Ryan Pollin for Zondits, February 23, 2016. Image credit: gr8effect California is a national leader in clean tech across the board, and the California Public Utilities Commission’s plans for grid modernization are getting only bolder. Increasing volumes of electric vehicles, full-size acquisitions of behind-the-meter batteries, new solar inverters, and other new grid widgets are all converging … Read more
Reversible fuel cell goes both ways for the US Navy Gizmag, February 9, 2016 Boeing has delivered a new type of fuel cell to the US Navy for testing that can both store energy and generate electricity. Called a “reversible solid oxide fuel cell,” it’s designed to absorb energy from renewable sources, such as wind … Read more
Boston Identifies Dozens of Potential Microgrid Sites in Major Community Energy Study Microgrid Knowledge, February 17, 2016. Image credit: skeeze Boston has identified dozens of potential microgrid sites that together with other community energy projects could save as much as $1.7 billion, according to a new report issued by the city. The Boston Community Energy Study … Read more
Nevada’s Solar Bait-and-Switch New York Times, February 1, 2016 In late December, the state’s Public Utilities Commission, which regulates Nevada’s energy market, announced a rate change drastic enough to kill Nevada’s booming rooftop solar market and drive providers out of the state. Effective Jan. 1, the new tariffs will gradually increase until they triple monthly … Read more
Jeffrey Perkins and Allison Donnelly, ERS The DOE’s definition of a microgrid is “A group of interconnected loads and distributed energy resources (DER) with clearly defined electrical boundaries that acts as a single controllable entity with respect to the grid [and can] connect and disconnect from the grid to enable it to operate in both … Read more
DOE Awards ComEd $4 Million for Renewable Technology T&D World Magazine, January 22, 2016. Image credit: Max Talbot-Minkin ComEd has received a $4 million award from the U.S. Department of Energy SunShot Initiative to design and deploy solar and battery storage technology within its planned microgrid demonstration project in Chicago’s Bronzeville neighborhood. This award will … Read more
Max Twogood for Zondits, February 8, 2016. Image credit: Frans Drewniak A New Jersey father and son have found a way to reduce not just their energy costs, but also the aches and pains of shoveling snow: As part of what they call their “Zenesis House,” the Raj and Asit Parikh of Paramus installed two ground … Read more
World’s biggest wind farm given go-ahead off Britain Phys.org, February 4, 2016. Image credit: music4life Offshore wind developer Dong Energy said Wednesday a final decision had been made to construct the 1.2 gigawatt Hornsea Project One scheme off the coast of Yorkshire in northern England. Scheduled for completion by 2020, the giant development would span 160 … Read more
Jeff Perkins, ERS Presentation at AESP’s 26th National Conference in Phoenix, AZ, on Wednesday, February 3 at 1:30 p.m. Session 5C: DSM Business In this presentation we will explore how the adoption of microgrids fits into the collective efforts to reduce long-term costs, promote distributed resources, and build resiliency into the grid, and how current government-funded … Read more
Morocco Floats Tender For 400 MW Solar Power Project Clean Technica, January 11, 2016. Image credit: Jamie McCaffrey The Moroccan Agency for Solar Energy (MASEN) has invited bids from prospective project developers to set up a hybrid solar power project. The project will have a total installed capacity of 400 MW and will include systems based … Read more