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distributed renewables

ABB Announces New Plug And Play Microgrid Systems

by Steve Hanley October 14, 2016

On October 10, ABB, a pioneer and world leader in microgrid technology, announced a new range of microgrid solutions to enhance and promote distributed power generation. These modular and scalable “plug and play” products are designed expressly to address the needs of remote areas that are not tied to the electrical grid but are also appropriate for use in both developed and developing countries.

ABB distributed microgrid systems

The containerized systems can be delivered quickly and efficiently to any location where a microgrid is needed. Each includes a battery for energy storage, power inverter, and ABB’s dedicated Microgrid Plus control system. The entire package can be managed wireless via a cloud based control system.

For communities and industry, the ABB scalable system can provide uninterrupted power during planned or unplanned electrical outages. System sizes from 50 kW to 4,600 kW are avaiable. All can work with solar or wind power, a traditional electrical grid, or locally produced electricity from a diesel generator. The standard integrated functions include grid-connected and off-grid operation with seamless transition. It is a containerized solution designed for easy transportation and fast installation onsite. Operations and maintenance are enabled via a cloud-based remote service system.

“Our modular, standardized and scalable microgrid solution will provide cost efficient access to reliable power for rural and urban applications, as a plug-and-play solution“, said Claudio Facchin, President of ABB’s Power Grids division. “It exemplifies ABB’s continued commitment to innovation and reducing environmental impact by enhancing the integration of renewable energy sources and reducingdependence on fossil-fuels, all key elements of ABB’s Next Level strategy.”

The electrical power industry is changing. Distributed renewables are challenging the status quo that has brought us the traditional centralized power grid. Some utility companies are pushing back hard against the idea of distributed power which, among other things, opens the door to private actors making their own electricity and selling it to others without involving utility companies at all.

That’s the idea behind an experimental cooperative in Brooklyn. It’s only a small system involving just a few people, but it strikes terror into the hearts of utility company executives. If people can make electricity and distribute it themselves, who needs utility companies?

The future of distributed renewables is fraught with danger and conflict, but ABB will be ready with the products needed to make it a reality whenever the need arises.

October 14, 2016 0 comment

SolarCity Invites Utility Cooperation

by Steve Hanley August 31, 2015

written by Steve Hanley

SolarCity has proposed a ceasefire in the war between utility companies and providers of distributed renewable (DR) energy. Many utilities are frankly frightened at the rise of DR resources such as rooftop solar, community solar, and battery storage systems.

They have trillions of dollars invested in generating plants, transmission lines, sub-stations, and transformers, and they are scared to death they are not going to be able to amortize that investment. In other words, they’re afraid distributed renewables are going to eat their lunch.

Fear Of Change

Many people hate change; it seems to be a natural human instinct. In the automotive business, dealer groups all across the country are furiously lobbying their elected officials to protect their long-standing monopolies. In the utility business, the response has often been new monthly charges for customers who install rooftop solar systems, long delays approving new systems, and months of delay getting them connected to the grid once they are installed.

In a white paper authored by Ryan Hanley, SolarCity director of grid engineering solutions, entitled Integrated Distribution Planning, SolarCity proposes a way to get all the new grid resources and their uses organized so they can be put to the best use by power companies and system operators. The bottom line is, SolarCity wants to reassure the utility industry that distributed renewables can save it money, not cost it money.

August 31, 2015 0 comment

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California Grid Operator Approves Solar Power Bundling

by Steve Hanley July 29, 2015

written by Steve Hanley

For the first time anywhere in the United States, a grid operator has approved rules that allow companies to buy electricity from numerous homes and commercial power systems, then bundle it to meet the threshold needed to sell energy on the wholesale market. The move approving solar power bundling means electricity from individual rooftop systems could be shared with utility customers in other states.

cps energy distributed rooftop solar program © cps energy According to the Chicago Tribune, the California Independent System Operator Corporation (ISO) will now permit companies to consolidate the output of rooftop solar systems, batteries, and even plug-in electric vehicles. The rules apply to utilities as well as private companies and individuals. The shift demonstrates that small-scale power sources are becoming a more critical part of the state’s energy mix.

“This is an important win for California energy users,” said Ken Munson, chief executive officer of Sunverge Energy, which aggregates power from solar panels and batteries installed in homes and businesses. “It paves the way for consumers to play a more active role in the generation and distribution of the energy we use every day.”

Residential solar has been the fastest growing segment of the California solar industry. With an increase of 50% in 2014, it outpaced utility-scale solar, which expanded 15%, according to Bloomberg New Energy Finance.

