US growth lags globally when it comes to technologies used in electricity delivery and management with one exception — the microgrid market — says a new report by the advocacy group Advanced Energy Economy. “In the US market, microgrids are a shining light,” says AEE’s 2019 market report, which looks at global energy revenue trends from … [Read more...]
Navigant's Peter Asmus provides an overview of US microgrid policy and identifies what's most needed to drive microgrid adoption. Asmus will be presenting these ideas at a special Microgrid 2019 pre-conference workshop May 13. In 2011, Connecticut was the first state to pass a law authorizing microgrids to serve community resilience. A … [Read more...]
Government support for microgrids is scant in the US -- an issue that industry leaders plan to tackle during a pre-conference workshop on microgrid policy leading up to Microgrid 2019. State and federal incentives heavily influence which energy technologies prosper. All major energy resources — from energy efficiency to fossil fuels — have … [Read more...]
Over the last seven years, the utility-scale storage market has gotten revved up. That’s because the technology risks and the cost associated with those devices have fallen dramatically, all compounded by an increasing number of developers that are participating in the market. The end result is that solar-plus-storage is competing head on … [Read more...]
Remote microgrids are becoming the key source for delivering power to global regions that are either tough to traverse or where the main grid is not reliable. And some companies are finding this to be an attractive business model, not only because they can initially limit their capital outlays but also because they can eventually scale up their … [Read more...]
It's a bull market for energy storage, as evidenced by two separate reports issued this week by leading analytical firms. A quarterly report by Wood Mackenzie Power & Renewables and the Energy Storage Association (ESA) found a doubling of US energy storage projects in the pipeline, bringing the number to 32.9 GW. The report forecasts that … [Read more...]
New York continues to push electrification of transportation, boosting what's expected to be a record 2019 for electric vehicles in North America. As part of its EVolve NY program, the New York Power Authority (NYPA) is rolling out 200 direct current fast chargers (150 kW), which charge in as little as 20 minutes. NYPA will install the fast … [Read more...]
Nevada's new framework calling for utility distribution resource plans (DRP) could benefit microgrids, but it's "only a single step in a long journey," said Ken Horne, director for smart grid in the Emerging Technology and Business Strategy group of Navigant Consulting. The Nevada Public Utilities Commission has adopted a framework for … [Read more...]
Navigant's Peter Asmus describes five surprises that may lie ahead as distributed energy resources (DER) and microgrids transform the global economy. This edition of Industry Perspectives was one of the most popular columns on Microgrid Knowledge during the first quarter of 2018. It is that time of the year again, when pundits pontificate … [Read more...]
A forecast issued this week by Navigant Research identifies several new trends emerging in the global microgrid market as it moves toward becoming a $30.9 billion industry by 2027. The number of vendors in the arena has increased dramatically. Utilities, once seen as obstructers to microgrids, are now building their own. Microgrid growth is … [Read more...]
Diesel generation is effective, but it’s not the best option available to pair with wind and solar. That’s where natural gas comes in. When designing a microgrid, don’t forget to look to natural gas as a feasible option to lower generation costs and provide greater resiliency to the system.
Microgrid implementation and project challenges vary according to requirements and economic and business drivers, but on a broader level can be developed using a common approach. Download the white paper from Schneider Electric that identifies the main challenges faced during a microgrid project implementation and provides practical information for addressing them.
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