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Startup Spotlight – Xendee
We previously discussed the importance of microgrids in developing a more stable, decentralized electric grid in previous articles. One of the largest bottlenecks in developing a microgrid for a large number of homes and businesses is the time and capital necessary to plan the construction of these projects baesd on each organizations specific goals. Xendee…
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An Urgent Case for Transmission Infrastructure
In 2009, Michael Skelly, a developer from Texas, began a decade-long odyssey that would change the way the US electric grid industry operates. His company Clean Line Energy aimed to connect thousands of miles of high voltage transmission lines to transport power from America’s rural midlands to its densely populated coastlines. Through countless trials talking…
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The Next Game Changing Industry – Long Duration Batteries
The current electrical grid is largely fueled by natural gas and coal power plants. If we want our energy grid to be fully reliant on renewable sources, we have to solve the issue of intermittency. This refers to the problem that solar and wind power simply don’t work when the sun isn’t shining or the…
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Order 2222: Reshaping the Grid as We Know It
At the end of last year, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission(FERC) released Order 2222. It allows distributed energy resources, which encompasses any form of small scale energy generation like solar and wind energy, to compete for contracts in wholesale energy markets. This release has gone under the radar in the news, but will have far…
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Our Collapsing Energy Infrastructure
The US electrical grid began construction in the early 1900s. It is commonly referred to as the largest machine in the world. The grid transports electricity across thousands of miles of high voltage wires each time someone flips a light switch or turns on their air conditioning unit. Like most things we take for granted,…
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Tesla’s Crucial Role in Developing a Decentralized Grid
Lithium ion batteries reached a critical point of efficiency in the early 2000s. They were able to store enough energy to power a vehicle and small enough to store them in a portable way. This technological milestone marked the beginnings of Tesla, a small company that was motivated to produce the first, commercially available electric…
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How are Microgrids and Smart Grids Related?
Microgrids and smart grids are both highly relevant technologies important in the development of a stable, sustainable, decentralized grid. These terms are often mentioned in articles and in the news, but they’re rarely given concrete definitions. I believe it would be beneficial to delve a little deeper into each of these systems to understand what…
Electric Grid Gossip 