This guide serves energy users, campuses and others who are contemplating microgrid installations - or already participate in a microgrid - and want to understand how policy can enhance microgrid capabilities. What might upcoming decisions mean to these colleges and universities, data centers, municipalities, pharmaceu- tical companies, research … [Read more...]
To begin building a new energy consumer strategy, it is important to plan carefully to ensure return on investment is maximized and risks are reduced. 1. Consult with an expert to help determine the local regulatory situation, electricity tariff structure, smart grid programs availability, and all available government incentives. 2. Calculate … [Read more...]
Governments, utility companies, and many businesses today agree we are in the midst of a shift toward a low-carbon economy. Many utilities are transitioning toward more renewable energy generation models and utilizing new energy storage solutions like specialized microgrids. Much of the focus has been on clean generation sources such as wind and … [Read more...]
The Advanced Energy Centre, Carleton Sustainable Energy Research Centre (CSERC), and New Energy Community Inc. convened a seminar and workshop on November 2nd, tasked with examining frameworks for advancing technology, business value, and public policy for clean energy microgrids. The event featured industry and utility leaders, multidis- ciplinary … [Read more...]
Economic, technology and environmental incentives are changing the face of electricity generation and transmission. Centralized generating facilities are giving way to smaller, more distributed generation partially due to the loss of traditional economies of scale. Distributed generation encompasses a wide range of prime mover technologies, such as … [Read more...]
As power utilities strive to improve the reliability of electricity delivery and become eco-sustainable, microgrids are gaining in popularity. However, there are challenges in extending network to microgrid communications. In order to enhance microgrid communications, the technology SDN is being used as a new way to communicate with microgrids. … [Read more...]
The traditional electrical grids deployed on remote islands and microgrids includes a single centralized diesel generating station with distribution lines connected to the rest of the island. This configuration is proving to be expensive and unsustainable. Progressive utilities across the World (with support from organizations such as the World … [Read more...]
Community microgrids empower local leaders to serve community energy needs in a more economical, reliable, and environmentally friendly manner than the existing centralized electricity grid. A community microgrid can bring together whole-building energy efficiency improvements, clean distributed generation, renewable energy, and smart energy … [Read more...]
As a cornerstone of one of the youngest, largest, and most prestigious planned communities in the country (the City of Irvine), UCI was established on sprawling undeveloped acreage on the bluffs bounding the Pacific Ocean. This allowed the campus to be methodically and systematically designed from scratch with a large, circular central park … [Read more...]
S&C Electric’s Erik Svanholm discusses the potential of microgrids as non-wires alternatives, which use distributed energy resources and microgrids to defer or replace the installation of more traditional ‘wires and poles’ infrastructure.
In the early 20th century, the centralization of electricity production made huge process, enabling significant economies of scale and improved power plant efficiency. Today, decentralization could help tackle the energy challenges of the 21st century by creating an optimized way to access reliable, green and resilient energy. Download the white paper from Schneider Electric that explores decentralization and the role of microgrids.
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