Thomas Lyons, vice president – asset development, at Ameresco, highlights the growing role of microgrids in supporting economic development. Explore the potential. It’s fair to say that the United States’ aging and outage-prone grid infrastructure (coupled with increasing storm intensity) can hinder economic development. E Source estimates … [Read more...]
Cloud computing giant VMware is joining forces with one of the world’s tech capitals, Palo Alto, California, to explore the potential of community microgrid projects. The partners announced on Thursday that they will develop a proof-of-concept microgrid at VMware’s headquarters in Palo Alto. The project will test the resiliency offered by … [Read more...]
The City of Berkeley received a grant from the California Energy Commission as part of its Electric Program Investment Charge program to conduct the Berkeley Energy Assurance Transformation (BEAT) project. The BEAT project explored how to design a clean energy microgrid community (CEMC) to serve key municipal buildings and to improve community … [Read more...]
United Illuminating (UI) has completed the Woodbridge microgrid, a project funded through Connecticut's Microgrid Pilot Program. The microgrid will power police, fire and shelter services during storms, blackouts and other emergencies. Town and state leaders, including Connecticut Gov. Dannel Malloy, gathered on Monday to celebrate the … [Read more...]
Energy decentralization is a major development that could help tackle the energy challenges of the 21st century. Major technical and economic improvements have allowed substantial progress in decentralized energy resources, such as solar energy and storage and the Internet of Things (IoT), driving new cooperation and optimization capabilities. Also … [Read more...]
It is clear why city leaders are turning their attention to community microgrids. Energy is the lifeblood of any contemporary community, and severe storms in recent years have revealed the vulnerability of the central grid. The American electorate knows this and is concerned. In a March 2015 Gallup poll 88 percent of those surveyed described … [Read more...]
New York is offering $40 million for community microgrids to cut energy costs and boost electric reliability, consumer choice, and energy efficiency. Called the NY Prize, the program has been in the works since January 2014, when it was announced by Gov. Andrew Cuomo. New York follows California, Connecticut and New Jersey in putting money on … [Read more...]
Massachusetts last week awarded $7.4 million for community microgrid and resiliency projects, part of a larger $40 million program aimed at preventing power outages that could jeopardize critical services in towns and cities. Six clean energy projects received the first round of grants from the Community Clean Energy Resiliency Initiative. “This … [Read more...]
We can’t always count on electrical grids – as recent events like Superstorm Sandy have made painfully clear. Electrical power distribution systems do fail, and sometimes for long periods of time. That’s why community microgrids with energy storage are vital to keep power flowing to critical services, those that provide health care, energy and … [Read more...]
Trevor Gionet and Kay Aikin of Introspective Systems explain how flattening the COVID-19 curve is much like managing the grid with microgrids and demand response.
Microgrids are becoming more and more prevalent for good reason. They are a modern approach to solving multiple energy challenges. But a microgrid’s unique nature can trip up even the most advanced engineers and utility staff. This handbook from S&C Electric is designed to help determine whether a microgrid is the best solution for you and to prepare your team if you decide to pursue building one.
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