Micah Kotch received more than one ovation for a job well done at the Microgrid Knowledge conference last week, after announcing that he will be stepping down as director of NY Prize. Kotch has been the pivotal figure in the emerging microgrid market, shepherding the ambitious $40 million NY Prize through its first stage. The competition has … [Read more...]
Planning Begins on California Microgrid Road Map
May 23, 2016 By
State policymakers will begin work this week on a California microgrid road map, an effort to remove barriers to microgrid development. The California Energy Commission will hold a workshop May 24 at 1:30 p.m. (Pacific time) with the Public Utilities Commission and the California Independent System Operator. The session is geared toward … [Read more...]
What Does a Microgrid Cost?
April 26, 2016 By
When asked, “What does a microgrid cost?” ABB’s Nathan Adams responds, “What does a house cost?” Just as houses span from builder basic to celebrity mansion, microgrids range in size and sophistication. Or as S&C Electric’s David Chiesa puts it: “If you’ve seen one microgrid…you’ve seen one microgrid.” So there is no quick and simple … [Read more...]
Harvard Law School Group Pushes Virtual Power Plants in Massachusetts
April 19, 2016 By
A Harvard Law School group is urging Massachusetts regulators to test virtual power plants – possibly as part of microgrids – as the state moves to modernize its electric grid. The school’s Emmett Environmental Law and Policy Clinic raised the idea of utilities demonstrating virtual power plants in comments filed last week before the … [Read more...]
Connecticut Advances Utility Cybersecurity Efforts; Survey Finds Threat Rises
April 12, 2016 By
Warning that there “will likely be a utility cyber disruption at some point,” Connecticut officials say they plan to begin annual confidential meetings to review utility cybersecurity efforts. “Given the extent to which both our quality of life and sheer survival depend upon modern utilities, the nascent area of recovery management deserves … [Read more...]
The Multi-Directional Grid & its Safety, Connectivity & Speed Challenges
April 11, 2016 By
In the old days, the grid was uni-directional. But now, it's a multi-directional grid with more and more energy storage, renewables, electric vehicles and other resources coming online, and the utility's task has become complex -- to say the least. The utility of the future -- under New York State's Reforming the Energy Vision (REV) and … [Read more...]
Disruptors Unite: Wellinghoff Joins SolarCity as Policy Lead
April 10, 2016 By
Think of it as a coming together of two energy industry disrupters...SolarCity has hired Jon Wellinghoff, former chairman of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), as its chief policy officer. While such appointments are typically not big news, this one is interesting because SolarCity and Wellinghoff have separately helped create … [Read more...]
Five Policies Blocking Microgrids (From a Veteran of Local Energy Wars)
April 1, 2016 By
The smart phone has changed the consumer psyche about energy. If we can control so much in the palm of the hands -- at so little cost -- why not energy too? Such thinking underlies the growing appeal of microgrids, nanogrids, rooftop solar, solar gardens, energy aggregations, thinking thermostats and other technologies that can reduce the … [Read more...]
