Behind the Meter

In addition to their use by institutions and communities in search of energy independence, microgrids and other distributed energy systems (DES) are ideal for industrial sites that do not--or cannot--rely on a weak local grid. Energy During Outages...

The other day, I went for a hike with my pup in the mountains above Santa Barbara. We picked a trail that was nice and strenuous, but didn’t seem to offer the best views; so, as I am known to do, I threw an audible and decided to take a detour back...

Energy-as-a-service (EaaS) is becoming an attractive business model for financing microgrids, but the concept must be applied in a scalable and consistent, yet flexible way according to microgrid developers participating in a recent conference on...

Some regions of the world are more prone to natural disasters than others, whether coastlines near subduction zones (which generate tsunamis), wildfire vulnerable regions (such as North America and Australia), tornado hotspots like the central...

The cost of microgrids varies widely due to the many different sizes and configurations of the systems, but there are reference points, as well as cost breakdowns of the various components of projects. Companies that analyze markets track...

Why do electric vehicles need microgrids? There are a number of reasons, including circumventing restraints on the amount of power available from the grid, cost reductions and energy saving, increased flexibility and resilience and an increase in...

In recent years, wildfires of unprecedented severity and size have ravaged the globe. The 2019-2020 wildfire season in Australia destroyed 46 million acres, killed or displaced an estimated 3 billion animals, and released more than half the...

The main advantages of adding small wind turbines for microgrids are an increase in renewable energy supply, a reduction in the amount of backup power required from a diesel generator and a reduction in the strain imposed on energy storage, thus...