In a first for Washington DC, a microgrid that combines solar and energy storage has been installed in an affordable housing complex. The Maycroft Apartment's $327,000 resiliency center includes a 70.2-kW rooftop solar array combined with a 46-kW/56 kWh battery system that can disconnect from the grid and provide power for up to three days … [Read more...]
ComEd’s Much-Watched Bronzeville Microgrid Wins Key Backing
January 30, 2018 By
Chicago’s much-watched Bronzeville microgrid has scored a key win with an administrative law judge recommending that state regulators okay the Commonwealth Edison project. Countering objections from the state attorney general, Administrative Law Judge Jessica Cardoni found the plant to be “prudent and reasonable” in a proposed order filed with … [Read more...]
Maryland Utility Proposes $44.2M Pilot for Public Purpose Microgrids
October 3, 2017 By
Pepco has filed a $44.2 million proposal with Maryland regulators to build two public purpose microgrids, designed to keep power flowing to essential societal services during a grid outage and bolster utility operations on normal days. The Exelon subsidiary petitioned for approval of the microgrids before the Maryland Public Service … [Read more...]
Commonwealth Edison Makes the Case for its Bronzeville Microgrid Cluster
August 3, 2017 By
Chicago-based Commonwealth Edison took a major step last week toward building the much-watched Bronzeville microgrid, a project that will test the emerging concept of microgrid clusters, or a ‘grid of microgrids.’ The Exelon subsidiary petitioned the Illinois Commerce Commission for permission to recover costs for the $25 million project through … [Read more...]
What Does Constellation’s Deal with ConEd Solutions Mean to its Microgrid Business?
July 28, 2016 By
Exelon subsidiary Constellation, a competitive retail supplier that also has a microgrid business, has entered into an agreement to acquire the retail electricity and natural gas customers of ConEdison Solutions. Both companies have been focused for years on the sale of competitive retail supply and energy services. Constellation more recently … [Read more...]
Maryland Regulators Reject BGE’s Utility Microgrids; Raise Competition Issues
July 22, 2016 By
Maryland regulators made clear this week that utility microgrids won’t be a slam dunk in the restructured state. The Public Service Commission rejected a proposal by Baltimore Gas & Electric (BGE) to construct, operate and recover costs for two public purpose microgrids. In doing so, the commission focused on specific problems it had … [Read more...]
A Step Toward the Re-Design of the Grid: California ISO Receives Federal Approval…And Other Quick News
June 10, 2016 By
Community microgrid for Ideal Academy Public Charter School (Washington, D.C.) The D.C. Lamond Riggs community is getting smarter -- in more ways than one. Ideal Academy Public Charter School will soon host a community microgrid designed, financed and built by BDG Renewable Energy Development. The community microgrid will improve reliability … [Read more...]
Imagining Broader Microgrid Opportunities
April 21, 2016 By
Dick Munson of the Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) lays out broader microgrid opportunities -- beyond reliability and environmental wins -- that could make microgrids a critical piece of a smarter energy future. Localized power grids that have the ability to disconnect from the main, centralized grid – known as microgrids – have become one of … [Read more...]
Exelon’s Next Big Stride: Connecticut Fuel Cell Microgrid
April 14, 2016 By
Exelon this week continued its vigorous push into the microgrid market, this time in Connecticut where it began construction of a fuel cell microgrid. The project is being developed by Exelon’s competitive subsidiary Constellation in partnership with fuel cell manufacturer Bloom Energy and the city of Hartford. The partners are constructing … [Read more...]
Follow the Microgrids: Grid Transformation and the Exelon/Pepco Merger
April 5, 2016 By
If you want to track electric grid transformation, follow the microgrids. That was one of the lessons quietly underscored by the otherwise noisy regulatory review of the Exelon/Pepco utility merger, according to Rachel Gold, a senior associate at the Rocky Mountain Institute. When the $6.8 billion Exelon/Pepco merger closed last month … [Read more...]
