![]() ![]() What makes SolarCity’s proposition different is that its GridLogic microgrid solution promises a service that delivers all the parts-“solar, batteries and controllable load.” (Note that a diagram of the system also includes a “backup generator.”) However, most existing microgrids have been one-off enterprises, typically developed for a specific academic, medical, industrial, or military site. 16, SolarCity made arguably bigger news than SunEdison concerning distributed power when it announced that it would begin offering microgrid services worldwide. (An open question is how much storage a residential rooftop solar customer in a “triple-decker” residence would need to ride out the more than 100 inches of snow and accompanying cloudy days that Boston faced in February.) alone faces a maximum possible load defection of ~58 million MWh annually or 50% of utility residential sales, 9.6 million customers, and $15.4 billion,” according to a March press release. In related news, a report from Rocky Mountain Institute, The Economics of Grid Defection, finds that, thanks to grid-connected solar-plus-battery systems, within 15 years, “the Northeast U.S. Though the company’s press release did mention the role of storage in grid integration of renewables, it also mentioned “emergency back-up power from storage.” You don’t need much experience in reading between the lines to see this as a possible model for utility and grid defection. ![]() 5 that it would be the first renewable energy company able to offer wind and solar generation as well as storage to utilities and end users worldwide. One notable development this spring was the announcement by SunEdison on Mar. Industry Allergensįor many industry incumbents, the increasing dispersion of distributed generation and energy storage, especially when not owned by traditional generating companies, is looking like an allergen. Just as different people have sensitivities to different allergens, businesses in the electricity sector vary in terms of what they are sensitive to-and to what degree. Luckily, allergens are only a problem if you have a sensitivity to them. Hay fever allergens, as I’m sure you know, are very small airborne agents, typically pollens, that can cause nasal and other types of distress way out of proportion to their size. These are all positive, hopeful signs for many stakeholders in the electricity sector, while they are akin to allergens for others. ![]() Our cover story set this month addresses many of those developments. I mention this only because the power industry is experiencing a spring fever of its own.Īside from the familiar feverish activity of routine spring maintenance outages at many plants, there’s a lot happening in the industry that could be seen as spring-like, including the emergence of new technologies the re-emergence of perennial technology improvements the development of new market mechanisms at state, system operator, and federal levels and new types of power project developers. As I write this column at the beginning of spring, I have two kinds of spring fever: excitement about warming temperatures that bring spring flowers and the “hay fever” caused by tree pollens. ![]()
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