Texas is freezing. That’s a problem for ERCOT, the organization that manages the utility grid in much of the Lone Star state. The record low temperatures led many Texans to plug in their portable electric heaters to stay warm. That, in turn, made the demand for electricity higher than expected. … [continued]
Buh-bye, fossil fuels: US to get first-of-its kind, plug-and-play renewable energy microgrid test bed to speed the clean power revolution.
Just as it is leading the EV revolution, Tesla is also a leader in creating microgrids and virtual power plants both large and small in the US and around the world.
You often hear about the rapid technological developments in African countries like Kenya, South Africa, Nigeria, and others. CleanTechnica writer Remeredzai Joseph Kuhudzai keeps us updated on the potential of the electrical vehicle in the growing African middle class and the potential of microgrids in more rural areas. But the development is somewhat slower in terms of energy and information technology in very remote rural areas.
A Native American tribe in California created its own microgrid in 2011. During the rolling blackouts that hit the state last fall, it provided much needed electricity for critical community services.
PG&E told regulators in California this week to expect more rolling blackouts during forest fire season for the next ten years.
Utility companies and grid operators in Western Australia are taking down poles and wires and replacing them with standalone systems that use solar panels, inverters, and batteries to create local microgrids.
Researchers in the UK are studying how to democratize the electricity generated by rooftop solar systems by creating peer-to-peer microgrids that operate independently of local utility companies.
A project to build a solar+storage community microgrid within the Montecito, CA, fire district is being developed as a national model for other communities across the country, according to the Clean Coalition and the World Business Academy. The two organizations are boot-strapping the project and have raised some funding for the microgrid, within the unincorporated community of about 10,000 in Santa Barbara County.
A draft plan by PREPA calls for the largest battery storage in the history of the United States along with more than 2,000 MW of new solar power. The plan is scheduled to be made public officially on February 12.
