![]() Communications, Financial Services and Interstate Commerce.E-Learning | Staff Professional Development.Research, Editorial, Legal and Committee Staff.Legislative Staff Coordinating Committee.Institute for International Cooperation.And when combined with some innovative financing tools, the mini-grids are within reach of ‘everyday businesses. Solar and battery storage prices are falling. But the concept might make sense for smaller enterprises too. The military base is among the mighty that use microgrids to keep the power always-on. “But the bidirectional flow of the power prevented thousands of nearby customers from suffering a brownout.” “Miramar has met its resiliency goals,” says Haines, noting that Schneider developed the project. Even more impressive, amid the heat wave that overwhelmed California this summer, the military base had extra electricity, enabling it to share that power with 2,000 community residents. The base also needs to keep the lights on for at least 14 days in the event of a major catastrophe such as a wildfire. The goal is resiliency - to bounce back as soon as possible from a power loss. Speaking of Miramar, it uses landfill gas and solar photovoltaics combined with storage to energize the whole base. Microgrids have to be accessible to everyone - not just the Miramar’s of the world,” he adds, referring to a large military base outside San Diego that went live with its microgrid this year. “Companies can afford this through ‘energy-as-a-service’ as opposed to deploying their scarce capital. As we add microgrids and batteries, we have new intelligence that makes the power flow bidirectionally, allowing businesses to shave peak demand and save money. “In the old days, big plants pushed power outwards, all in real- time because electricity could not be stored. “I would not be surprised if ‘energy-as-a-service’ becomes the way microgrids get done,” Haines says. It’s tantamount to businesses agreeing to procure solar power under 20-year contracts - a deal that gives developers the certainty that they will be repaid for their investment. ETN will assume all of the regulatory and operational costs. Companies like Schneider Electric, Siemens, General Electric GE, Honeywell International Inc. Instead, they use “energy-as-a-service” - a geeky term that means customers only pay for the services they use. Under any circumstance, the developers can pre-wire and pre-program the grids from the home office.Įven more significantly, microgrids are affordable because the businesses that use them do not have to deploy much upfront capital. Others, like the Hawaiian company, want battery storage as a back-up system. Some folks want to shave peak load at night and thus reduce their bills. Why are microgrids now widely accessible? Haines says that customers can choose what attributes they want their microgrid to have. Photographer: Philip Pacheco/Bloomberg © 2020 Bloomberg Finance LP ![]() More Northern Californians were chased out of their homes Wednesday by lightning-sparked wildfires that burned out of control in several counties amid a punishing heat wave that pushed temperatures into the triple digits. hillside in Vacaville, Solano County, California, U.S., on Tuesday, Aug. Vehicles leave light trails on the Interstate 80 as the LNU Lightning Complex fire burns on a.
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