A combined heat and power (CHP) microgrid operated by Veolia can supply 100% of the power needed for the 26,000 people at Saddleback College in Mission Viejo, California, switching into island mode automatically when the grid is down. The CHP microgrid, which has been operating for six years, is an example of how colleges and other … [Read more...]
Responding to wildfire-related power outages, a California school district has hired CleanSpark to study the feasibility of building a microgrid. CleanSpark is working with the Shoreline Unified School District north of San Francisco. If approved, the microgrid will use solar energy, energy storage and back-up generation to meet the … [Read more...]
From rags to riches, the Philadelphia Navy Yard offers one of the more remarkable tales of the emergence of a microgrid. Located at the confluence of the Schuylkill and Delaware Rivers, the site was an abandoned shipyard 20 years ago with most of its electric service turned off. Today, it’s a thriving commercial center, powered by one of the … [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...]
There is no way to say it that doesn’t sound dramatic. The Blue Lake Rancheria microgrid saved lives when its owner welcomed in the broader community during the recent sweep of wild-fire related power shutoffs in northwest Humboldt County, California. Some came to the tribal rancheria because they depend on medical equipment that runs on … [Read more...]
California's San Pasqual Band of Mission Indians (SPBMI) has issued a request for proposals (RFP) that seeks design-build services for a hybrid microgrid that would supply electricity to essential buildings during utility outages. Release of the RFP follows power shut offs to millions of Calfornians in recent weeks as utilities attempt to … [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...]
Girls in Malawi, Africa now have a chance to get a good education thanks to a new microgrid. A solar array, capable of producing 6.6 kW during peak, will electrify the school campus, providing the lights and the energy to run computers, printers and TV screens. The “Sokola” school campus is in a mountainous area in Chitipa, Northern Malawi and it … [Read more...]
Connecticut has supercharged development of a 20-MW fuel cell microgrid — part of a $1 billion data center project in New Britain — with a 10-year, $55.2 million sales and use tax exemption. EIP Investments intends to build a microgrid spanning 45,000 square-feet on the site of a shuttered Stanley Black & Decker manufacturing plant in … [Read more...]
You know you’ve done something right when your new campus microgrid islands so seamlessly that you don’t even know it happened. That’s what occurred in February, in response to a communications glitch, at Montclair State University (MSU), the second largest university in New Jersey with 23,000 students. MSU's system includes a 5.4-MW … [Read more...]
Jules Nohra, director of optimization services, Veolia North America, explains why microgrid projects need to start with energy monitoring and energy efficiency.
Technology innovations are changing the game, while public policies and regulations are shifting to allow new business models to gain traction. Combined, the regulatory and policy framework in California has bolstered the outlook of microgrids in the state. Download the new white paper from Concentric Power that points to a not-too-distant future where microgrids and DERs play an increasingly important role in the state’s energy mix.
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