A Paragraph to Ponder

From Meetings of the Minds:

"The first-in-the-nation competition harnesses value embedded in the utility platform and enables greater adoption of new energy solutions customers want. Strengthening and modernizing the State’s electric grid not by government handouts to utilities, but by empowering communities and third parties to integrate microgrids and put forth new business models that serve critical infrastructure, and have the ability to delight and surprise customers with new energy products and services that improve their quality of life. Microgrids are localized and optimized grids that can disconnect from the traditional electric grid to operate autonomously and fill critical infrastructure and service needs in the event of an emergency. They also operate during normal, ‘blue-sky’ days and can help defer costly infrastructure investments that would lead to higher bills for customers. These systems can be thought of as ‘the brains’ of any distributed energy resource, like solar or storage; they have a variety of options to “share” their services with the grid – such as by participating in demand response programs or by providing ancillary services (such as voltage control or regulation) by selling generated excess power back to the grid."