The as-a-service model continues to grow in popularity for microgrids and other forms of distributed energy, most recently reflected in news from Fairbanks Morse and Younicos. As-a-service-models offer customers a way to avoid capital installation costs and pay for only energy and any related services produced by projects. The customer also is … [Read more...]
Reciprocating engine generators are becoming increasingly important to help solve three contemporary energy problems. The first problem occurs in developed areas like North America, where electric reliability is crucial as the economy grows ever more Internet-based. The second problem can be found in remote regions of the world, where no … [Read more...]
Everyone knows what solar and wind energy is. But ask, 'What is a reciprocating engine generator?' and most people are stumped. Yet this mainstay technology plays a crucial role in keeping on the lights. We define 'reciprocating engine generator' in this excerpt from the new Microgrid Knowledge guide, Reciprocating Engine Generators and … [Read more...]
The new Microgrid Knowledge guide, Reciprocating Engine Generators and Microgrids: The Last Defense Against a Power Outage, looks at a technology that gets little attention but serves a crucial role on the electric grid. Reciprocating engine generators are often the last line of defense when all other resources fail in a power outage. That's just … [Read more...]
When high winds knock out wind turbines supplying power to the grid, dual fuel diesel engines serve as an important line of defense against blackouts. “Diesel generators can be structured to pick up in small areas, replacing wind energy,” said Jeff Powell, product manager for Fairbanks Morse Engine in this podcast. “For example, they can back up … [Read more...]
Are low oil prices influencing decisions to include diesel generators in microgrids? It’s a fair question to ask with fuel accounting for about 95 percent of the total cost of ownership of a diesel generator, and the gensets found in nearly 40 percent of new microgrids. But fuel price doesn’t appear to play a big role in the decision to … [Read more...]
Jessica Collingsworth of the Union of Concerned Scientists provides an update on NextGrid, a grid modernization effort in Illinois, which is the subject of public comment sessions this week.
The foundation of a smart city is smart energy infrastructure, representing the interconnection of microgrids working together to improve system resilience, reduce costs and enable a low- to no-carbon future. Download the new white paper from Burns & McDonnell that explores how energy infrastructure is enabling a gird of microgrids and changing the energy landscape.
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