Unlocking the Value of Energy Resilience

From extreme weather to unprecedented electrical loads, threats to energy resilience continue to grow across the country.

In fact, the nation’s largest supplier of home generators recently announced nearly 70 percent higher sales than the previous year’s second quarter—a record for the company. Americans are becoming more prepared for regular power outages.

While these outages can take a financial toll on individual households, consider their impact on corporations that may suffer exponential losses in production time, raw materials and spoiled product like perishable items. Worse than the financial costs, health and safety may be compromised by unpredictable brownouts and blackouts. There is value in creating a resilient energy source for your organization, often going far beyond the cost of the project.

What’s Causing Energy Resilience Issues?

We rely on energy; we expect it to be available whenever and wherever we need it. Energy resilience is a system’s ability to provide power when disrupted by weather, demand overload or other challenges.

Some of the most common and persistent issues that affect energy availability include:

• Extreme weather events and rampant wildfires
• Electric vehicles creating a significant additional load
• Lagging infrastructure to support sprawling development
• Outdated equipment and systems

Environmental issues such as global warming will continue to create more frequent extreme weather conditions. However, we can help rectify the other issues causing resilience challenges by creating clean energy microgrids using Distributed Energy Resources paired with battery storage systems.

For example, a unique project in Minnesota uses two wind turbines to provide power directly to an isobutanol plant, with over production being sent to the power grid. This design allows the local utility to benefit from clean energy while providing an opportunity to capitalize on carbon credits to reduce the plant’s energy bill and increase revenue. A project in Middleton, Wisconsin, is incorporating a similar scenario as we implement solar power for an anaerobic digester.

Making Resilient Energy Affordable

Many companies want to invest in on-site energy production to provide direct power for their core functions while lowering their carbon intensity (CI) score, but believe they can’t afford to address their energy resilience issues. But realistically, you can’t afford NOT to.

At EnTech Solutions, we offer Energy-as-a-Service (EaaS) options where we finance, own and operate a clean energy microgrid to meet your energy needs and charge your business a similar rate as you would pay your local utility. This unique arrangement supports companies that don’t have the upfront capital for a substantial energy project while providing the advantage of carbon credits to lower the company’s CI score.

We can pair large storage batteries with a clean energy microgrid while managing the meter for our customers. In addition, we can design and install a smart system that provides simple controls and programmable efficiencies into your system.

These projects are made possible partially through our partnership with Juhl Energy, which has established a clean energy investment structure that supports the development of a modern energy infrastructure. The financial resources and expertise exist to help your company create the foundation for resilient energy.

Ideally, begin building resilience into your system early, since advanced preparation makes it much easier to scale as your business grows. For example, it’s easier to build in the structural support for rooftop solar panels during the design and construction phase of your facility. That said, it’s never too late for a site assessment to provide your organization with thoughtful, innovative modeled solutions to consider. For information about building resilience into your energy system, contact EnTech Solutions at 920-225-6737 or [email protected].

If you start with the end goal in mind—knowing what you want to accomplish with your master energy plan—then it’s possible to create a solution that incorporates your energy priorities and enables you to financially achieve them.