Demand Management, Energy Efficiency, Microgrids  -  February 3, 2018

Weekend reads: Who will win the (energy) super bowl; Jump-starting the dark grid & more

Every Saturday, we'll bring you five of the most interesting — or quirky; it is the weekend after all — energy stories from around the web that you may have missed this week. This weekend's reads: 

OneEnergy, 3Degrees, and Net Impact Announce 2018 Energy Scholars (3degrees)  In partnership with Net Impact, OneEnergy Renewables, and 3Degrees are thrilled to announce the 2018 class of Energy Scholars. The Energy Scholar program, now in its seventh year, is designed to cultivate and empower tomorrow’s renewable energy leaders through professional mentoring, networking, and industry access. The goal of the program is to foster a new generation of skilled and experienced professionals to take on the fight against climate change. 

Massachusetts vs. Pennsylvania: Who Will Win This Year’s Energy Showdown? (Direct Energy Business)  The coveted Energy Bowl Champion title is up for grabs once again! We’ve run through both teams [states’] playbooks to see how well they fared in overall energy consumption for 2017. After crunching the numbers... we present to you the two combatants — and their stats — for this year’s energy showdown.  

Start-up launching blockchain-based retail electric service taps retail market vet for leadership, applies for Texas REP certificate (Energy Choice Matters)  GridPlus Texas Inc. applied for an Option 1 Texas retail electric provider certificate. On its Texas website, the company states, "Grid+ is a next-generation electrical utility that brings you low prices through artificial intelligence and blockchain technology. We're starting in Texas in 2018."  

Jump-Starting the Dark Grid (Signal AFCEA) Distributed power may be the key to recovery from a massive blackout. A new project headed by Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory aims to use microgrid resources to boost the electric grid’s ability to bounce back more rapidly from blackouts or cascading outages, such as those following major storms or earthquakes.  

Are Cryptocurrency Miners a New Market for Solar Plus Storage Microgrids? (Microgrid Knowledge)  Cryptocurrency miners are considering microgrids to meet the high energy demand of Bitcoin production — and a California microgrid developer is on top of the trend. San Diego-based CleanSpark is designing a grid-connected, solar plus storage microgrid for a large, unnamed cryptocurrency mining operation. The project is noteworthy because of the large amount of energy consumed in producing Bitcoins. 

Read These Related Articles:

• Weekend Reads: COP29 on Energy Efficiency; Unscrambling Hydrogen
• Weekend Reads: Five Things to Know About COP29; Rethinking Gas Stations
• Weekend Reads: Where Climate Triumphed at the Polls; Iceland Goes to Space for Solar
• Weekend Reads: Candidates Avoid Clean Energy; Costco (Cautiously) Adds EV Charging
• Weekend Reads: The Carbon Offset Debate; New Powder Captures CO2

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