The largest power plants in the the U.S. — massive feats of engineering like the over 5,000 foot-long, 6,800-MW capacity Grand Coulee Dam — are proving to be no match in scale to the combined power of the rooftops and basements of homes and businesses across the country. Distributed energy, including rooftop solar, on-site batteries […]
Microgrid of the future emerges in Washington as Avista preps transactive DER project
New building control systems and a pair of solar+storage systems will test the business case for greater integration of distributed energy resources. Avista Energy is preparing to launch a “micro-transactive grid” in Spokane, Washington, that experts say illustrates the future of distributed energy resource (DER) management. Beyond maintaining resilient power, the microgrid will provide visibility and control […]
Green Mountain Power’s pioneering steps in transactive energy raise big questions about DER’s value
The ultimate dream for distributed energy resources (DER) is “transactive energy” and a completely decentralized energy marketplace that allows transactions between all residential and commercial customers on the distribution system. Transactive energy is now done in wholesale power markets, but the transactions are enabled by system operators’ automated mechanisms for supply-demand balancing. Those kinds of […]
Tesla is working on technology to revolutionize the electrical grid with distributed solar power
Tesla is working on technology for “a scalable hierarchical energy distribution grid” that could revolutionize how the electrical grid distributes solar power. To date, Tesla’s energy division, Tesla Energy, mostly involved deploying distributed solar power and energy storage assets. But last year, CEO Elon Musk said that “Tesla Energy is becoming a distributed global utility […]
Ex-Tesla exec wants to increase utility control of DERs, and has a smart panel to do it
The new electric panel combines smart metering capabilities with remote control of energy use in residences, while easing installation of solar, energy storage and EV chargers. Behind the meter (BTM) resources are increasingly being brought online and several utilities want to capitalize on the trend. The key, according to Tesla Energy’s former lead on products, […]