The move by the grid operator “could ultimately benefit providers of distributed solar, because it creates the opportunity for an alternative source of revenue outside of net metering,” said Madeline Yozwiak, a Bloomberg analyst. SolarCity, the biggest residential rooftop solar owner in the state, sees the Thursday decision as an “important first step toward expanding access for distributed solar and storage in wholesale markets,” according to an e-mail from company spokesman Jonathan Bass.

“Historically, residents haven’t been able to participate in wholesale markets; they have been ring-fenced,” says Alan Isemonger, founder of Energy Market Expertise in Fair Oaks, California. “Now they will have more opportunities to participate.” He was formerly a manager in market operations at the California ISO.

California wants to get 33% of its power from renewable sources by 2020 and 50% by 2030 as part of its overall plan to meet the challenge of impending climate change. Hopefully, the decision by the California ISO will spur interest in aggregating solar power in other states, leading to more competition and lower prices for consumers.

July 29, 2015 0 comment

Power For All supports global, market based solutions to bring access to electrical energy to all people.

Activism Community Solar Microgrids Other Renewable Energy PV Solar Co-ops

Power For All Promotes Universal Energy Access — Renewables Cheaper & Quicker To Implement

by Steve Hanley June 2, 2015

written by Steve Hanley

Power for All is a global campaign dedicated to promoting the fastest, most cost-effective, and most sustainable approach to universal energy access. It was first introduced at the United Nation’s Sustainable Energy For All forum in New York on May 21, 2015, reports TreeHugger.

”We shouldn’t have to wait an entire generation for universal energy access when decentralized, renewable, and market-based solutions can deliver energy access today,” said Koen Peters, executive director of the Global Off-Grid Lighting Association, and a founding member of the Power for All campaign. “The market for solar light and power in the developing world is growing quickly to meet demand, and already reaching millions of households. Several GOGLA member companies are already outpacing the world’s traditional electrical utilities in terms of number of customers.”

The Power For All vision is bold. It claims that access to distributed, democratized, and renewable energy is not just feasible, but can be delivered twice as fast and at 10% of the cost of the top-down, centralized model that has dominated the electrical energy industry since George Westinghouse first invented the centralized grid system. It especially focuses on rural communities in much of Africa and parts of Asia that are too remote to ever be served by a traditional grid distribution system.

For die-hard capitalists who are committed to profits ahead of sustainable living, Power For All says its vision can be achieved using market-based approaches. Doing so will allow the world’s 1.2 billion citizens who currently lack access to reliable electricity to invest in, influence, and have ownership of their own energy future.

Let’s think about that for a moment. Power is more than just another name for electricity. It represents the ability of people to control their own lives, determine their own destinies, and make their own contributions to the global community. Who knows how many Elon Musks or Thomas Edisons or Nikola Teslas are out there in the underdeveloped world, just waiting to be empowered by electricity so they can make a contribution to the world community?

Access to abundant, affordable electrical energy is about more than driving an expensive battery-powered electric car. It is about lifting people out of poverty and making them productive, healthy, valued members of society. The International Energy Agency says universal energy could be achieved by 2035 at a cost of $700 billion. Power For All says it can be done by 2025 at a cost of only $70 billion. The group wants to make its plan a central focus of the next world conference on climate change in Paris this December.

Andrew Webb, CEO of Solar Aid, one of the charities supporting the campaign, describes the opportunity: “The Power for All campaign is a powerful way to profile the extraordinary potential of distributed renewables. Off-grid energy solutions are not only cost effective but as SolarAid’s work shows, they can be rapidly deployed. Already solar lights across Africa will save families an estimated $500 million in 2015. With greater support for the sector, that figure could skyrocket. People across the continent are demanding the chance for cleaner energy, better health and greater opportunity. We do not have to wait. Indeed, we must not.”

With a promise like that, why would anyone want to wait? That’s an excellent question. The answer is that “power” is also a term that implies control over others. In today’s world, hundreds of enormous corporations have power over the global marketplace and they will strongly resist any initiative that threatens to reduce that power or the profits that flow to them as a result of it.

Among its activities, Power for All will urge world leaders to institute policies that support renewable, decentralized solutions. It will also encourage governments, NGOs, investors and banks to mobilize capital specifically for decentralized, renewable solutions. Part of the Power For All mission is to promote the idea of grants that encourage sustainable, market-based initiatives leading to decentralized energy solutions for universal energy access.

The Power For All initiative has echoes of the “power to the people” movement in America in the 1960s. That sentiment got co-opted by the very market forces Power For All seeks to harness. Will the result be different this time?

Image by Power For All

June 2, 2015 0 comment

The Integrated Utility Services model for promoting rooftop solar suggests utilities can make money by embracing distributed solar.

