread to the far reaches of the globe only with the advent of cellular phones, electricity is arriving in remote areas often in the form of standalone microgrids of solar or wind generating devices connected to inverters and storage. Investment in renewable energy projects in the developing world accounts for the majority of the $329 billion invested yearly in new renewable endeavors

Ideal Power, the U. of Dayton Research Institute & EnerDel Team Up for Solar+Storage Microgrid at U.S. Air Force Forward Operating Base of the Future

From University of Dayton Research Institute: Researcher installs power/energy metering system at Air Force Forward Operating Base of the Future.

Researchers with the Air Force Research Laboratory and the University of Dayton Research Institute recently launched a joint year-long program with Ideal Power and EnerDel, in which they are demonstrating technologies capable of powering remote military installations that normally depend on the regular delivery of diesel fuel via convoy, often in hostile locations.