New York City’s Urban Future Lab is offering a $25,000 prize for a microgrid startup project or other smart grid solution to a city energy problem. Applications are due August 14. Winners will have chance to pitch their solutions to a jury of investors, market partners, and successful entrepreneurs. The competition also will offer a second … [Read more...]
National Grid to Test New Utility Microgrid Services
March 14, 2016 By 2 Comments
How will utilities make money as more customers generate their own electricity? That’s one of the big looming industry questions, and one that National Grid is trying to solve by testing new utility microgrid services. The utility plans to try out the services in Potsdam, New York, where it is installing a microgrid with Clarkson University, … [Read more...]
Big Energy Efficiency Gains in Tiny Rhode Island: National Grid
March 2, 2016 By 3 Comments
National Grid has seen big energy efficiency gains in tiny Rhode Island, the smallest state geographically in the U.S. In this podcast interview (click the player above), Laura Rodormer and Matthew Ray, senior strategic business analysts for National Grid, describe three programs: How customers use home energy reports A program that gets … [Read more...]
Microgrids Still Just R&D for Massachusetts Utilities?
September 9, 2015 By 1 Comment
Microgrids are typically considered a key element of today's grid modernization. But not so much in recent Massachusetts utility plans. Microgrids are relatively scant -- largely pilot or R&D proposals -- in recent grid modernization plans that Massachusetts utilities filed with the state. The proposals are signficant because they … [Read more...]
Quick Microgrid News…Northeast Storm ‘If Only I Had a Microgrid’…Willdan Group & NY Prize…Ideal Power & Sonnenbatterie…Geli and Equana
August 8, 2015 By Leave a Comment
What you might have missed this week in microgrid news... Anyone in the Northeast thinking 'If only I had a microgrid' this week? No doubt some were remembering SuperStorm Sandy when a round of thunderstorms and 80 mph winds knocked out power in New England and New York August 4. Outages lasted for days in some areas More than 80,000 … [Read more...]
Zero Up-Front Costs for Residential Energy Efficiency Measures?
July 27, 2015 By Leave a Comment
As part of New York state's Reforming the Energy Vision, Sealed is partnering with National Grid to test a proposal under which customers would pay zero up-front costs for residential energy efficiency measures. In this podcast, Andy Frank, founder and president of Sealed, explains the idea, which has been available to commercial customers for … [Read more...]
Reforming the Energy Vision and Re-thinking the Energy Bill in New York
July 20, 2015 By Leave a Comment
As part of New York State's Reforming the Energy Vision (REV) demonstration projects, Sealed has partnered with National Grid in a "Re-Thinking the Energy Bill" project to demonstrate better ways to bill customers for energy and energy efficiency. Under the program, customers are offered a number of options for opting into different plans, ranging … [Read more...]
Quick Energy Efficiency News: Cool Stuff from NRG & Ice…Cement, Steel and Energy Savings…Massachusetts Behaves…NY Goes Solar
July 7, 2015 By 1 Comment
The energy storage deals keep coming in California, a state that requires utilities secure 1.3 GW of the resource by 2020. The latest pairing is between NRG Energy, a megasize generation and innovation company and Ice Energy, a technology leader that uses ice to provide energy storage. NRG and Ice Energy will supply 25.6 MW of behind-the-meter … [Read more...]
Quick Energy Efficiency News…More Energy Efficient Modems Coming…National Grid Positions for Big Industry Changes…Northeast Energy Efficiency Leaders
June 28, 2015 By 1 Comment
Some quick energy efficiency news to start your week... New Internet modems, routers and similar equipment will be more energy efficient under a voluntary agreement struck by the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA), National Cable & Telecommunications Association and several companies. The agreement, expected to impact 80 million US homes, … [Read more...]
Who Says You Can't Change People's Energy Behavior?
May 26, 2015 By 3 Comments
Just a few years ago the idea of changing energy behavior was viewed as quirky. The thinking was: Forget it, people ignore energy, they’re not going to remember to shut off the lights no matter how much you cajole, flatter or worry them. But companies like Opower, and a growing number of energy behaviorists, are figuring out the psychology behind … [Read more...]
