Microgrid

GE, Utility, Government, and Academia Partner on Underground Microgrid Project to Improve Electricity Reliability in NY’s North Country

GE Global Research and GE Energy Consulting, along with National Grid, the Department of Energy (DOE) National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), and Clarkson University announced a partnership on a research project to improve the reliability and resiliency of electricity delivery in northern New York.

Integrated Energy

Distributed energy + distributed controls = distributed benefits.

Utility business models are at risk in a world of distributed energy resources and local intelligent controls, such as microgrids. But the real revolution may lie in customer expectations, where third parties threaten to take ownership.

Alstom Awarded Microgrid Project by the U.S Energy Department

Alstom was awarded the $1.2 million Microgrid Research Development and System Design (RD&D) project by the US Energy Department (DoE). Alstom is one of seven organizations to receive microgrid funding ($8 million total) from the DOE. The objective of this funding is to perform research, development and testing of advanced microgrid controllers capable of managing and controlling microgrid systems to improve viability, reliability and resiliency of the electric distribution grid.

Integrated Distribution Planning

An Idea Whose Time Has Come

The next frontier, and the logical extension of integrated resource planning. Self-generation, the connected home, the celebrated internet of things – they all suggest it’s time to focus on the local grid.

U.S. DOE Selects Microgrid Institute to Design and Test Microgrid Systems for Maryland Communities

The U.S. Department of Energy, National Energy Technology Laboratory  selected a team led by Burr Energy LLC (dba Microgrid Institute) to design, simulate, and test microgrid control systems for two Maryland suburbs served by utility Pepco Holdings. DOE/NETL is expected to provide approximately $1.2 million in funding assistance for the Olney Town Center Microgrid Project during a two-year period beginning in late 2014.

Rooftop Parity

Solar for Everyone, including Utilities

An independent system operator for the distribution network could open more opportunities for distributed energy resources, including rooftop solar.

GE, Princeton Power Systems, Partners Build Solar Power Microgrid in Africa

The government of Equatorial Guinea selected MAECI Solar, a division of Management and Economic Consulting, Inc., in collaboration with GE Power & Water and Princeton Power Systems, to install a 5-MW solar microgrid system on Annobon Province, an island off Equatorial Guinea in west central Africa. The solar microgrid will feature 5-MW solar modules and system integration by MAECI, an energy management system and controls from Princeton Power Systems and energy storage from GE.

From ISO to DSO

Imagining a new construct – an independent system operator for the distribution network.

A new utility industry construct – the Distribution System Operator (DSO) – could help maximize the benefits of distributed energy resources.

Working at the Edge of the Grid

How to find value in distributed energy resources.

Distributed resources create a new multi-directional power grid, achieving the sort of scale-driven cost levels and ease of installation that portend of future mass deployment.

Community Renaissance

When one age ends, another begins.

Community microgrids raise questions about the role of the utility franchise, versus the free market.