Solar Policy

Integrated Utility Services Proposal In Colorado

by Steve Hanley April 6, 2015

written by Steve Hanley

The Rocky Mountain Institute (RMI) has proposed an innovative Integrated Utility Services program that it says will allow utilities to embrace renewable energy sources such as solar and wind and still be profitable. Is such a thing even possible?

The Integrated Utility Services model for promoting rooftop solar suggests utilities can make money by embracing distributed solar. In many parts of the country, traditional utility companies are openly hostile to residential solar power. A new report in the Bradenton Herald details how one former Florida legislator and solar energy advocate found himself an outcast in the state house, thanks to more than $12,000,000 in campaign donations to his colleagues and current governor Rick Scott by Florida’s four principal utility companies — Duke Energy, Gulf Power, Florida Power & Light and Tampa Electric.

“Why don’t we have a bigger solar industry in Florida?” asked Mike Antheil, a West Palm Beach lobbyist who represents solar companies. “The answer is simple. Every kilowatt of solar you produce on your roof is one less kilowatt that the utilities can sell you.”

The RMI proposal was developed for Fort Collins Utilities (FCU), which is municipally owned. Recently, the city council of Fort Collins voted unanimously to pursue initiatives that would achieve an 80 percent reduction of greenhouse gas emissions by 2030 and carbon-neutrality by 2050. FCU asked RMI to help it figure out how it could support those goals.

The answer, RMI says, is to fundamentally alter the way utility companies think of their customers and the electricity business. It says distributed solar energy and other renewables offer money making opportunities that most utilities currently ignore.

RMI points to SolarCity, the largest provider of rooftop residential solar systems in the country. SolarCity has figured out how to make money by leasing solar systems to customers and using the savings realized on monthly utility bills to pay for all or part of the leases. RMI says pro-active utilities should be competing with SolarCity, not fighting them.

One significant innovation they recommend is providing creative ways to finance home solar installations that let customers pay for them directly as part of their monthly bills. Many communities across America are doing something similar by allowing residents to finance their alternative energy systems by including them in their property tax assessments. Called a Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE) program in some areas, it is also known as the Home Energy Renovation Opportunity (HERO) program in California.

Local tax authorities collect the tax revenue and remit the money owed to lenders directly. The plan eliminates any problems that may arise when a homeowner decides to sell because the cost of the solar system financing is automatically included in the property tax assessment. Municipalities make money by deducting a fee for handling the transaction. RMI says utilities could be doing much the same thing.

They also point out that utilities can send other things over their wires besides electricity. Some electric companies offer internet access — another potential source of revenue. Extended warranties and maintenance services could also be offered to customers to provide peace of mind for people considering a home solar system.

Data can also be transmitted via the grid. Utility companies could help customers monitor their electric usage and suggest ways to conserve, perhaps by upgrading their appliances to Energy Star certified models or upgrading basic components like windows, doors and insulation. Is there any reason why a utility company could not market such services and make a profit doing so?

As electric cars and home battery storage systems become more common, utilities could save money by integrating them into the grid to reduce smooth out the demand curve during the day. It costs utilities money to ramp up production for the early evening hours when demand is highest. Being able to draw on stored electricity would eliminate or greatly reduce that expense.

What the Integrated Utility Services model from RMI is really saying is that utility companies need to stop being part of the problem and start becoming part of the solution. The only constant in life is change. According to Green Tech Media:

This business model would help customers access a broader range of energy services — including efficiency improvements, distributed renewables, transport and heat system electrification, and demand response — in one comprehensive package, with monthly payments on the electricity bill.

The IUS model could, if designed correctly, align a utility’s interest in its financial health with the interests of customers who want to invest in efficiency and distributed solar, and make these investments appealing to a wider range of customers.

Or you could use the words of Bob Dylan to educate utility company executives: “Don’t stand in the doorway. Don’t block up the hall. For he who gets hurt will be he who has stalled.” When it comes to how America develops and utilizes its solar electricity resources, the times really are a’changing.

Photo credit: Green Tech Media

April 6, 2015 0 comment

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NY Bars Utilities From Owning Renewable Energy Assets

by Steve Hanley March 13, 2015

written by Steve Hanley

New York’s Public Service Commission has issued new rules that establish a wall between existing utility companies and renewable generation sources. The rules are intended to promote the state’s ambitious drive to reform its electricity grid and encourage the growth of distributed, decentralized renewable energy resources.

“The landmark steps New York state is taking today will reorient both the electric industry and the ratemaking process toward a consumer-centered approach that harnesses new technologies and markets,” said Audrey Zibelman, chairwoman of the PSC.

