Concord Engineering Group's Joe Sullivan walks readers through the evolving landscape that is bringing about energy independence. This shift involves a reshaping of our approach to producing and delivering electric power and answers the question: Why microgrids? Fifteen years ago no one would have foreseen that the United Sates lead by … [Read more...]
What was the impetus for the rise of microgrids and distributed energy resources? What role did competition play? A new special report from Microgrid Knowledge and NRG Energy explores the industry's evolution. Here's a look inside the history of electric competition. Today's growth in distributed energy and microgrids goes back to the … [Read more...]
A new special report from Microgrid Knowledge and NRG Energy explores trends in local energy and distributed energy resources. This chapter looks at the evolution of incentives and today's challenge placing a monetary value on such microgrid benefits as reliability and resiliency. Government incentives have heavily shaped growth of … [Read more...]
Terry Holtz, manager, technical sales at Enel X, offers insight on how California's changing utility rate schedules and distributed energy storage landscape are creating opportunities for energy storage. California’s rising adoption of solar power has fundamentally altered traditional dynamics on its electric grid. In response, the state’s … [Read more...]
A new special report from Microgrid Knowledge and NRG Energy explores trends in local energy and distributed energy resources (DERs). This excerpt takes a look at how market factors have led to the maturity of DER technology. Distributed energy used to be simple. Put a generator in a building basement, or solar panels on a roof, and the job … [Read more...]
Siemens’ Clark Wiedetz offers a lens into the first utility-operated microgrid cluster in the US, Commonwealth Edison's Bronzeville microgrid, a project that uses Siemens' microgrid software. Today, for many states in the US, integrating distributed energy resources (DERs) is becoming increasingly important, and communities are creating … [Read more...]
A new special report from Microgrid Knowledge and NRG Energy explores the rise of local energy and what it means for businesses, institutions and communities. This excerpt introduces the benefits of microgrids and distributed energy. Distributed energy resources (DERs) represent a departure from the conventional electric grid because of their … [Read more...]
How can hospitals improve power supply availability, sustainability and cost -- even through major emergencies? Russelectric's Tim Kelley explains the value of healthcare facility distributed energy systems. Continuous power supply is critical to maintain healthcare facilities and the health and safety of patients during emergency … [Read more...]
Every day, cyber attacks against government and commercial computer networks number in the millions. According to U.S. Cyber Command, Pentagon systems are probed 250,000 times per hour. Similar attacks are becoming more prevalent on other kinds of information-based smart networks as well, such as those that operate buildings and utility systems. … [Read more...]
Distributed energy management systems (DERMS) and smart inverters can together help efficiently and safely bring distributed energy onto the grid, as described in the fourth part of a Microgrid Knowledge Special Report series on DERMS and virtual power plants. As use of renewable energy grows, grid management becomes more complex for … [Read more...]
The federal government has been at the forefront of distributed energy for the last decade, supported by executive orders and Department of Defense (DoD) policies promoting renewables such as solar PV, cogeneration and other distributed energy technologies. Ameresco’s Nicole Bulgarino explores the benefits of federal microgrids, and how they have the potential to enhance resiliency for the broader communities surrounding federal facilities.
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.
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