Ben Lavoie, of Ameresco, describes what drives the battery energy storage market, why it's valuable to pair storage and distributed energy, and how close battery storage is to becoming the norm. Microgrid Knowledge (MGK): Give us the background: From your view as an energy services provider, how are organizations maximizing the benefits of … [Read more...]
Energy for the People: Microgrids and the Democratization of Energy
November 9, 2020 By 4 Comments
Lance Haines, chief technology officer - Microgrids, at Schneider Electric speaks on microgrids and modernizing the grid — and how the two are intrinsically connected. The US has made significant efforts towards modernizing its electrical grid, yet the existing disparity in power quality and electricity savings achieved among communities … [Read more...]
Synchronizing Agriculture and Distributed Energy Can Reduce Nigeria’s Oil Dependency
May 11, 2020 By 2 Comments
The Rocky Mountain Institute's (RMI) Olatunde Okeowo and Andrew Allee explore how synching agriculture and distributed energy can cut down on Nigeria's oil dependency, increase energy access and save rural residents money. What if it was possible to boost both national and local economies while increasing energy access and saving rural … [Read more...]
Microgrid Job of the Week: S&C Electric Seeks App Manager for Distributed Energy Systems
March 11, 2020 By Leave a Comment
There's a new job opening at S&C Electric well suited for energy professionals who have experience with advanced microgrid systems. The company seeks an application manager for distributed energy systems. According to the job posting, the chosen candidate will be "responsible for defining, managing, and developing S&C’s integrated … [Read more...]
Using the Value of Resiliency to Support Financing a Multi-DER Microgrid
February 27, 2020 By 1 Comment
Concord Engineering VP Michael Boswell explores the potential of the multi-DER microgrid, and the financing options making this strategy a viable option for today's energy needs. Stepping into Mr. Peabody’s Wayback Machine from Rocky and Bullwinkle and then stepping out in the not too distant past, there was a time when PV Solar projects … [Read more...]
Using Microgrids & Distributed Energy to Mitigate Wildfires
September 30, 2019 By Leave a Comment
It seems over the past few years, during peak season when rain is short, all the west coast — and across the country for that matter — hears about is wildfires. They continue to worsen, and over the last several decades, the western United States has become a region of widespread, high-intensity wildfires. That's according to a new report from … [Read more...]
Why Microgrids? The Evolving Energy Landscape
April 15, 2019 By 1 Comment
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...]
The Rise of Microgrids and DERs: Out of Competition Came Innovation
January 24, 2019 By Leave a Comment
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...]
The Challenge of Quantifying the Benefits of Distributed Energy Resources
January 17, 2019 By 17 Comments
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...]
California’s Changing Utility Rate Schedules Create an Opportunity for Energy Storage
January 14, 2019 By 2 Comments
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...]
