March 2015 – Gommyr Power Networks

Death of the PPA – Is it time for…

March 31, 2015April 2, 2020

Long-term power purchase agreements (PPAs) are a cornerstone in the business model of most renewable power generation projects. Together with fixed feed-in-tariffs (FITs), usually set at favourable above-market rates, and supported by government policy (and in many cases public money), PPAs have help propel the growth of renewable power generation around the world. Investors and banks have heavily favoured the PPA model for the additional security it is perceived to bring. For… Read more

Sector news

ABB and Samsung SDI forge alliance to target global…

March 27, 2015April 2, 2020

Global power sector giants ABB and Samsung SDI have just announced their global alliance to tackle the fast growing microgrid market. ABB is a leader in grid, power and automation technologies and Samsung SDI is the largest lithium ion battery manufacturer. The pair signed a memorandum of understanding outlining their cooperation in growing microgrids around the world. The two companies have clearly complementary technological expertise, as both storage (from Samsung SDI) and control (from ABB) technologies are critical for successful and cost-effective microgrid implementation. Although… Read more

Article

Distributed home energy systems – fast approaching break-even

March 17, 2015April 2, 2020

As interest in distributed renewable generation and home energy system intensifies, it is useful to understand the underlying economics of such systems. Although there are many configurations for home energy systems, we have looked at a system including photovoltaic power generation, battery energy storage, electric vehicles and a control system with moderate load control. We are not including energy efficiency in the system evaluation, as many core energy efficiency measures are economically positive and should be implemented before installing home generation and power storage. This… Read more

Sector news

Continuing momentum in renewable microgrids: Solarcity launches microgrid offering

March 16, 2015April 2, 2020

Solarcity, the US residential PV industry leader, is building on its distributed renewable energy experience by launching its GridLogic microgrid offering. It will be a turnkey offering integrating distributed residential and commercial solar, battery and controllable loads as well as shared solar, battery and back-up power and system control. The microgrids will be available with the pay-as-you-go model that has been so successful for residential solar deployment under the “microgrid as a service” offering. Given… Read more

Article

Electric Vehicles and Microgrids – why the two need…

March 5, 2015April 2, 2020

Over the past few years, electric vehicles (EVs) have finally started to deliver on their promise of a fundamental shift in the electrification of the transport sector. With Tesla featuring prominently in the news and even Apple said to be developing electric vehicles, it is clear that critical momentum is building behind EVs. One of the main drivers of the push for electric vehicles is of course the environmental benefits and reduced carbon emissions relative to conventional vehicles.… Read more

Sector news

Distributed Renewable Generation and Storage go mainstream

March 4, 2015March 26, 2020

The opportunities being unleashed by distributed renewable power generation and the fast growing power storage sector are grabbing the attention of mainstream media and the general public. The BBC is the latest major news outlet to cover these trends in a business article on energy storage and it’s implications for utilities, the power sector and consumers. Though there is perhaps some hype and a few extreme claims such as “the era of free electricity”, the emerging technologies and business models seem to be catching the attention of journalists, policy makers and the public. This… Read more