A microgrid tariff proposed by Hawaiian Electric (HECO) is receiving mixed reviews as the state attempts to break new ground in creating microgrid compensation. Now before the Hawaii Public Utilities Commission (PUC), the utility proposed the tariff in the first phase of a regulatory effort to fulfill a microgrid law (Act 200) signed in July … [Read more...]
Updated: What Worked and What Didn’t at Six School Microgrids in California
May 1, 2020 By 7 Comments
Salinas, California set out out to build six school microgrids two years ago as models for others. Today the project offers what schools do best — lessons — but not only about its successes. The project developers are talking about their challenges, an all too uncommon, but valuable gift to a rapidly growing industry that needs to know what can … [Read more...]
Alaska, Model of Microgrid Development, Delivers Resiliency in Cold, Remote Conditions
July 16, 2019 By 2 Comments
Alaska’s challenges — cold weather and the high cost of delivered energy — are part of the reason the state is a model of innovative microgrid development, with the largest number of microgrids in the US, at 122. “This innovation flows from both the challenges associated with providing reliable electricity without the benefit of traditional … [Read more...]
Storage is the Boss for Utility-Scale Microgrid Yielding 70% Renewables
January 11, 2019 By 4 Comments
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...]
Making Microgrids as Simple to Deploy & Finance as Rooftop Solar
November 26, 2018 By 2 Comments
Scale Microgrid Solutions is on a mission to make sophisticated microgrids as easy to deploy and finance as rooftop solar, said Timothy Hade, microgrid specialist for the company. “Our thesis is that at scale, microgrids have all sorts of great technical aspects that can make our total energy system cleaner, cheaper and more reliable. But … [Read more...]
A Surprise to Analysts: Less CHP in Microgrids, More Solar
October 18, 2018 By 2 Comments
Combined heat and power (CHP) provides year-round baseload energy in microgrids — something renewable resources don’t do. Yet solar PV now overshadows CHP in planned microgrid projects, according to a new microgrid database by ICF. “We see a lot of installed CHP systems in operating microgrids; it’s the largest technology in terms of capacity,” … [Read more...]
Let’s Count the Many Ways Microgrids Serve the Greater Good
May 11, 2018 By 10 Comments
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...]
History of Energy in Illinois Starts and Ends with Renewables-Based Microgrids
May 9, 2018 By Leave a Comment
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...]
Will This Solar Community Microgrid Save Money AND Generate Income?
December 18, 2017 By Leave a Comment
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...]
Microgrid Kept Power On Even as the California Wildfires Caused Outages
October 27, 2017 By 14 Comments
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...]
