Shell International Exploration & Production has begun operating the new microgrid at its Shell Technology Center Houston (STCH) campus. The microgrid provides clean, resilient energy for a facility on the 200-acre campus where nearly 2,000 Shell scientists, technologists and engineers work. It is the largest of Shell’s three technology … [Read more...]
A group effort by Puget Sound Energy, the city of Tenino, Wash., a nonprofit organization, and others has yielded plans for a utility-owned microgrid that can island and provide power to the Tenino School District. Under the effort, called the Tenino Innovation and Education Through Renewables (TIER) project, numerous funders are backing a … [Read more...]
US green banks may gain new clout — and microgrids new financing opportunities — with the formation of a green bank consortium this week. The American Green Bank Consortium intends to use the combined scale of public, quasi-public, and non-profit green banks to raise more capital and share knowledge. US green banks have so far generated $3 … [Read more...]
San Diego — already one of California’s greenest cities — has the potential to develop 2 GW of solar, opening up new opportunity for community microgrids, according to the Clean Coalition. The non-profit organization recently completed a study of solar potential in San Diego as part of an effort by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) … [Read more...]
Terry Holtz, manager, technical sales at Enel X, offers insight on how California's changing utility rate schedules and distributed energy storage landscape are creating opportunities for energy storage. California’s rising adoption of solar power has fundamentally altered traditional dynamics on its electric grid. In response, the state’s … [Read more...]
Hawaiian Electric Companies (HECO) is seeking approval for seven utility scale solar-plus-storage projects that could set a new benchmark for low-cost renewable power in the island state. The low prices reflect the high cost of generating electricity in Hawaii and of the state’s ambitious 100 percent renewable portfolio standard. The … [Read more...]
A utility-scale microgrid that uses energy storage has slashed the use of diesel fuel and allowed for up to 70 percent renewables to serve a Portuguese Island, Graciosa. The microgrid is made up of a 6-MW, 3.5-MWh battery system from Switzerland-based Leclanché, about 1.5 MW of wind energy, 3 MW of solar and an existing diesel system that … [Read more...]
Energy storage developers are eager to participate in the second phase of an innovative energy storage pilot in New Hampshire, after the proposal's first phase failed to deliver an ownership provision they sought. After a year of negotiations, a New Hampshire utility and several stakeholders have reached an agreement that would create the … [Read more...]
Energy is changing so fast it’s a little dangerous to make predictions. But three ideas are emerging in the US that warrant a close look given how profoundly they could reshape both microgrids and the macrogrid in 2019. The Green New Deal The first and potentially biggest is the Green New Deal, a political concept being pushed by some … [Read more...]
Jigar Shah is best known as the founder of SunEdison, a company that helped propel solar on its meteoric growth path with “no money-down” solar financing. But now he’s putting his money and passion behind fuel cells and other clean resources to move the “resource revolution” forward and help the banking community feel more comfortable with … [Read more...]
Terry Holtz, manager, technical sales at Enel X, offers insight on how California’s changing utility rate schedules and distributed energy storage landscape are creating opportunities for energy storage.
A microgrid is a discrete energy system consisting of distributed energy sources (e.g. renewables, conventional, storage) and loads capable of operating in parallel with, or independently from, the main grid. The primary purpose is to ensure reliable, affordable energy security for commercial, industrial and federal government consumers. Benefits that extend to utilities and the community at large include lower greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and lower stress on the transmission and distribution system.
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