Microgrids

From Maria to Microgrids: Why Puerto Rico’s Energy Future Should Be Built on Distributed Energy

Concrete power line poles lie on a highway after Puerto Rico was hit by Hurricane Maria.

Puerto Rico has a very long and politicized electrical grid history, and politics will play a big role in how the island territory will recover from the devastation of Hurricane Maria, a category 4 storm that hit the island on September 20, 2017. Puerto Rico, barely recovering from Hurricane Irma, was devastated by Maria, a storm so large and so direct that its eye alone literally covered the entire island. The storm destroyed more than three-fourths of the island’s power infrastructure, leaving Puerto Rico’s 3.5 million residents without power. Current estimates are that most of the country won’t be back on-grid for months.

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.

IKEA Speeds Energy Independence Plan, Democrats Include Microgrids in $1 Trillion Plan, and More News — February 1, 2017

IKEA wind farm 100 percent renewables

BBC lists SteamaCo’s electricity grids as top African product to watch in 2017…Bangladesh Emerges as a Hotbed for Solar Microgrids…New Jersey Moves Forward with First Ever Rail Microgrid Project & more microgrid news highlights January 5, 2017

Industry Leaders Address Issues, Technologies at Recent HOMER Microgrid Conference [conference highlights]

homer microgrid conference

After 3 successful microgrid conferences in Mexico, Spain, and Australia, HOMER Energy hosted its fourth annual international microgrid conference at Columbia University in New York November 7-8. TheHOMER […]

Weekly Roundup Microgrid News October 19, 2016

Navy and Energy Commission Agree to Partner on Renewable Energy Projects…Hybrid Microgrids Could Cut N.W.T.’s Diesel Dependence by Half, Report Says…Pure-play Battery or Hybrid Grid Energy Storage?

International Consortium to Provide Microgrid Solutions for US, Canada

North American multi-utility microgrid

Advanced Microgrid Solutions, Opus One announce $12.4 M North American multi-utility microgrid project Opus One Solutions (Opus One), Advanced Microgrid Solutions (AMS), and a consortium of partners announced […]

Philippines Microgrids Bring Sustainable Energy to Villages — A HOMER Pro Case Study

Many communities in The Philippines lack access to reliable, affordable power.

Shell Foundation, Philippines, recently hired consultant Silver Navarro to assist its Dutch consultant with an Access to Energy program promoting Philippines microgrids. The program’s purpose is designing an off-grid power system that the community can sustainably operate and maintain to meet its basic electricity requirement. HOMER Pro helped the program make rural microgrids reliable and affordable.

Main-grid and Microgrid Bankability in Africa: A Comparison

Clusters of gas-fired turbines, big dams, and geothermal projects in Sub-Saharan Africa tend to have very complex financing structures. In addition, they also often involve complex debt/equity structures from local banks. Microgrids, however, are within the reach of much smaller organizations.

(Must read!) On Using Software to Make Case for Mini-grid Deployment; G20 Energy Meeting. News Extra 7/5/16

HOMER Director of Energy Engineering John Glassmire discusses how to use software to make a strong business case for mini-grid deployment in an easy-to-digest article; IRENA reports on 2016 G20 Energy Ministers Meeting.

Microgrids in the News 04/14/2011

  Netherlands tests automated-energy homes Solar Powered Washing Machine Knows When Sun Shines Smart Grid Works for Utilities, but Not Yet for Consumers U.S. Army Uses Big Battery […]

Microgrids in the News 04/13/2011

  Rebuilding Haiti’s Health Infrastructure with Renewable Energy Smart grid funding falls off cliff; M&A activity also drops The Other Problem with Nuclear Power Decentralized Power and Disaster […]

Demand response, distributed generation, and utilities in focus as we move to a renewable energy future

First Micro-Grid, Distributed Energy Resource Community Coming to California California Dreaming?  While the utility companies grapple with how they will incorporate the renewable energy needed to meet California’s […]