Distributed Energy

German energy supplier E.ON is collaborating with UK energy firms Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks (SSEN) and Costain Group to roll out an innovative business model that monetizes resilience and grid stability services to remote areas.  E.ON Innovation, one of Europe’s largest distribution system operators (DSOs) and the transmission and distribution arms at SSEN and […]

SEOUL, South Korea (July 21, 2020) — LG Chem, South Korea’s leading manufacturer of advanced lithium-ion batteries, has once again joined forces with SolarEdge Technologies, Inc. (SolarEdge), a global leader in smart energy, to bring compatibility with the LG RESU10H (400V, 9.8kWh) home battery. By incorporating SolarEdge’s single phase Energy Hub Inverter and backup interface, […]

CHICAGO and WASHINGTON (July 21, 2020) — NanoGraf, an advanced battery material company, today announced that it has partnered with the U.S. Department of Defense to develop a longer-lasting lithium-ion battery, designed to provide U.S. military personnel with better portable power for the equipment they rely on to operate safely and effectively. The Department of […]

A distributed energy resource management system, or DERMS, is a software platform used to manage a group of distributed energy resource (DER) assets—such as rooftop photovoltaic solar panels, behind-the-meter batteries, or a fleet of electric vehicles—to deliver vital grid services and balance demand with supply to help utilities achieve mission-critical outcomes. As a guest on […]

Hitachi on July 1 commandeered a majority share of ABB’s lucrative Power Grids business and officially launched a joint venture company—Hitachi ABB Power Grids. The new company, which already has a volume of about $10 billion, is expected to provide financial muscle to support ambitious projects and new business opportunities as the sector embraces decentralization […]

The market for microgrids continues to expand, with utilities, businesses, and neighborhoods installing a variety of technologies in systems designed to ensure a reliable and resilient supply of power. The

It’s hurricane season in the U.S., which runs from June 1 through the end of November, and there have already been three named storms. The most recent was Tropical Storm Christobal, which was the earliest third-named Atlantic storm on record when it formed on June 2. It made landfall in the U.S. along the northern […]

Energy industry experts have for years talked about the need to modernize the power grid. The focus can be on replacing and upgrading infrastructure, improving the efficiency of power delivery through digitization and smart grid technologies, or on the dispatch of renewable energy resources. Often, it’s all of the above. Industry analysts know that a […]

Alabama Power’s Smart Neighborhood integrates a microgrid into a community filled with high-performance homes containing energy-efficient systems and connected appliances. The innovative initiative, which

The global crash of prices for crude oil, on top of a prolonged slump in the price of natural gas, is taking a toll on the oil and gas sector. The coal industry also continues to suffer, as the supply of

As coal prices fluctuate and regulations increase, utilities are phasing out dirty coal sources. With renewable energy like solar and wind set to become the fastest-growing sources of electricity generation in

The National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners (NARUC) has released a report focused on how distributed energy resources (DERs) and microgrids can improve the resilience of the power grid. The report, Advancing Electric System Resilience with Distributed Energy Resources: A Review of State Policies, is designed in part as a guide to help state regulators […]

DEERFIELD, IL (May 4, 2020) – Caterpillar Inc. today announced the introduction of Cat® GC diesel generator sets, a new line of standby power solutions configured with an optimized mix of common features that offers excellent customer value by delivering performance with a minimal footprint. The line includes eight new models with standby power ratings […]

Remote communities have become testing grounds for innovative power projects. These areas traditionally have been powered by fossil fuel generation, usually diesel fuel or oil and sometimes natural gas, and

MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif. (April 28, 2020) — As cities and corporations accelerate their adoption of electric trucks and buses, AMPLY Power, the leader in charging solutions for fleets, has secured $13.2 million in Series A funding from investors, including Soros Fund Management and Siemens. They are joined by existing seed round investors, including Congruent Ventures, PeopleFund, and Obvious Ventures. AMPLY Power platform, called […]

Here’s the good news: humanity knows how to solve climate change. Wind, solar, energy storage, and efficiency technologies are cost-competitive, fully mature solutions that are ready to be deployed everywhere. Wind and solar are now the cheapest forms of new energy to build and continue to get cheaper. COMMENTARY Now the bad news: market inertia […]

Moltex Energy, a privately held nuclear power development company headquartered in the UK with an office in New Brunswick, Canada, has entered into a collaboration agreement with Canadian Nuclear Laboratories (CNL) to support Moltex’s nuclear fuel development program for its Stable Salt Reactor (SSR), among the latest technology advancements for small modular reactors (SMRs). The […]

In many locations, solar power is already the lowest-cost renewable energy alternative available. Some of the advantage stems from advancements made in manufacturing processes and economies of scale that solar companies have captured. Operating costs also factor into the equation—solar’s operating costs are minimal while operating expenses for wind power are more substantial. Still, Brendan […]

The trade group representing the U.S. wind energy industry says the sector emerged as the top provider of new utility-scale power generation in the nation in 2019, with 9.1 GW of large wind power projects coming online. The American Wind Energy Association (AWEA), in its Wind Powers America Annual Report 2019 released April 16, said […]

The need to reduce carbon emissions is real. In 2018, the International Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) reported that global emissions would need to reach net-zero (or carbon-neutral) by 2050 to prevent severe climate change impacts. Electricity is a major contributor—electricity generation was responsible for approximately 33% of total CO2 emissions in the U.S. in […]

With the growth of distributed energy resources, including rooftop solar, wind turbines, battery energy storage systems, electric vehicles, and demand response technology, distributed energy resource management systems (DERMS) are becoming increasingly important for utilities. Brad Williams, vice president of Industry Strategy with Oracle Utilities was a guest on The POWER Podcast. He touched on a […]

Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory’s (LLNL’s) latest annual energy flow chart suggests that in 2019, for the second year in a row, wind and solar made up the largest increases in U.S. energy supply, but American consumption of energy fell after a record year in 2018. The national lab’s annual U.S. energy flow chart, or Sankey […]

In the face of widespread disruption driven by economic, regulatory and consumer forces, the energy sector is increasingly adopting digital technologies to transform the industry and bring it into the future. However, this move to modernization can unintentionally expose organizations to a range of new security threats that must be addressed. Digital Transformation—A Move to […]

The start of a new decade marks a critical moment for utilities. As the pace of change accelerates, industry leaders are facing choices that will determine which companies prosper in the new competitive landscape and which languish as slow-growth commodity businesses. West Monroe’s 2020 Energy and Utilities Outlook provides a guide to planning for a […]

The U.S. Bureau of Land Management said it continues to work on issuing a permit for a $1 billion solar power project in Nevada, after already missing two deadlines to move the project forward. The proposed 690-MW Gemini solar farm in Nevada is one of the country’s largest proposed solar projects. It would be operated […]

U.S. renewable energy advocates have warned of industry slowdowns due to the coronavirus pandemic, and decried the lack of support for solar, wind, and other technologies in the recent aid package passed by Congress. It’s a different story in some foreign countries where the federal government has thrown its support behind renewable energy. France’s ecology […]

Lithium-ion battery technology promises the first realistic approach to fully integrating intermittent solar and wind into the U.S. power system. Despite its recent growth and great potential, the battery

The world has become a very different place over the past few months with the outbreak of a new coronavirus—COVID-19. The virus has forced travel bans and literal lockdowns in several countries. The NCAA and

Senegal is among the African nations trying to increase access to electricity for its population. U.S. officials estimate about 35% of the country’s 16 million people do not have access to power. The