The General Services Administration (GSA), which manages federal property, and the Department of Energy (DOE) are seeking proposals for emerging technologies that can maintain healthy indoor air, increase building resilience and improve onsite photovoltaics in commercial buildings. The GSA and DOE plan to use selected technologies from the … [Read more...]
US GSA Seeks Information on Grid Interactive Technologies for Buildings
The General Services Administration (GSA) has issued a request for information (RFI) for grid-interactive technologies and services that provide energy savings and load flexibility for buildings. The RFI, issued in coordination with the Department of Energy (DOE), is part of the Grid-interactive Efficient Buildings (GEB) research being done … [Read more...]
Walk Through the Last of the Microgrid Development Phases: Implementation
This guest post is adapted from a new white paper from the DOE's Rima Kasia Oueid that outlines the three microgrid development phases for public critical infrastructure microgrids. This entry explores Phase 3: Implementation. Implementing a microgrid requires significant time, effort and investment. There are many cost variables that must … [Read more...]
Dissecting the Planning Phase of Public Infrastructure Microgrid Development
This guest post is adapted from a new white paper on microgrid development by the DOE's Rima Kasia Oueid that outlines three development phases for public critical infrastructure microgrids. This entry explores Phase 2: planning. The planning phase involves significant preparation work for the project that begins with broader stakeholder … [Read more...]
U.S. DOE Identifies 200 Potential Microgrid Sites in Puerto Rico
The U.S. Department of Energy has identified 200 potential microgrid sites in Puerto Rico, as part of an effort to rebuild and modernize the island’s devastated electricity system. Bruce Walker, assistant secretary for DOE’s Office of Electricity Delivery and Energy Reliability, described the microgrid sites in a blog he posted last week on … [Read more...]
Department of Energy Gets it Wrong on Energy Reliability
NRDC's Elizabeth Noll says that the Department of Energy is heading down the wrong path when it comes to energy reliability. Most power outages occur because of transmission and distribution failure. They are not due to lack of power supply. So more coal and nuclear generation will not make the U.S. grid more reliable. There are three key … [Read more...]
$20M for Power Electronics R&D…California’s Microgrid Roadmap…Fort Custer Microgrid
DOE funds $20M for power electronics, a key part of a microgrid Now that utility-scale solar costs only 6 cents/kWh on average, U.S. energy policymakers will no longer focus as heavily on driving down prices. Instead, they are turning an eye toward using solar to improve grid reliability and resilience -- a key microgrid feature. As part of the … [Read more...]