‘Smart Grid Ready’ Generators for Backup Power Offer Return on Investment

September 14, 2021      

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.” 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 distributed energy resources(DER) capabilities that will arrive standard on new products. Generac acquired Enbala, a DER technology company, last year.

Generac saw an opportunity to advance its product line with smart grid technology in part due to the Enbala acquisition.

What is unique, every local utility, every grid operator, every grid network has its challenges. The grid operator’s challenge is to match demand and supply. 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 smart grid ready product becomes a DER, able to form virtual power plants (VPPs), which are collections of DERs capable of augmenting the grid services provided by traditional power generation. 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. That can reduce stress on the grid, and enables users to offset some of their energy costs.

The new product is a “comprehensive, end-to-end solution—one that combines solar, battery storage, generators and load management. Generac has taken segmented energy assets that would normally be complicated to connect and brought them together in a seamless fashion. 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.

For more information, contact South Shore Generator in Wareham, MA.

Source: powermag.com

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