Distributed Energy

Commercial and industrial companies can reap many rewards by taking a more hands-on approach in sourcing power. Incorporating solar, wind, and other forms of on-site generation—including combined heat and

In my job, I typically do a fair amount of traveling. Of course, that all changed last year due to COVID-19. I didn’t go anywhere for work-related events or meetings. It was kind of nice—at first—but

The digitization of power generation is among the technology advancements transforming the way electricity is produced and distributed. Utilities have always sought ways to improve the efficiency of their operations, along with lowering the cost of maintenance while streamlining asset management. The digital transformation has brought numerous challenges, as utilities seek to upgrade their legacy […]

A joint venture of energy management company Schneider Electric and Huck Capital, a power sector investment firm, has announced a partnership with energy infrastructure developer ClearGen to build and operate standardized on-site renewable energy microgrid systems. The deal made public May 25 is designed to “accelerate the ability for commercial and industrial customers to transition […]

In March, America’s energy infrastructure received a C- rating from the American Society of Civil Engineers’ (ASCE) Infrastructure Report Card, showcasing the country’s desperate need for improvement, and more importantly, investment. And in April, President Biden committed to cutting U.S. greenhouse gas emissions by at least 50% by 2030, putting a heavy emphasis on the […]

As society contends with the impacts of climate change, we need to aggressively pursue strategies for reducing carbon emissions. Although states in the U.S. are taking a variety of approaches to greenhouse gas (GHG) reduction, and following an equally diverse set of timelines, most state-level GHG emission goals announced so far are fairly consistent—to reduce […]

On a recent visit to my local hardware store, I was struck by all the products on display to help manage my energy needs. The store had LED light bulbs, weather stripping, and fiberglass insulation to help

Upgrades to the power grid are needed worldwide, and energy companies are working on the best solutions for providing reliable and resilient power in a cost-efficient and timely fashion. Areas hit hard by

Engine-based power plants have proven to be dependable complements for intermittent renewables, but they are also capable of providing steady baseload electricity. With the right technical support, including

BROOKLYN, N.Y. and San Carlos, CA, February 18, 2021:EnergyHub today announced the release of Mercury Edge Connect, a standardized integration framework for connecting DER providers with EnergyHub’s Mercury DERMS. Mercury Edge Connect allows utilities to manage devices from any DER provider to deliver grid services. The addition of Mercury Edge Connect strengthens the ability of […]

RESTON, VA (February 4, 2020) – Electrify America, the nation’s largest public ultra-fast charging network, has officially added 30 solar-powered electric vehicle (EV) charging stations with two Level 2 chargers each to its network in the state of California. The off-grid, standalone chargers are strategically located throughout the Central Valley and inland areas of Southern California, intended […]

The Orlando Utilities Commission’s (OUC’s) vision of a green energy future isn’t as far off as some people may think. The utility’s nanogrid is providing a testing ground for several innovative power

Sustainability is a buzzword that’s being bantered about up and down Wall Street, and corporate leaders have taken notice. Many companies have adopted environmental, social, and governance (ESG) initiatives, which are often tied to sustainability goals. In some cases, the pressure to do so has come from customers and/or investors, but in others, CEOs and […]

Mining is an energy-intensive industry; digging, crushing, and processing minerals takes a lot of power, and mines often operate 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Like other industries, mining companies are seeking solutions to reduce their emissions; both for the sake of the planet and in response to increasing pressure from customers to […]

A microgrid is a discrete energy system consisting of distributed energy resources, such as solar panels, wind turbines, backup generators, and battery storage systems, and loads capable of operating in parallel with, or independently from, the main power grid. A microgrid generally operates while connected to the grid, but importantly, it can break off and […]

2020 was a transformative year for the power sector, underlining both new challenges and potential opportunities. We not only saw how severe weather event threats, such as the wildfires and public safety power shutoffs in California, continued to illustrate the fragility of our existing centralized electric distribution system, but we simultaneously experienced the struggle of […]

A partnership between The Alliance Center and Fermata Energy will result in reduced energy costs The Alliance Center is installing the Fermata Energy V2B System at their facility in Denver. The Fermata Energy V2B System will work in conjunction with The Alliance Center’s electric vehicle (EV) to utilize the energy stored in a Nissan LEAF […]

Electricity transmission network operators are being tasked with adding more renewable energy resources to the power grid. The use of static VAR compensators (SVCs) is growing as a means to control voltage

When the World Health Organization published news on Jan. 5, 2020, about cases of “pneumonia of unknown etiology” detected in Wuhan City, China, few people began stocking up on toilet paper or canceled

With COVID-19 filling the news throughout 2020, it’s very likely you missed some of the most important developments that occurred in the power sector this year. Here’s a look at some of the highlights and big stories covered by the POWER staff this year. MOX Nuclear Fuel Loaded In January, Russian engineers announced the loading […]

2021 Predictions for Energy, Utilities, and Resources Even if the climate crisis is currently having to share headline space with the global pandemic, it has by no means lost its traction. Nor have the perils of climate change lost any of their urgency. Taking a global stance, I would say that the charge to lower […]

The shift from energy consumers to prosumers is fundamentally changing the relationship between utilities and their customers. Behind-the-meter distributed energy resources (DERs) transform the ways households consume, generate, and store power. In the U.S., there are now about 15 million smart thermostats, 2 million solar installations, and 1.5 million electric vehicles (EVs) on the road. And […]

The search for more efficient methods of power generation at a time when climate change is top of mind continues to foster innovation. A U.S. company is among the latest to release a new technology, with development of a self-contained generator that doesn’t run on fossil fuels and works on the premise that once created, […]

HOUSTON, Texas (Dec. 17, 2020) — Quinbrook Infrastructure Partners (“Quinbrook”), a specialist investor in lower carbon and renewable energy infrastructure, today announced the establishment of a joint venture with Birch Infrastructure PBLLC (“Birch”) to develop and construct renewables-powered hyperscale data center campuses in the US. The joint venture has identified and is actively developing multiple, strategically-located […]

Integrating electric vehicles (EVs) with the power grid has become a focus for utilities, particularly in areas with large concentrations of EVs. It also is another way for utilities to expand their business models, as they partner with companies involved with charging stations and residential energy storage applications. EnergyHub, a distributed energy resources (DERs) management […]

A distributed energy power plant, designed to help bring more reliability to California’s power grid, is being developed by a company whose investors include Alphabet, the parent company of Google. The project when fully developed would be the world’s largest residential virtual power plant (VPP). Sidewalk Infrastructure Partners (SIP), a group that builds, owns, operates, […]

BOULDER, Colo. (Dec. 1, 2020) – The City of Boulder is partnering with Fermata Energy to test the ability to reduce the city’s building energy costs with an innovative pilot at the North Boulder Recreation Center. Typically, electric vehicle (EV) chargers provide energy in one direction: from the energy grid or building to the car. […]