A 97% renewable microgrid will allow Liberty Utilities to de-energize four miles of transmission line located in a remote Sierra Nevada location during wildfire season in California. The microgrid, from BoxPower and owned by Liberty Utilities, a regulated utility with about 50,000 customers on the West side of Lake Tahoe, is made up of 20 kW … [Read more...]
97% Renewable Microgrid to Replace Fire-Vulnerable Line in California During Wildfire Season
September 28, 2020 By 1 Comment
Distributed Energy Scores Big Win in US Wholesale Markets with FERC Order 2222
September 18, 2020 By 8 Comments
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) on Thursday issued Order 2222, its much anticipated ruling that paves the way for aggregated distributed energy resources (DERs) to compete alongside traditional power plants and other grid resources in wholesale markets. The landmark ruling was heralded in a commission news release as … [Read more...]
Pepco Considers Non-Wires Alternatives, Issues RFI
August 17, 2020 By 6 Comments
Pepco is seeking information on possible non-wires alternatives, such as distributed energy resources, to meet a looming constraint on its distribution system in Washington, DC. The request for information (RFI) grew out of the PowerPath DC grid modernization effort launched by the district’s utility commission in January. PowerPath DC … [Read more...]
Connecticut to Look at Resilience, Renewables & NWAs in Grid Modernization Proceeding
July 14, 2020 By Leave a Comment
Connecticut has launched three new proceedings to explore grid modernization policies that are likely to be of interest to the microgrid community. Underway before the state Public Utilities Regulatory Authority (PURA), the three policy tracks will look at reliability and system resilience metrics and targets, non-wires alternatives, and the … [Read more...]
Homes Gain Momentum as ‘Grid Flexibililty’ Resources
June 18, 2020 By 2 Comments
Call them nanogrids, smart homes, or something else, households are increasingly shaping up as a means to leverage grid flexibility, and energy companies are stepping forward with a range of products to advance the market. Circuit breakers, energy control platforms, batteries, aggregations, virtual power plants, non-wires alternatives and … [Read more...]
New York Grid Operator Prepares for DERs & Storage as Part of Sweeping Change
June 11, 2020 By 2 Comments
The New York Independent System Operator’s (NYISO) top priority is preparing for sweeping changes to the state’s grid, including a sharp increase in distributed energy resources (DERs) and energy storage, according to the grid operator. “New York State policies set forth the most aggressive clean energy mandates in America,” NYISO CEO … [Read more...]
California to Include Avoided Transmission Costs in DER Benefits Calculation
April 24, 2020 By 3 Comments
The California Public Utilities Commission has agreed to consider avoided transmission costs for the state’s three investor-owned utilities as part of its cost-benefit analysis for distributed energy resources (DERs). The issue centers on the PUC’s “avoided cost calculator,” or ACC, a methodology used to determine the benefits of DERs that … [Read more...]
California Utility Builds Solar Microgrid in 27 Days to Avert Wildfires in Sierra Nevadas
December 13, 2019 By 4 Comments
A solar microgrid, built in 27 days in cold and windy weather, was Southern California Edison’s (SCE) solution to an urgent need to avert wildfires near a remote dam in the Sierra Nevada mountains. Installing the microgrid in November allowed the utility to turn off a line that provided power to the site of the Gem Dam, part of the Rush … [Read more...]
Microgrids as Non-Wires Alternatives
December 9, 2019 By Leave a Comment
S&C Electric's Erik Svanholm discusses the potential of microgrids as non-wires alternatives, which use distributed energy resources and microgrids to defer or replace the installation of more traditional ‘wires and poles’ infrastructure. Non-wires alternatives (NWAs) are any nontraditional investments that allow electric utilities to … [Read more...]
Texas Customers Could Save $5.47 Billion with DERs, but Regulations Must Change
November 20, 2019 By Leave a Comment
Texas consumers could save $5.47 billion over ten years with distributed energy resources (DERs), but regulations must change to realize these benefits. A study by Texas Advanced Energy Business Alliance (TAEBA) identified two ways DERs can reduce costs: Act as non-wires alternatives to avoid investment in tranmission and distribution … [Read more...]
