Factors like generation choice, battery size and interconnection upgrades affect microgrid costs, but there are ways to manage them so projects can move forward with satisfied customers, according to panelists at a Microgrid 2021 conference session called "Why Does a Microgrid Cost What It Costs?" A 2018 study by the National Renewable … [Read more...]
Texas on the Verge of an Energy Catastrophe: How Microgrids are Helping
February 16, 2021 By
The electric grid has been around for nearly 140 years, but it’s yet to overcome its biggest nemesis: the weather. Texas is showcasing that point this week as it suddenly rivals California in proving the need for microgrids. What happened in Texas and how bad is it? Very bad. Struggling to keep the grid from collapse, the grid operator … [Read more...]
Look Who Likes Microgrids Now: Why and How the Market is Opening to Smaller Facilities
February 11, 2021 By
Expanding from their origins at universities, military bases and corporate campuses, microgrids are starting to make their way into smaller businesses and even neighborhoods and homes. The change comes, in part, because of a growing public awakening about the vulnerability of the electric grid. Superstorm Sandy in 2012 seemed to open the … [Read more...]
Microgrid Companies in the News: Schneider Named Most Sustainable Corporation
January 27, 2021 By
A roundup on the latest news about microgrid companies... Schneider Electric Ranked Most Sustainable Corporation Schneider Electric, the digital transformation, energy management and automation company, has been named the world's most sustainable corporation in an annual list compiled by Corporate Knights, a media and research company focused … [Read more...]
Sunbaked Texas Grid May Need Microgrids this Summer
May 15, 2020 By
Even in a pandemic, it seems the Texas electric grid can’t catch a break. The grid operator for most of the state warned this week that the summer is likely to bring record-breaking peak demand for electricity, a situation that can threaten electric reliability and jack up prices. It’s not unusual for the heavily air-conditioned state to … [Read more...]
What Articles on Microgrid Knowledge are Capturing the Most Attention?
July 5, 2019 By
The most read Microgrid Knowledge articles for the first half of 2019 tell the story of an industry attracting larger players and building more sophisticated projects, particularly for communities and commercial and industrial facilities. Renewables and energy storage continue to dominate the discussion. Fuel cells appear to be gaining … [Read more...]
Schneider, Planet Ark Power Win Grant for Renewable Microgrid in South Australia
November 30, 2017 By
Australian-based Planet Ark Power and multinational partner Schneider Electric have won a $1.95 million grant towards a $13.9 million renewable microgrid at a major distribution center in South Australia's capital city Adelaide. The project includes a microgrid management system governing 5.7 MW of solar photovoltaics and 2.9 MWh of battery … [Read more...]
What Would You Pay for Energy Resiliency?
March 21, 2016 By
If you don’t know the answer, join the club. Energy resiliency – maintaining a secure energy supply even when calamity strikes – is a key reason why many want microgrids in North America. But ssigning a dollar value to energy resiliency remains one of the most perplexing issues facing the microgrid industry today. Power outages cost the U.S. … [Read more...]
More Demand Response in Microgrids following Supreme Court Decision? Maybe, Maybe Not
February 19, 2016 By
With a dark legal cloud lifted from demand response, the resource is likely to find new life on the grid. But what about demand response in microgrids? Demand response – where a utility or grid operator signals customers to reduce energy use and pays them for doing so – overcame a challenge from power generators with a favorable ruling last … [Read more...]
Seeking a Global Blueprint for Microgrids in Greece…and More Quick Microgrid News
November 5, 2015 By
Younicos, which is part of a consortium in Greece working on a global blueprint for smart microgrids, says that the Greek Island of Tilos could use renewables for more than 80 percent of its power with battery energy storage. The battery would dramatically cut use -- and therefore cost -- of fossil fuel-based power transmitted to Tilos from a … [Read more...]
