The most popular position for how to best mitigate climate change is to decarbonize our energy system. That means we must “electrify” everything used for our power needs – from transportation and agriculture to heating and shipping. Some sectors of the economy will prove easier to electrify than others because logistical and technological solutions already exist. That is not to say that the task will be easy, but given existing solutions, it becomes more a matter of time and investment. Those economic sectors currently lacking electrification solutions will need to wait for technological developments to emerge and their costs to be reduced.

As part of the electrification effort, distributive generating systems will play a key role. These systems largely consist of solar panels installed on roof tops that generate electricity to be used by the homeowner or business. To overcome the issue of times when solar electricity cannot be generated (e.g., night, cloudy weather, etc.), many of these locations are installing batteries to store surplus power generated during the day to power the facility when it is dark. These panel/battery systems are not cheap, but many homeowners and businesses are being offered low-cost financing options or extended lease arrangements in order to make them more affordable.

When facilities with solar panels paired with batteries are operating properly, they can go off the grid, meaning they are no longer drawing power from the utility provider. Electric utilities are working on systems whereby larger batteries are installed adjacent to transformers serving multiple facilities. The thinking is that these batteries can lend support to the utility through supplying power to multiple facilities by helping to average out the fluctuations in power demands from each location (i.e., in effect creating a miniature grid). If all the facilities connected to the transformer/battery arrangement install solar panels, these miniature grids could become self-sustaining, lowering the need for the utility to add more centralized power generating capacity.

Utilities see these miniature grids as a potential opportunity to reduce the risk of power supply disruptions caused by damage to overhead electric wires during storms. Extending distributive electricity systems beyond single solar panel-equipped locations offers a promising solution for increased electrification of the economy. While promising, challenges remain in expanding these efforts beyond single home to industrial and retail sites. As these systems are installed and customers and utilities gain experience with them, educating the general public as to the benefits of distributive power systems can begin. Greater operating experience and more cost-effective batteries will be key to the economics of these distributive power systems. Every new technology to address the intermittency of green energy begins with baby steps. For distributive power systems, we are seeing those baby steps being taken now.

For this Company Spotlight, we interviewed Veloce’s CEO, Jeff Wolfe, about how the company is making electric vehicle (EV) charging infrastructure and grid-edge energy storage faster, easier, and less expensive to deploy. Veloce is a technology provider enabling the electrification of transportation by removing the physical and financial barriers to EV charging and the development of grid-edge infrastructure. For more information on Veloce, please visit www.veloceenergy.com.

Background: After serving in various leadership roles in the renewable energy industry for over 30 years, including positions at Tritium, groSolar, Shell, and Just Energy, Jeff Wolfe founded Veloce in 2020 with the goal of advancing grid-edge technology to better serve a more electrified economy. With grid connections being costly and difficult to obtain (hundreds of thousands of dollars or more and 18-24 months lead time), Veloce developed……..…..READ MORE

Based in Ivyland, Pennsylvania, Fluitron is a market leader in manufacturing industrial gas compression and dispensing equipment, including diaphragm compressors, pressure vessels, and other specialized products. Given Fluitron’s relationships with key participants in the hydrogen economy and its diverse suite of products and aftermarket services, Ara and the management team plan to build Fluitron into a leading integrated hydrogen infrastructure platform.

Founded in 2013, Onboard Dynamics offers a unique, patented, mobile, and modular technology platform to responsibly use natural gas. The innovative products in Onboard Dynamics’ platform enable its customers to achieve economic value and environmental benefits by simplifying the capture, compression, and transfer of natural gas. The equity investment from BP Energy Partners will provide Onboard Dynamics the necessary capital to scale its business.

Based in Worcester, Massachusetts, Battery Resourcers operates the world’s most efficient lithium-ion battery recycling process. A vertically integrated recycling, refining, and materials engineering company, Battery Resourcers turns spent batteries and production scrap into new, battery-ready cathode active material with significant reductions in costs, emissions, and energy consumption.

Founded in 2007 and headquartered in Greenville, South Carolina, IPS provides maintenance, repair and replacement solutions for critical process equipment serving industrial and renewable energy end-markets in North America. With 33 service centers and field offices, IPS serves over 5,000 unique customer locations and covers equipment spanning motors, generators, pumps, and power systems.

Fort Worth, Texas-based Takkion is the nation's premier logistics, transportation, supply chain, and operations and maintenance solutions platform for the needs of the renewable energy, critical infrastructure, and power generation industries. RENEW is a leading provider of operations and maintenance ("O&M") solutions serving the renewable energy market. With the addition of RENEW, Takkion can provide the market with a comprehensive solution for managing the complex logistics, supply chain, transportation management, operations, and maintenance of wind and solar energy infrastructure.

Related Press Release: Takkion Holdings Acquires Renew Energy, Inc

Energy Technology Musings

Energy Decarbonization Success Keyed to Distributive Electric Power