![]() ![]() Otherwise dormant backup power can now easily and quickly come online, creating a win-win for all-utilities achieve a cleaner grid with improved reliability and reduced cost-to-serve, while end customers receive direct financial incentives and a more stable grid for participating in VPPs.” Business OpportunitiesĮnergy companies increasingly have looked at business opportunities related to the decentralization, digitization, and decarbonization of the grid-what Jagdfeld called “the three D’s” of today’s power generation sector. We’ve taken segmented energy assets that would normally be complicated to connect and brought them together in a seamless fashion. Russ Minick, president of Generac’s Energy Technology business group and chief marketing officer, called the new product a “comprehensive, end-to-end solution-one that combines solar, battery storage, generators and load management. That can reduce stress on the grid, and enables users to offset some of their energy costs. In this case, the generator still functions as a traditional power backup device, powering a home or business in the event of a power outage, but now also enables the sale of power back to the grid during times of peak demand. Jagdfeld noted that the smart grid ready product becomes a DER, able to form VPPs, which are collections of DERs capable of augmenting the grid services provided by traditional power generation. But being able to augment the supply side, or reduce the demand side, by having an asset like the generator, there’s a real value in that.” The grid operator’s challenge is to match demand and supply. “What is unique, every local utility, every grid operator, every grid network has its challenges. ![]() “That’s what makes this so exciting,” said Jagdfeld. Jagdfeld told POWER that the longtime generator manufacturer saw an opportunity to advance its product line with smart grid technology in part due to the Enbala acquisition. It is flexible and scalable multiple cabinets can be connected to a single PWRcell inverter to provide more storage capacity and continuous backup power. The Generac PWRcell battery is paired with solar power as part of a solar+storage system. ![]() Generac acquired Enbala, a DER technology company, last year. Jagdfeld said customers will now “have the opportunity to obtain additional return on investment by leveraging their Generac units to contribute energy to the grid, support grid stability and receive payment for their excess power.” He said current PWRcell and home standby generator customers will be able to access Enbala’s Concerto platform through a firmware update, which will provide existing users with all the same DER capabilities that will arrive standard on new products. With Smart Grid Ready, consumers can play a key role in being part of the solution.” Return on Investment “Climate change and an aging electrical gird are making power outages and power shortages more frequent and longer lasting. “Through this integration, Generac customers-residential, commercial, industrial and solar-are now capable of making major contributions to grid reliability, resiliency and sustainability,” said Aaron Jagdfeld, president and CEO of Generac. Generac is now manufacturing generators that are smart grid ready, essentially becoming a distributed energy resource that can function as part of a virtual power plant. It’s part of the continuing evolution of an energy landscape increasingly turning to DERs to help balance power loads and stabilize the grid. 25 announced that its new line of home standby generators, along with commercial and industrial generators, and PWRcell solar-plus-battery storage systems are being manufactured and offered as smart grid ready. It’s against that backdrop that Generac Power Systems on Aug. Residential systems also are increasingly being used in demand response programs. Homeowners and others who purchase generators, long a source of backup power during and after storms and other events, also have those opportunities, thanks to systems touted as “smart grid ready” that can be used as distributed energy resources (DERs) to help create virtual power plants (VPPs). Homeowners with rooftop solar have been selling power back to the grid for years, and more opportunities for power customers are coming as electric vehicle owners tap into the market via energy storage. Residential applications for smart grid technologies continue to grow as electricity customers take more control of their energy usage and costs. ![]()
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