Businesses, First Responders & Communities in our connected and fast-paced world have day-to-day operations and power needs that require an uninterrupted power supply.
Businesses often have machines that produce products 24/7/365. They might also have computer or data operations that need to run all the time.
Power disruptions to critical facilities, such as hospitals, can mean life or death.
The Devastation of Prolonged Power Loss.
In the state of Texas, we just witnessed how an extended power outage from extreme weather can not only cause loss of life but wreak havoc on just about everything.
Businesses lost income which in turn hurt the local economy, its workers, its shareholders, and even its customers especially if the business provides crucial products, services, or support that helps people stay alive.
Business Owners Want Reliable, Resilient, & Cost-Effective Energy Solutions.
In a new 2020 report by Deloitte, 44% of businesses who responded to a national survey said they are considering microgrids, an increase of nine percentage points over last year’s survey.
“54% of those considering microgrids said they have critical operations that require uninterrupted power supply,” said Marlene Motyka, principal, Deloitte Transactions and Business Analytics. “Fifty-one percent said they have experienced increases in the number of outages.”
Fifty-two percent of business respondents said they are concerned about an interruption to their electricity supply due to a cybersecurity event on the electric grid.
“They see that if they have a solar plus a battery system, they can save and shore up resilience. Nearly half of respondents expressed a concern about outages from natural disasters or storms,” Motyka said. Read the rest here.
Think About Your Average Local Community.
We have hospitals, police, firemen, community centers, and government infrastructure that needs an uninterrupted backup power supply.
During a crisis or disaster your community’s lifesaving, first responders should always have the power supply needed to help them save lives.
As an example, if you happen to live in California, then you know that Major Storms, Fires, and Public Safety Power Shutoffs cause power outages that can cause major disruptions to your business’ and/or community’s critical operations especially when the outage lasts for a few days.
This is where a renewable, standalone energy system with storage can be beneficial.
We would like to introduce you to the best new solution for reducing energy costs and building resiliency… Microgrids.
A Solar Plus Battery Storage Microgrid System Serves Two Major Functions:
1) It will provide power when the Power Grid goes down,
2) It can provide energy and demand savings when the power grid is operating all while operating using clean energy.
How do Microgrids Work?
A microgrid functions in the same way the Power Grid functions, just on a “micro” scale.
The system combines a form a renewable generation (often referred to as DER or distributed energy resources), which in most cases is solar energy, with and energy storage system (ESS or battery), and a master control device (microgrid controller).
Power is then stored in the batteries and distributed to the facility or facilities the system is connected to. The distribution can either be constant, as would happen during an islanding event, or timed to manage demand charges or more expensive usage periods from the utility.
The distribution of the power is determined by a sophisticated control system that forecasts and analyzes the current state of power for the facility and generation from the microgrid to best determine the function of the system.
In summary, while the grid is operational, the microgrid can work in unison to provide the most cost-effective power to the facility. When utility goes down, the microgrid acts as a stand-alone source of power keeping the facility running.
Benefits of Microgrids.
A Microgrid is like a small & private power plant that generates its own power and can distribute this power to any type of facility including residences, hospitals, manufacturing facilities, and more.
For business owners, there are several key things to know about Microgrids and the first is that they are run by intelligent control systems that tell your distributed energy resources when to kick in for the optimal reduction in charges from the utility company.
For example, for commercial customers, demand fees make up a significant portion of an electricity bill.
These demand fees are typically highest between 4 pm and 9 pm.
A microgrid can store up self-generated energy (energy being produced from your DER) and redeploy it during those more expensive demand times saving owners between 40-60% on their electricity bills.
Security and Reliability
According to the College of Engineering & Applied Science at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, U.S. residents experience more minutes of power outages than people in other developed nations.
Outages can impose safety concerns, inconvenience, and economic loss.
Microgrids are part of the solution, as they rely on locally generated clean power combined with energy storage.
A Microgrid Improves Electrical Reliability.
Most big cities rely on a few power plants for power supply.
In 2012 when Superstorm Sandy knocked out power to about eight million electric customers in 15 states and the District of Columbia, some people who were suffering in the darkness noticed that neighboring buildings still had their lights on.
Those were facilities with microgrids.
Microgrids are capable of becoming electrically isolated from the grid in the event of an outage.
When the grid goes down due to anything from a severe weather event to a knocked over a telephone pole, you need to be disconnected from the grid or “islanded” to continue to produce and use electricity.
As such, one key feature of a microgrid is its ability to continue operating even when the larger centralized power grid goes out.
Based on the size of the microgrid (amount of solar + amount of battery), these backup systems can last for hours or more.
Solar Technology Continues to Get Cheaper & Better
Solar energy grew by leaps and bounds in the last decade. According to Wood Mackenzie, global annual solar installations grew more than sixfold in that time, from 16 gigawatts in 2010 to 105 gigawatts in 2019.
In the meantime, multi-silicon solar module prices dropped from over $2 per watt to just over $0.20 per watt in Q3 2019.
That 90 percent price reduction is one of the most critical factors driving the global expansion of solar.
No other electricity generation technologies have been able to keep up with Solar’s pace of cost reduction over this period. Read more here.
Reduce Your GHG Emissions
If you own a Business in California, it is important to be aware of the regulations that might affect you in the future.!
California’s annual statewide greenhouse gas (GHG) emission inventory is an important tool for establishing historical emission trends and tracking California’s progress in reducing GHGs. Read more here
State and/or Federal Incentives/Grants can Help with Microgrid installation costs.
There are significant state and federal incentives to assist in the procurement of a microgrid. In some cases, these incentives can reduce the ROI on these systems to under one year.
Charge Bliss will make sure that your system is designed most efficiently capture these incentives.
California has been very progressive in providing grants for the development of Microgrids.
If you elect to use Charge Bliss to develop your microgrid project, we will provide our expert grant writing at NO COST to you.
In some situations, your business may not be able to take advantage of tax credits, or you may just not want to have any upfront cost.
We have a large group of investment partners that can provide PPA (power purchase agreement) and lease services to best tailor the solution to your needs.
Just like not all businesses are the same, neither are their energy needs and goals.
Our tailored approach will provide you with a system that best fits your goals for savings and resiliency while fitting into your budget.
Want a Complimentary Analysis of Your Microgrid Project?
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