Microgrid briefing and summit coming up in Washington
The International District Energy Association (IDEA) and the Microgrid Resources Coalition (MRC) are planning two events in Washington, DC to heighten understanding of microgrids and position the industry for new opportunity.
The organizations will hold a Senate Briefing on Capitol Hill on Tuesday Dec. 6 in the Dirksen Senate Office Building. Several industry leaders will brief U.S. Senate and agency staff on the attributes and advantages of microgrids, district energy and combined heat and power.
“Our intention is to familiarize an appropriate audience so that when infrastructure funding for energy is under consideration by the new administration as part of an economic or jobs bill, our sector can make a forceful case for inclusion,” said Rob Thornton, IDEA CEO and president.
On December 7, IDEA and MRC will host “Microgrids: Transforming the Grid” at the National Press Club. The full-day summit will feature panel discussions with key state public utility commissioners who are seeking guidance and industry input on regulatory planning.
Other panels will include owner/operators of highly-sophisticated microgrids at numerous institutions as well as new systems currently in design and development for mission-critical applications, multi-use residential communities and dense urban clusters.
Leading industry technology providers, developers, integrators and consulting firms will also share insights. The MRC will host an interactive session for industry leaders to discuss policy and regulatory objectives for 2017 and beyond.
More information is available about exhibit space and registration at www.districtenergy.org or “Microgrids: Transforming the Grid”.
Energy storage industry praises FERC move
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) has taken a first step to open the way for energy storage to participate in wholesale markets.
FERC last week issued a notice of proposed rulemaking (NOPR) (Docket RM16-23) to remove barriers to the participation of electric storage and distributed energy resource aggregations in the capacity, energy, and ancillary service markets operated by regional transmission organizations and independent system operators.
Matt Roberts, executive director of the Energy Storage Association, praised the proposal as a way to compensate energy storage on equal footing with traditional resources in competitive markets.
The rule would mean that energy storage would have access to both retail and wholesale opportunities, increasing its market value. At the same time, grid operators would gain an integrated network of flexible assets that can be called upon to improve grid performance and efficiency.
FERC will take comments on the proposal before issuing a final rule.
Dynapower provides inverters, controller for GMP
Dynapower has provided hybrid, solar-plus-storage inverters and a microgrid control system to Green Mountain Power in Vermont for its Stafford Hill microgrid.
Dynapower provided four UL Listed, 500-kW solar plus storage inverters, which combine solar-PV and battery energy storage within a single inverter. These inverters enable Green Mountain Power to generate 2 MW of solar firmed with 2 MW/3.4 MWh of battery energy storage.
Globalfoundaries collaborates with Anbaric Microgrid and Exelon
Globalfoundaries, Anbaric Microgrid, and Exelon are working together to identify opportunities for improving power quality and reliability at the Globalfoundaries Fab 8 semiconductor manufacturing facility in Saratoga County, N.Y. through a series of power quality studies.
The initiative will leverage distributed energy resources and microgrid controls to address the operational requirements of Fab 8 and to model solutions that can be applied elsewhere.
The companies will undertake a power quality analysis to identify the source and costs associated with electrical disturbances. They also will determine the efficiency of Globalfoundaries energy supply and consumption and with an eye toward improvements.
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