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Anyone following SFIP’s Microgrid Systems Lab (MSL) knows how many good reasons there are to move toward this highly decentralized architecture in terms of efficiency, reduced greenhouse emissions, community engagement, and alleviating energy poverty in un-wired portions of the planet.
Now, a number of recent research reports and presentations have added impetus to the microgrid trend by addressing various aspects of the business case: the economics of microgrid deployment, the pace of development, the societal value of conversion, and the cost of inaction. We’ve summarized some of the most interesting below, beginning with the “big picture” of current grid costs and potential, and then moving on to microgrids’ role and value.
Economic benefit of Smart Grid efficiencies by 2030: $2 trillion
Estimated cost: $338 billion. Courtesy of George Arnold, national coordinator for smart grid interoperability at the National Institute for Standards and Technology. Given the role that microgrids can and will play as enabling infrastructure for many of the most valuable aspects of the smart grid revolution, we can can assign some meaningful portion of this projected $2 trillion efficiency to them, going forward. Read the rest of this entry »
The good news in our prior post is sadly updated to reflect new guidance, released by DOE shortly before the submission deadline for the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant Level 2 application, regarding applicant eligibility criteria. This new information disqualified the Sonoma County Transportation Agency, which was to have served as the lead applicant for the Applied Solutions Coalition partnership proposal (see prior post here), including SFIP.
However, ASC and its federal experts fully intend to continue seeking funding for the partnershp’s projects, including SFIP’s energy program as previously detailed. Stay tuned for more information.
This post is updated as of December 14. DOE released additional guidance on applicant eligibility on Friday, December 11, just prior to the submission deadline, which unfortunately rendered the lead applicant for this partnership ineligible. See the new post here for additional information.
SFIP and its energy/climate program have been invited by the Applied Solutions Coalition (ASC) to join in a multi-partner grant application to DOE, through the department’s Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant program under the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act (ARRA). Sonoma County, California will act as the lead applicant, along with partners Los Alamos National Laboratory, New Mexico; Story County, Iowa; Buncombe County Schools, North Carolina; Sonoma Mountain Village; Applied Solutions Coalition; and SFIP. The total request among all partners is approximately $5 million. Read the rest of this entry »
SFIP | Santa Fe Innovation Park 