The following is an excerpt from our recent guide, "Gas Turbine Microgrids: Reliability and Sustainability through Intelligence." Environmental futurist Amory Lovins famously said that people don’t want kilowatts of electricity; they want the byproducts: a cold beer and a hot shower. St James’s Gate Brewery in Dublin, Ireland, offers an … [Read more...]
Movement is a foot worldwide to bring new intelligence to conventional or ‘dumb’ generation. The gas turbine microgrid is central to this smartening of power generation. The term dumb generation describes the kind of conventional power plants, wind turbines or solar panels that have been used for decades. They produce megawatts, but do nothing … [Read more...]
A kind of collective ‘ah ha’ is driving North America toward a more distributed grid, what some call local energy. Businesses, industrial facilities, institutions and cities are realizing the value of taking control over their energy efficient supply. Local energy promises lower costs, more reliable electric supply, storm resiliency, reduced … [Read more...]
This Special Report from Microgrid Knowledge paints a picture of the emerging microgrid-driven world. It also explains topics like district energy and combined heat and power (CHP). You'll learn how a CHP microgrid improves the economics and energy efficiency of a microgrid. Local energy promises lower costs, more reliable electric supply, storm … [Read more...]
A major hospital that treats critically ill patients cannot afford power failures. Facing intermittent power problems — and needing to replace old boilers — the 536-bed University of Illinois Hospital installed a 24 MWe cogeneration system for its campus in Chicago. Powered by three Taurus 70 natural gas turbine generator sets, the system fulfills … [Read more...]
Microgrids win a new and different kind of public policy support under the carbon-cutting Clean Power Plan announced by the Obama administration this week. The rule requires that states come up with plans to reduce carbon dioxide emissions from electric power 32 percent below 2005 levels by 2030. That means cutting 870 million tons of carbon … [Read more...]
Grid-connected microgrids earn revenue by selling what are known as 'ancillary services' to the central grid. These services help keep power flowing in a stable fashion. Offering these services makes a microgrid valuable well beyond the buildings it powers. The microgrid becomes an asset to society at large. Read more in the following excerpt from … [Read more...]
The following is an excerpt from new our report, The Energy Efficient Microgrid. It can be difficult for microgrids to compete on cost alone if they provide only electricity. However, when combined heat and power (CHP) is added to the equation, microgrids become more competitive based on economics alone. Why? Most power generation … [Read more...]
The federal government has been at the forefront of distributed energy for the last decade, supported by executive orders and Department of Defense (DoD) policies promoting renewables such as solar PV, cogeneration and other distributed energy technologies. Ameresco’s Nicole Bulgarino explores the benefits of federal microgrids, and how they have the potential to enhance resiliency for the broader communities surrounding federal facilities.
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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