What state and federal policies are spurring microgrid growth in the United States? Here's an inventory from our latest Think Microgrid report, The Energy Efficient Microgrid, which examines grid-connected microgrids and companion technologies: combined heat and power (CHP) and district energy (DE). The Obama administration created one of the … [Read more...]
How Microgrids Earn Revenue and Serve the Central Grid
December 4, 2014 By
Grid-connected microgrids earn revenue by selling what are known as 'ancillary services' to the central grid. These services help keep power flowing in a stable fashion. Offering these services makes a microgrid valuable well beyond the buildings it powers. The microgrid becomes an asset to society at large. Read more in the following excerpt from … [Read more...]
The Importance of Heat in the Energy Efficient Microgrid
November 25, 2014 By
The following is an excerpt from new our report, The Energy Efficient Microgrid. It can be difficult for microgrids to compete on cost alone if they provide only electricity. However, when combined heat and power (CHP) is added to the equation, microgrids become more competitive based on economics alone. Why? Most power generation … [Read more...]
Microgrids, CHP and District Energy: Growth by the Numbers
November 24, 2014 By
Our latest Think Microgrid excerpt looks at microgrids, CHP and district energy market growth. Continue reading or download the full report, The Energy Efficient Microgrid. Microgrid Market Growth Forecasts call for dramatic growth ahead for microgrids, particularly in North America. Navigant Research projects that the market will expand from just … [Read more...]
Why the Time is Right for Microgrids
November 11, 2014 By
The time is right for microgrids. And it's not just to protect our power supply from severe storms, as our new Think Microgrid report explains. Here's an excerpt. It wasn’t just the severity of Superstorm Sandy (See related article) that led to today’s new emphasis on grid resiliency and microgrids; it was also the timing. A convergence of other … [Read more...]
New Report Now Available on the Energy Efficient Microgrid
November 2, 2014 By
Here we introduce, The Energy Efficient Microgrid: What Combined Heat & Power and District Energy Bring to the Microgrid Revolution, the latest in our Think Microgrid series. A kind of collective ‘ah ha’ is driving North America toward a more distributed grid, what some call local energy. Businesses, industrial facilities, institutions and … [Read more...]
Think Microgrid: The Local Energy Revolution
October 29, 2014 By
This week two years ago, Superstorm Sandy put the 'city that never sleeps at night' into a near coma, disrupting electric power in some parts of New York for two weeks. It was a painful lesson about the vulnerability of our electric grid, not just in New York, but throughout the Northeast. And it was a wake-up call for government leaders about the … [Read more...]
IDEA Presents “evolvingENERGY” Conference Oct. 28-30 in Toronto
October 20, 2014 By
IDEA conference to feature Resilient Microgrids Operation and Maintenance Seminar with Ted Borer of Princeton University The International District Energy Association (IDEA) is bringing together district energy practitioners from across North America for the evolvingENERGY conference in Toronto October 28-30. The event will provide a platform … [Read more...]
IDEA Presents “evolvingENERGY” Conference Oct. 28-30 in Toronto
October 20, 2014 By
IDEA conference to feature district energy, combined heat & power and community energy resiliency. with focus on Canada The International District Energy Association (IDEA) is bringing together district energy practitioners from across North America for the evolvingENERGY conference in Toronto October 28-30. The event will provide a platform … [Read more...]
Microgrid: Did I Just See Energy History Made in Atlanta?
February 20, 2014 By
Every once in awhile, after a lot of humdrum news, something really cool comes along, the kind of thing that can reshape the energy industry. That’s what might have happened last week in Atlanta at the 27th Annual Campus Energy Conference of the International District Energy Association (IDEA). IDEA members formed a lobbying organization for … [Read more...]
