According to a recent Microgrid Knowledge study power resiliency is one of the top 3 reasons organizations and communities install a microgrid. Factors such as increasing occurrences of natural disasters, the ongoing threat of cyber attacks and growing awareness of inadequate, outdated or failing grid infrastructure all drive microgrid adoption. … [Read more...]
This paper describes how to design and operate a microgrid by examining a microgrid installed for the US Department of Defense at Fort Sill, Oklahoma. The microgrid is composed of two natural gas generators, a battery energy storage inverter, renewables, and a static switch. Design considerations for this retrofit application with a high … [Read more...]
The senior population is on a path to double in the U.S, and even triple in Europe. This creates pressure to expand hospitals, healthcare networks, assisted living facilities, adult day care and nursing homes. Thus the reason for learning more about the value of Healthcare Microgrids. Add advances in medical technology, which result in new … [Read more...]
Fuel cell microgrids are on the rise, the result of a natural pairing of two technologies-fuel cells and microgrids- that serve a mutual mission. Together, they meet today’s demand for energy that is cost-competitive, highly reliable, clean, quiet, contained, modular, scalable and community-friendly. Once futuristic, both technologies find … [Read more...]
Policy makers are increasingly focused on strategies to decentralize the electricity grid. We analyze the business model for one mode of decentralization-microgrids-and quantify the economics for self-supply of electricity and thermal energy and explicitly resolve technological as well as policy variables. We offer a tool, based on the Distributed … [Read more...]
Reciprocating engine generators are becoming increasingly important to help solve three contemporary energy problems. The first problem occurs in developed areas like North America, where electric reliability is crucial as the economy grows ever more Internet-based. The second problem can be found in remote regions of the world, where no … [Read more...]
The UC San Diego microgrid has over 33 megawatts of installed onsite generation, including gas-turbine cogeneration and storage, solar, fuel cell, steam, and diesel. The onsite generation is only enough to support critical loads. To cover the rest of their load demand, the university purchases additional electric power from SDG&E. The idea … [Read more...]
As a cornerstone of one of the youngest, largest, and most prestigious planned communities in the country (the City of Irvine), UCI was established on sprawling undeveloped acreage on the bluffs bounding the Pacific Ocean. This allowed the campus to be methodically and systematically designed from scratch with a large, circular central park … [Read more...]
As discussion around development of a smart grid has steadily increased, so too has talk about smart microgrids. A critical ingredient for smart microgrids is energy storage. Energy storage can play a major role in facilitating use of renewable energy resources to power microgrids, while also protecting power stability and reliability within the … [Read more...]
On October 29th, 2012, Superstorm Sandy slammed into New York City’s shoreline. In the days and weeks that followed, the New York City Subway system and all but one of the road tunnels entering Manhattan with severely flooded, entire neighborhoods were decimated and millions of customers in New York City and on Long Island lost power – many for … [Read more...]
NRDC’s Jackson Morris explains why New York is exploring a carbon adder to meet climate goals and how it would work.
Many facility operators need increased resiliency, efficiently, and sustainability. Distributed Energy Resources (DERs) like wind, PV and energy storage can address these needs. Yet also introduce many other challenges. To learn how microgrids can help you optimize the integration of these assets, download this white paper.
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