Solar Love
  • Rooftop Solar
    • Energy Storage
  • Solar Panels
  • Policy
  • Research
    • Science
    • Market Research
    • Solar Perceptions & Polls

Solar Love

  • Rooftop Solar
    • Energy Storage
  • Solar Panels
  • Policy
  • Research
    • Science
    • Market Research
    • Solar Perceptions & Polls
Microgrids

SolarCity To Offer Integrated Microgrid System

by Steve Hanley March 24, 2015
written by Steve Hanley March 24, 2015
SolarCity To Offer Integrated Microgrid System

SolarCity, the largest solar installer and financier in the US, is now offering a fully integrated microgrid system at very competitive prices. A team of engineers led by Peter Rive, SolarCity’s chief technical officer, has suggested the company combine battery storage capability with SolarCity’s expertise in distributed renewables, inverters, energy storage, and control software to create complete, self-contained microgrids. It will use batteries supplied by its close corporate cousin, Tesla, whose Gigafactory will eventually begin producing batteries for home and industrial applications as well as electric cars.

Interconnected micro-grids can provide power for everyday use or emergency backup during power outagesSolarCity spokesman Jonathan Bass mentioned to Greentech Media recently that microgrids are ideal for municipalities, remote or island communities, hospitals, and military bases. He said, “any community anywhere in the world vulnerable to power outages and high energy costs” is a potential customer that can be financed with “little to no upfront costs.”

Typically, any organization needing a microgrid has to employ the services of a large global engineering firm, which can cost a lot of money, or piece together the system from individual suppliers and coordinate the project through a consulting firm that may or may not have all the knowledge and expertise needed to make the system function properly.

Bass says SolarCity’s turnkey “microgrid as a service” model is another alternative that “fits into a realistic budget cycle.” He said it is “a straightforward step to create this product” and that it is “extremely affordable.” SolarCity is already working on distributed generation projects with San Jose, Sacramento, and other California cities.

“In addition to providing the software and integration, similar to our other products, we will provide a financing option and O&M,” Bass says. He thinks the SolarCity integrated microgrid will appeal to more international customers. The company has already built a microgrid “at an undisclosed island location,” according to Bass.

Putting together a microgrid, whether for daily use or as an emergency backup system for use during power outages, requires assembling all the solar panels, inverters, batteries, and power control systems need to make the system work properly. A person can find all the parts needed to assemble an automobile from separate sources but, in the end, it us usually better and cheaper to get one from a known manufacturer who can make all the components function together properly.

The SolarCity microgrid is exactly that kind of compete, integrated system. The fact that it costs less than conventional systems is a big plus. The ability to purchase it and finance it from one source just makes the end result that much sweeter.

battery storageSolarCity microgridTesla
0 comment
0
FacebookTwitterPinterest
Steve Hanley

writes about the interface between technology and sustainability from his home in Rhode Island. You can follow him on Google + and on Twitter.

previous post
Managing Europe’s Energy Grid During the Solar Eclipse on 3/20/15
next post
Energy Freedom Act Pending In North Carolina

You may also like

Neighborhood Power Installing 10 Megawatt Solar Bifacial+Tracker Project...

November 20, 2018

Solar Power Coming To 10,000 Nigerian Homes Thanks...

February 25, 2017

Panasonic, Xcel Energy Form Public/Private Microgrid Partnership In...

February 15, 2017

Tesla Powerpacks Power Microgrid For Okracoke Island

December 13, 2016

Motley Fool Predicts Utility Companies Are Becoming Irrelevant.

November 30, 2016

Island In American Samoa Now Has Solar Power...

November 22, 2016

SolarCity Helps To Bring Solar Power To Virunga...

August 28, 2016

Blockchain Technology Powers Microgrid In Brooklyn

July 13, 2016

Solar Microgrids Key To Economic Empowerment In India

June 30, 2016

Solar Power For Microgrids & Microbusiness In Africa

June 30, 2016

Follow Me

Facebook

Recent Posts

  • Meet PVCase: A 3D Solar Design Software That Every PV Designer Should Consider

    June 12, 2019
  • Mitsui To Partner With Indian Company For Distributed Solar Projects

    June 10, 2019
  • India’s NTPC Offers Solar Project Management Services To ISA Members

    June 9, 2019
  • Equinor & Scatec Solar Complete 162 Megawatt Brazilian Solar Plant

    November 29, 2018
  • Gamesa Awarded 400 Megawatt Solar Project In Egypt

    November 29, 2018
  • Facebook

@2019 - All Right Reserved solarlove.org


Back To Top