Microgrids
There’s currently a lot of talk about how we support environmental legislation while balancing a grid under pressure, not to mention how to meet future energy demands. In areas such as North and South America specifically, frequent severe weather incidents that bring down grid power for weeks and months, require much more direct and immediate solutions.
This has led to the rise of decentralized grids or microgrids, which are now not only being trialed for critical utilities backup power but for some more remote communities, used as mainstream primary power too. For the modern utility business, these solutions were typically seen as unconventional, but now increasingly viewed as offering very compelling business models.
The compromise for many though has been the continued reliance on polluting and un-environmental diesel generator technology to support these projects. However, there’s now a 100% clean, weather independent solution that’s not only ready to replace diesel generators, but also provide a host of other benefits too – the modern fuel cell.
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We should not depend on centralized power distribution, especially not purely electric power distribution. If the City of New York invested in microgrids it would not experience the blackout it experienced recently.
The product mentioned above is Gencell A5 - an off-grid power solution which uses an inexpensive liquid fuel, ammonia. Emission free, and when its source production method is green, itself green. Ammonia can be transported easily and is the densest hydrogen carrier. The off-grid power installation can be supplied its fuel through regular transport, efficient, carrying lots of energy in bulk. Some solution have the modules produce their own fuel from water electrolysis, and store that for emergency.
Even better the electric grids can be removed completely from the equation, making even centralized power distribution H2 gas based. The backup then would store the gas itself as backup fuel.
Microgrids are catching on: Here is news from Connecticut:
“Three microgrid projects are advancing through the final stages of review, approval and funding in the fourth and final round of Connecticut’s pioneering grant program for municipal microgrids.
The projects — for a hospital, small town and naval base — are the last of 13 that won funding in four solicitations. Nine of the other microgrid projects are now in operation and one is in construction.
The state created the program in 2012, making it the first to fund municipal microgrids in the nation. Connecticut was seeking a way to keep power running for critical public facilities and services during severe weather after being hard hit in 2011, first by a hurricane and then by a freak October snowfall. Trees still laden with leaves became weighted with ice and snow and fell on power lines.”
Why are microgrids becoming more prevalent now? The Trump tax bill is a disaster for the middle-class, but, as a “fringe benefit”, it had a nice clause for opportunity zones.
“Opportunity zones, created in the US as part of the 2017 Tax Cut and Jobs Act, are making a splash among green energy and microgrid investors.
‘Opportunity zones create tax incentives for investors in real estate, businesses and assets in areas that might not otherwise draw investment’ says John Beidle, chief executive of New Energy Opportunities, in an interview with Microgrid Knowledge. ‘The further stacking of tax incentives in these areas for microgrid facilities is really a once in a lifetime opportunity especially if new employment is brought into these areas. Hopefully, the energy tax credits get extended to more fully coincide with the opportunity zone lifetime.’
The investment tax credit, or Section 48, allows project owners or investors to be eligible for federal business energy investment tax credits for installing designated renewable energy equipment placed in service from 2006 through 2024. Fuel cells were added in 2018.”