By Lisa Cohn, Translating DER and Microgrid Complexity into Simplicity & Bankability, Microgrid News, September 21, 2018 The California Energy Commission (CEC) wants to make microgrids more bankable. But to do so it must first translate DER and microgrid complexity into simplicity. Photo by Ditty_about_summer/Shutterstock.com That’s the aim of a $2 million grant that the commission awarded to the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI). In …
Hurricane Florence crippled electricity and coal — solar and wind were back the next day
By IRINA IVANOVA, 60 min and MONEYWATCH September 25, 2018, 9:24 AM Nearly two weeks after Hurricane Florence swamped North and South Carolina, thousands of residents who get power from coal-fired utilities remain without electricity. Yet solar installations, which provide less than 5 percent of North Carolina’s energy, were up and running the day after the storm, according to electricity news outlet GTM. And while half of …
Cape Cod Military Base To Run Fully On Renewable Energy: Basewide microgrid provided job training and saves money annually
September 10th, 2018 by Carolyn Fortuna on Clean Technica The US Department of Defense’s (DoD) first wind-powered microgrid is nearly ready at Otis Air National Guard Base on Cape Cod, Massachusetts. Unveiled on August 29, 2018, by the 102nd Intelligence Wing and project partners, the “grid-connected microgrid” will serve as a model for similar Air National Guard and Department of Defense (DoD) projects. …
Investor-owned utilities in California forecast that by 2025, 85 percent will leave their systems for renewable energy through community choice aggregation
Microgrid Knowledge, Aug 2018 Quickly growing community choice aggregations (CCA) are expected to play a significant role in drawing 85 percent of customers away from California’s investor-owned utilities by 2025, according to a new report. Provided by Wang An Q/Shutterstock.com The community aggregation report was one of three on grid disruption released by Next 10, an organization with a goal of improving …
Minigrid costs can fall by more than half again by 2020, reaching $0.25 per kilowatt-hour
ESI-Africa, August 2018 Until recently, Gbamu Gbamu, a rural community in Nigeria’s Ogun State, was left without access to electricity – cash-strapped utilities could not justify the expense of extending the main grid to the community. Enter minigrids and the road to affordable and reliable electrification. With no prospect of grid extension in sight, the Gbamu Gbamu1 community eschewed the …
Hawaii microgrid legislation aims to remove several obstacles to microgrid development, including interconnection barriers.
DEEP DIVE By Robert Walton@TeamWetDog, June 27, 2018, Utility Dive Microgrids are a popular topic these days, particularly following a devastating 2017 Atlantic storm season. Hawaii would seem to be a natural fit to develop more of these systems as its island grids are relatively small and remote. Hawaii Gov. David Ige is considering signing legislation to help spur the development …
Hawaii legislature backs microgrids for enhancing community and grid resilience after lava mangles utility equipment
June 1, 2018 By Lisa Cohn Microgrid Knowledge Following the volcanic eruptions on Hawaii’s Big Island — where poles and equipment have been damaged or destroyed by lava — both Hawaii Electric Light (HELCO) and the state are moving toward boosting microgrid development. The eruptions from the Kilauea Volcano began May 3 on the Big Island and continue, with lava mangling utility-owned electrical …
Wind, solar deliver stunning 98 percent of new U.S. power capacity in January, February
Renewables to provide 69 percent of new capacity by March 2021, as dozens of coal plants are retired By JOE ROMM on Climate Progress APR 24, 2018 WIND TURBINES AND SOLAR PANELS IN CALIFORNIA, 2013. CREDIT: KEVORK DJANSEZIAN/GETTY IMAGES Solar and wind power was responsible for a remarkable 98 percent of all new U.S. power generation capacity that came online in the first two …
Supercapacitor-based energy storage for microgrids avoids over-sizing. Micro-grid engineering becoming a macro profession.
Supercapacitor-based energy storage, on the other hand, is much simpler. This technology stores energy on the surface of the electrolyte, which means there is no chemical reaction. “Electrical energy comes in and is stored as electrical energy. It releases electrical energy back into electricity when discharged,” Ghani explained. Still supercapacitor-based energy storage hasn’t been used before because it has its …
Half of island without power, but Puerto Rico generation back up to 72%, as microgrid rules are released
GTM Jan 8 2018 Puerto Rico Energy Commission Lays Out Rules for a Future Microgrid Landscape With power restored for just about half of the island’s residents, and 1.5 million still without power, regulators look toward a remade grid. By EMMA FOEHRINGER MERCHANT Cleanup and electricity restoration efforts in Puerto Rico are ongoing. The Puerto Rico Energy Commission unveiled 29 pages of proposed …