Renewables Investment in 2017

As the energy market evolves from large centralized systems to more decentralized networks comprised of cleaner, lower carbon and renewable sources, development of renewables projects such as wind and solar are a key focus. As part of these projects, renewable project owners and developers need to evaluate the lifecycle, environmental impacts, and property acquisition as they plan, budget, and execute their renewable project. Join us to learn about the timeline and importance of development steps involved in these projects.

Grid-connected microgrids hold the potential to facilitate the integration of renewable energy generation without expensive grid reinforcements, improve energy efficiency, resiliency and most importantly cut on costs and carbon. With an increasing number of distributed energy resources and dropping costs of energy storage, balancing energy supply and demand on a local level can create a variety of advantages. Wouter Vermeiden, Manager Business Development at ZOWN, and Demijan Panic, Innovation at E.ON, were joined by Thomas Boersma, Project Manager at Solarplaza, to explore opportunities for grid-connected microgrids.

The majority of the developing world still faces great challenges in mobilising financing for critically needed energy projects ranging from electrifying health clinics to powering industry and development. These challenges were prominent even before the pandemic but subsequently, the fiscal space for recovery and sustainable development efforts became further constrained by additional obstacles to access financing, limited public and private investments and continuing debt service obligations. The crisis in Ukraine further brought new levels of uncertainty.

The installation of battery energy storage in behind-the-meter applications is poised for exponential growth over the next few years. Batteries can be combined with solar to form grid-connected microgrids meaning that these assets can be used for economic benefit when the grid is operating and then provide resiliency during grid outages. The key to making such hybrid systems economically viable is to stack revenue from multiple applications, such as peak demand charge reduction, energy arbitrage, providing ancillary services to the grid, and participating in demand response programs, among others.