Asking 'Are microgrids expensive?’ is a bit like asking what rocks cost. Are we talking about diamonds or driveway gravel? Any discussion tends to be a long one. There is no elevator pitch answer for three main reasons. First, microgrids vary dramatically in size and complexity and more importantly purpose, which creates a wide cost … [Read more...]
The Board of Regents of the University of Iowa this week approved a $1.2 billion deal that allows Engie North America and Meridiam to manage its utilities under a plan that includes a possible microgrid. The contract calls for Engie, which provides energy services to more than 150 colleges and hospitals in the US, to operate the university’s … [Read more...]
New Jersey regulators seek feedback by Dec. 13, 2019 on the second phase of the town center microgrid program, which will allot $4 million for project design. Two years ago, in the program’s first phase, the Board of Public Utilities distributed $2 million to 13 town center microgrids for feasibility studies. Those microgrids will be eligible … [Read more...]
With electric reliability now precarious in the San Francisco Bay Area, community power suppliers are making a deal with customers that benefits both: We give you low-cost energy resilience, you let us tap into your battery storage. Part of the goal of the innovative program is to help customers avoid public safety power shutoffs from … [Read more...]
The following excerpt from a new Microgrid Knowledge special report explores how one Texas-based grocery-store chain used microgrids to form a reliable backup power system that would keep it up and running through hurricanes and other natural disasters. Explore the H-E-B microgrids. The Texas-based H-E-B grocery store chain served by … [Read more...]
What sectors are turning to microgrids and why? The following excerpt from a new Microgrid Knowledge special report looks at the range of end users with a special focus on business microgrids. Declining costs and new financing models put microgrids within reach for a variety of businesses and institutions. But early on, the military and … [Read more...]
A summer camp in Frederick, Maryland is operating a campus microgrid that leverages Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE) to achieve an immediate return on investment while delivering green energy. The net zero carbon microgrid serves Bar-T Mountainside Summer Camp, a 115-acre campus that offers after-school childcare, summer day camps, … [Read more...]
The Australian government, led by Prime Minister Scott Morrison, late last week boosted the nation's growing microgrid market with a new fund, as described by Sophie Vorrath of One Step Off the Grid. A $50 million fund to support the development of off-grid and fringe-of-grid stand-alone power systems around Australia has been launched by … [Read more...]
Why don't more retailers install microgrids? Here are the barriers — and the solutions — in an excerpt from a new special report from Microgrid Knowledge that explores how retail businesses use microgrids to reduce costs and enhance resiliency and reliability. Always-on power is important in the retail sector for a range of reasons. Without … [Read more...]
The NRG editorial team explores the ins and outs of asset-backed demand response — what it calls "microgrid complexity made simple." Over its first 100 years, electricity improved the way we live and work by bringing light to the world. Now, once again, it’s at the heart of human progress, this time with the rise of smart cities, electric … [Read more...]
Commercial customers paying demand charges and time-of-use rates should seriously consider an investment in solar plus storage, a common technology used in microgrids. RMI’s Ryan Shea and Madeline Tyson describe the the organizations recent research on costs.
Local governments, military officials, university heads, utilities, water and waste facilities, as well as executives overseeing hospitals, transit, airports, and port authorities are exploring the feasibility of microgrids for their operations and seeking relevant examples to emulate. Download the guide developed by Rima Oueid, a senior adviser at the U.S. Department of Energy, focused on bringing the resilience, economic, and/or environmental benefits of a microgrid to water, health, transportation, education, and other critical public infrastructure.
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