Renewable energy advocates were jubilant. “This ruling is a step toward providing the certainty needed for future development of grid-scale renewables — like wind power and hydropower — as the state’s current program expires this year,” said Anne Reynolds, executive director of the Alliance for Clean Energy New York. “Industry has been awaiting a signal that New York will have a long-term renewables policy to replace it.”

The states two major utilities, Consolidated Edison and National Grid, have not commented on the new rules.

Small renewable energy companies fear that without such rules in place, the big utilities will end up owning a large slice of the renewable resources, which will limit competition and slow the development of distributed renewable networks. They say utility companies have been slow to accept renewable energy and, in some cases, have actively campaigned against wind and solar energy initiatives.

Take for example the situation in Arizona, where the state’s largest utility, the Salt River Project, has announced recently it will add a surcharge of $50 a month to the bill of any customer with a home solar system.

That surcharge is being vigorously opposed by SolarCity, the largest installer of rooftop solar systems in America. Last week, it notified SRP that it is prepared to file suit in the matter. In a letter to SRP, SolarCity CEO Lyndon Rive says the new price plan is “unsupportable by any economic analysis” and that the “fundamental purpose of the plan is to undermine solar leasing companies in SPR territory.”

On the other hand, the State of California is encouraging its utility companies to develop renewable assets. It recently gave San Diego Gas & Electric a $5,000,000 grant to expand one of its experimental microgrids and tie it into the larger NRG electrical grid.

The New York PSC said when announcing the new rules, “By restricting utilities from owning local power generation and other energy resources, customers will benefit from a more competitive market, with utilities working and partnering with other companies and service providers.” A big part of the plan is to get customers more engaged in power demand by rolling out smart meters and providing incentives for residential users to build their own power sources to sell electrons back into the grid during peak periods.

So who is right? Are utility companies all bad guys, looking to stomp out the growing movement toward rooftop solar and renewables? Or are they willing partners in the search for clean energy to power American commercial and residential customers in the future? Is the New York approach the correct way forward or is the California model more appropriate?

These are questions that can’t be answered at present.

March 13, 2015 2 comments

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Electricity 2.0 — Distributed Renewables Will Change Everything

by Steve Hanley March 5, 2015

written by Steve Hanley

Forget everything you know about electricity. Distributed renewables will change how we think about energy forever and usher in the age of Electricity 2.0.

100 years ago, Thomas Edison and George Westinghouse fought a titanic battle over electricity. Edison was the champion of direct current (DC) while Westinghouse favored alternating current (AC). Westinghouse’s ideas won out in the marketplace and so the world has run on alternating current ever since.

Our electrical grids have always focused on one large generating plant in or near major cities serving power-hungry consumers nearby. As people began moving out of the cities and into the suburbs, the electrical grids expanded to keep up with the demand. Eventually, the grids began to overlap and interconnect, but the energy always went from one major supplier to another and then out to consumers. And our grids have always operated on alternating current.

But now, wind, solar, and other renewable energy sources are fundamentally changing how the world thinks about energy. No longer are they just “alternative energy” sources that supplement traditional electrical supplies; they are rapidly becoming our primary means of producing electric power.

Instead of being concentrated in our cities, most of them are found in deserts or far out to sea. Instead of large, centralized power plants, we now have many small wind farms and solar installations. Instead of being located at the center of our electrical grids, wind and solar electricity feeds into the grid from its margins — something electrical grids were never designed for. Instead of alternating current, most wind and solar resources operate on direct current, something existing grids are not equipped to handle.

Say hello to Electricity 2.0 and the age of “distributed renewables.”

The challenges ahead are significant. Renewable energy is giving headaches to the people who operate traditional electrical grids. For one thing, it is unreliable because it only happens when the wind blows or the sun shines. Grid operators are used to having just enough electricity available — never too much or too little. If a sudden influx of energy arrives because of a breeze over Boise or a sunny day in Sonoma, it upsets the delicate balance of the grid and makes it unmanageable.

One key to distributed renewables will be large-scale energy storage systems (there are a lot of players in this market) that can absorb those sudden spikes in supply and save them for use later. Another is new technology like HVDC circuit breakers and inverters that allow grid managers to control the flow of energy from renewables and integrate it with conventional grids.

The transition to Electricity 2.0 will not be without conflicts. Already, battle lines are being drawn in the debate about who should pay for maintaining the current distribution system. But despite the disputes, the way forward is clear. The world has to transition away from fossil fuels as quickly as possible for the benefit of all Earth’s inhabitants. The technology is here or will be arriving soon. Electricity 2.0 has already happened — even though not everyone realizes it yet.

Images by Constellation (CC BY-ND 2.0), Zachary Shahan | CleanTechnica (CC BY-SA 4.0), and Zachary Shahan | CleanTechnica (CC BY-SA 4.0)

March 5, 2015 2 comments