If you think of microgrids as mere backup power, think again. That was the message from panelists at Microgrid 2018 who described how microgrids serve the greater good in the U.S and abroad. Their projects include electrifying parts of Somalia, helping prevent brain drain in Africa and India, cost-effectively solving a utility’s peak … [Read more...]
Back in the 1890s, Samuel Insull, the founder of Commonwealth Edison, began providing energy in Illinois with renewables-based microgrids. More than a century later, Illinois is once again embracing renewables-based microgrids, with a handful of the most innovative microgrids now being developed and launched in Chicago. That was the engaging … [Read more...]
Researchers at University of California, Riverside, are testing a control system for a solar community microgrid that will decide how to dispatch assets — reaping energy savings and perhaps generating income. The Bourns College of Engineering research team is working on a power system for a microgrid located at the Chemehuevi Indian Tribe … [Read more...]
When the islanded microgrid at Stone Edge Farm near Sonoma, Calif., kept operating for 10 days in spite of the fires that caused outages nearby, the operators seized the opportunity to learn as much as possible from the surprises they encountered. The first surprise, of course, were the fires that struck suddenly, stoked by high winds and … [Read more...]
Two green microgrids operated by Duke Energy rode through a weakened Hurricane Irma with no hiccups, while customers experienced outages close by. The first, the Mt. Sterling solar plus storage remote microgrid, serves a communications tower located on National Park Service property in the Great Smoky Mountains on Mt. Sterling, Haywood County, … [Read more...]
In an effort to help commercialize microgrids, the California Energy Commission is analyzing lessons learned from nine microgrid case studies about projects that total 21 MW of peak capacity, with an average size of 2.25 MW. The case studies are detailed in a new report being prepared for the commission by Navigant Research. The state hopes … [Read more...]
A new solar plus storage microgrid will bring clean energy to a South African nature resort with the help of a salt water battery system by Aquion Energy. Located in Kruger National Park, the luxury nature lodge is reducing its reliance on diesel generation with the help of Aquion’s Aspen batteries. The Aspen battery uses an environmentally … [Read more...]
Aquion Energy, Schneider Electric and Azimuth Energy have completed a nanogrid in a microgrid at the Illinois Institute of Technology. The nanogrid has the unique ability to move DC power from solar panels directly to LED lights at the Institute's Keating Sports Center. In reality, the nanogrid is a small microgrid, said Matt Maroon, vice … [Read more...]
EnSync Energy Systems has sold a portfolio of power purchase agreements to AEP Onsite Partners--including three innovative solar-plus-storage PPAs. "These are the first solar-plus-storage PPAs in Hawaii. We believe this is a first nationally and I am confident it is the first PPA of its kind utilizing hybrid storage," said Dan Nordloh, executive … [Read more...]
Wesleyan University's microgrid was the first project to receive funds from the state of Connecticut's microgrid pilot program, which aims to help utility customers harden their infrastructure. Wesleyan, which can generate 3.1 MW, wants to avoid power outages like the one it experienced in 2012 for 77 hours. The university can generate about 99 … [Read more...]
Following rejection of a microgrid by Carson, California, Craig Wooster, manager of the Stone Field Farm microgrid, urges the microgrid industry to join forces to create standards and better educate communities about the value of microgrids.
State regulatory bodies are realizing that out-of-date regulatory rules are limiting Microgrid adoption and are working to change regulation. States such as New York, Connecticut, and Minnesota have allocated funding and started conversations on how best to change the state regulation to allow for Microgrids to be adopted.
Copyright © 2018
