Tyeler Matsuo and Julia Meisel, of the Rocky Mountain Institute (RMI), explore climate auctions. This 21st century alternative to grants and loans uses competitive bidding to disperse public funding to carbon-reducing projects. With scientific reports warning of the urgency of concerted climate action, and with current national climate targets … [Read more...]
Megan Kerins and Alejandra Castrodad-Rodríguez of the Rocky Mountain Institute (RMI) describe a new microgrid toolkit to ensure power reliability for those most vulnerable in Puerto Rico. When the lights went out September 20, 2017, no one could have foreseen that it would take 130 days to restore power to seven out of ten people in Puerto … [Read more...]
Sachi Graber of the Rocky Mountain Institute describes a $200 million opportunity in Nigeria to develop undergrid minigrids, projects that shore up electricity for those served by unreliable grids. Traditionally in sub-Saharan Africa, electrification efforts have emphasized the hundreds of millions of people who live off-grid, with no … [Read more...]
Economics often decide the fate of a microgrid proposal. Sometimes, however, the calculator gets set aside when the project has a strong humanitarian purpose. Such is the case with a program launched by the Rocky Mountain Institute (RMI) and Save the Children to build school microgrids in Puerto Rico. The program emerged after RMI began … [Read more...]
Minigrids represent a $20 billion business opportunity in Nigeria and a chance to improve the lives of over half the population that remain without electricity, according to a report released today. Prepared by the Rocky Mountain Institute and the Nigerian Economic Summit Group, the report focuses on how lack of electricity impedes business … [Read more...]
More and more airports are interested in developing microgrids following last December's power outage at the Atlanta airport. But often transportation officials aren't sure how to get started. The Rocky Mountain Institute (RMI) aims to help them by developing a “microgrid implementation toolkit," according to Adam Klauber, RMI's director, … [Read more...]
The Rocky Mountain Institute's Jules Kortenhorst and Kieran Coleman say that the U.S. Energy Information Administration portrays clean energy markets erroneously in its annual forecast. The U.S. Energy Information Administration’s (EIA’s) most recent Annual Energy Outlook (AEO) should give anyone watching today’s energy markets a jolt of … [Read more...]
Laurie Guevara-Stone of the Rocky Mountain Institute (RMI) explains why it was a good year for solar, renewable microgrids, energy efficiency, blockchain, climate change efforts and other clean energy initiatives. Sure 2017 had its mishaps (and we’re not just talking about the La La Land/Moonlight fiasco). But it also had some great moments. … [Read more...]
A funny thing happened on the way to creating a more resilient grid in the United States. Rather than promoting technologies that actually do this – like microgrids – the Department of Energy (DOE) is pushing old-style generators that are part of the problem. Energy Secretary Rick Perry in September asked the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission … [Read more...]
Claire Henly and Kelly Carlin describe how the Rocky Mountain Institute (RMI) is creating access to sustainable electricity in Sub-Saharan Africa -- and challenges that stand in the way.A team from Rocky Mountain Institute is working in sub-Saharan Africa to address barriers to sustainable electricity access. Since September of last year, we have … [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.
An advanced microgrid offers both power supply and energy savings and derives value from each. And that’s just the start of the complex stream of economic benefits that can emanate from a microgrid; others include electric reliability, resiliency, energy security, emissions reductions and energy bill savings. This paper provides an overview of microgrid financing and how the microgrid controller can help your microgrid reach maximum return on investment.
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