CleanSpark to Offer Residential Microgrids…Sunrun & LG Pair…Singapore Deploys 1st of 4 Hybrid Microgrids
CleanSpark expands to residential microgrids
By Slavoljub Pantelic/Shutterstock.com
CleanSpark is expanding its presence in the microgrid market to include technology agnostic residential microgrids.The subsidiary of Stratean is adding the residential package onto its existing offerings in the commercial and military marketplaces.
“Combining solar installation and energy storage with our advanced energy software and control technology for residential use is a natural extension of our existing CleanSpark business,” said Matthew Schultz, Stratean CEO. “There is strong demand for clean and efficient energy alternatives in the residential space in lieu of traditional energy sources.”
CleanSpark’s residential microgrid package includes an initial energy evaluation and recommendations, solar solution engineering, turn-key installation and energy storage integration.
The company says it offers a vendor-neutral package by combining its software “with a breadth of energy storage solutions.” The result is a “best-fit” integrated solution for the customer.
Sunrun and LG partner for residential solar plus storage
Solar company Sunrun and battery manufacturer LG Chem also are moving into the residential market, as part of a new partnership. Sunrun will offer LG Chem’s lithium-ion RESU batteries for its solar plus storage systems.
Sunrun chose LG Chem’s lithium-ion batteries because of their track record of performance success in the electric vehicle market and their durability at an affordable price point. LG Chem is the world’s largest automotive battery supplier, counting 16 of the top 29 global automakers as partners.
“The energy storage market is advancing at a breakneck pace. At Sunrun, we are enabling a home energy management service that integrates rooftop solar generation with on-site energy storage to offer greater energy choice and savings to our customers while helping to modernize the grid,” said Sunrun CEO Michael Grasso.
Nanyang Technological University (NTU Singapore) has deployed the first of four hybrid microgrids on the island of Semakau.
Situated on a landfill, the microgrids will integrate multiple renewable energy sources such as solar, wind, tidal, diesel, and power-to-gas technologies.
The microgrids are being built by ENGIE, GE Grid Solutions, LS Industrial Solutions and Schneider Electric. Other partners include Accenture, Class NK, DLRE, Renewable Energy Corporation, Trina Solar, LSIS and Sony.
Expected to produce power in the megawatt range, the project is being developed under the Renewable Energy Integration Demonstrator- Singapore (REIDS) initiative. In addition to investing $10 million in the landfill project, REIDS hopes to attract $20 million worth of projects over the next five years.
The four microgrids will occupy 40-square-miles of land and have nearly two-square miles of photovoltaic panels, including energy storage systems that are already in operation.
The microgrid project is being managed by Singapore’s NTU’s Energy Research Institute.
“The use of energy storage and microgrid control technologies will allow the landfill to reduce its reliance on diesel-based power and transition towards renewable energy,” said Masagos Zulkifli, minister for Singapore’s Environment and Water Resources.
Singapore has identified microgrids as a key growth area and hopes to position as a regional and global leader for the technology.
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