As California’s wildfire season approaches, San Diego Gas & Electric (SDG&E) faces regulatory delays of up to two years for 100 MW of proposed storage-backed microgrids that aim to provide resiliency, especially to protect essential community services. “As a utility company, our mandate and charge is to provide safe and reliable … [Read more...]
San Diego Zoo Adds Storage to its Energy Menagerie
October 22, 2018 By
San Diego Zoo Global has chosen a unit of EDF Renewables North America to provide a 1 MW/4 MWh energy storage system that is designed to reduce energy costs while limiting emissions at the zoo. The zoo will use the storage project to smooth spikes in energy usage, thereby, lowering demand charges. The system will also minimize energy costs by … [Read more...]
For Utilities, Electric Vehicles are the New Air Conditioners
May 5, 2017 By
Electric vehicles are quickly becoming one of the largest flexible loads on the grid in some areas, and the growth parallels the increase in numbers of air conditioners years ago, says a new study from the Smart Electric Power Alliance. However, the popularity of electric vehicles poses problems for utilities, which are finding that time-of-use … [Read more...]
Green & Distributed Energy Solicitations in Ontario, Hawaii, California
April 6, 2016 By
Hawaii, Ontario and California have green and distributed energy solicitations in various stages of planning or action, some directly tied to microgrid and smart grid efforts. Hawaii Hawaiian Electric Companies recently laid out a near-term path toward its 30-year goal to achieve 100 percent renewable energy. Called the Power Supply … [Read more...]
The Electric Vehicle as a Power Plant: A California Utility Shows How it’s Done
February 25, 2015 By
For years we’ve heard about a future where our cars become sort of like mini-power plants. And now San Diego Gas & Electric is showing how it’s done. The California utility has begun bidding resources from a group of electric vehicles and energy storage systems into the state’s wholesale power market. The pilot program, one of the first … [Read more...]
Microgrids, SDG&E and NRG Demonstrate the Future
February 20, 2015 By
Jill Feblowitz, of IDC Energy Insights, explains why utilities might want to "lift the hood" to see the workings of the Borrego Springs Microgrid. Momentum is building for alternative utility business models, and California is once again a leading state. The California Energy Commission (CEC) just awarded San Diego Gas & Electric a grant of … [Read more...]
