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DR Microgrid: The Value Stacking of Energy

DR Microgrid: The Value Stacking of Energy

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AJ Perkins, President, DR MicrogridAJ Perkins, President Could anyone have foreseen a day when a state’s energy supply would exceed the demand?

Amazingly, surplus energy is a predicament presently ailing the state of California. Earlier this year, California set two renewable energy records: the most solar power ever flowing on the state’s main electric grid, and most solar power ever taken offline because it wasn’t needed. “Utilities need our help to store clean energy. Currently, they lack resources to store excess energy and utilize it when necessary,” says AJ Perkins, president of DR Microgrid, an advanced microgrid integrator that tackles today’s energy challenges in an unprecedented manner.

The reasons for the skewed supply-demand ratio are obvious. With new policies mandating that 60 percent of the state’s electricity comes from carbon-free sources by 2030, California’s utilities are ramping up their efforts to purchase more renewable energy. As a result, the state’s fleet of solar farms and rooftop panels are frequently generating more electricity than Californians use during the middle of the day. To aggravate matters, new renewable energy plants are slated to go online over the next year, allowing California to meet the 2030 deadline a decade ahead of schedule.

Is excess clean energy really a pain point?

It has proven to be. Besides grappling with economic and physical strains on the grid lines and power systems, the state’s lawmakers have been forced to transmit excess power to states such as Arizona, to prevent wastage of energy. In fact, California has paid states just to take its excess power supply. Also, solar and wind farms have had to throttle back on production, an expensive option that does not benefit anyone.

Despite producing all this excess clean energy, California’s utilities—held culpable for the 2018 wildfires—are reeling in the aftermath of the tragedy that killed 86 people and uprooted 14,000 homes. Starting this year, California’s utilities now have the CPUC’s approval to shut off the grid during times of danger fire promoting conditions are present or oncoming. The mandatory shutdowns are already here. In June, PG&E implemented the first public safety power blackout that affected 22,700 consumers (over an entire weekend). While shutting off power during Californian fire seasons is a good initiative that will likely prevent deadly wildfires, businesses are set to suffer the consequences.

Enter DR Microgrid, a company that creates microgrids to protect businesses from rising utility costs and blackouts, and facilitates the mass storage of excess clean energy. Unlike standard microgrids that are both laborious and expensive, DR Microgrid has devised a patent-pending process that enables easier integration of microgrids into existing solar energy systems. While microgrid installations typically take up to a year, DR Microgrid’s plug-and-play technology can be harnessed within three to six months. Perkins elaborates, “We build our microgrids around an oversized power storage system so that energy can be value-stacked for reasons that extend beyond the obvious: peak shavings and battery backup. Our systems have the capacity to supply for human response efforts such as the California wildfires and hurricanes across the country. Also, our clients stand to make specialized incentives by selling energy back to the grid.”

Specialized Incentives for Demand Response

Until now, utilities leveraged Demand Response (DR) programs to incentivize customers—commercial, residential, or industrial—for reducing their electricity consumption during certain hours called “events”.

However, DR Microgrid—working with top Californian utilities such as PG&E and SDG&E—has taken this existing model and flipped it on its head. Rather than asking its customers to curtail or shut off equipment during heavy grid usage times, DR Microgrid acts as an aggregator and deploys large commercial grade batteries and advanced microgrid control systems to meet the energy demands of its customers while also funneling energy back to the grid without upsetting normal building operations.

For example, DR Microgrid recently worked with a manufacturer to perform a full offset demand response. Previously, the manufacturer used to shut off lights, ACs, and equipment in parts of their building to meet their obligation and sometimes opted out of the event when operations suffered.

We allow businesses to carry on with their operations while also availing demand response revenue

DR Microgrid, on the other hand, took the entire building offline with their microgrid and the customer was compensated for the entire 100 KW. “We allow businesses to carry on with their operations. while also maximizing demand response revenue. This is our ultimate value proposition, and a market offering that no other company has ever offered before,” says a proud Perkins.

There is also the other side of the coin. As utilities struggle to harness excess green energy (as explained above), they are now compensating consumers for increasing their consumption by turning on the equipment. DR typically disrupts a building, whether consumers are requested to turn their equipment on or off. Again, DR Microgrid has flipped the script. Perkins explains, “Since we are notified a day in advance (of a DR program event), we ensure power is redirected to the client’s building, and we leave our battery empty. So, when an event is called, they (client) need not turn on the equipment at all.”

How the Technology Works

DR Microgrid’s solutions are energy storage systems that can disconnect from the grid and continue to power facilities for long durations. While building its microgrids, the company integrates energy from various sources—solar, wind, co-generation—into a large energy system that is controlled by an advanced ADR-compliant microgrid controller.

The AI-enabled controller allows DR Microgrid to gather, utilize, and react to data to ensure the most efficient delivery of energy wherever necessary. The AI controller possesses the learning capabilities to react to more than just business needs and the way businesses operate. Perkins says, “The AI constantly gathers data such as weather patterns, cloud coverage, the current state of the energy markets, and ascertains the most optimal method to utilize and distribute energy.”


While collecting data is one side of the equation, DR Microgrid’s intelligent storage systems are unique due to their intrinsic ability to funnel the energy wherever needed. DR Microgrid often uses the analogy of a car navigation system to highlight this aspect of its technology, “A standard car navigation system will tell you where the traffic is headed. However, that information is meaningless unless the navigation system can advise the best way to navigate around that traffic. By the same token, we don’t just show you a better route, we actually drive the car for the energies,” illustrates Perkins.

DR Microgrid’s technology allows businesses to “actively control” their energy ecosystem, which could include solar, CHP, battery storage, and other equipment and appliances. Through a comprehensive dashboard, users can turn pieces of equipment on or off, set their energy preferences, and automate their energy consumption patterns. By controlling their precise energy consumption and usage, businesses can thereby sell their excess power to various energy markets or support human response or DR programs.

This ability to streamline energy consumption has proven equally beneficial to grids. Perkins explains, “Thanks to our AI-driven technology, grids can now predict the exact energy consumption or requirement for days in advance, and effectively plan their cycles.”

To cite an example of the effectiveness of DR Microgrid’s technology, Perkins narrates a customer success story involving a manufacturing facility.
The client was paying $22,000 per month just on utility bills despite investing heavily in a rooftop solar PV system. After examining their facility, DR Microgrid uncovered that the exorbitant bills were due to the demand charges (that all commercial facilities are levied with). Since the client’s solar energy was not enough to address peak hour demands, it was struck with high demand charges. The client also experienced brownouts where the power output fluctuated and damaged equipment.

DR Microgrid built a new microgrid to support the client’s existing solar energy system—by integrating CHP, AI microgrid controllers and batteries. Post deployment, the client could expertly control their energy consumption through a centralized dashboard and see what his existing solar system is producing, whereas prior, the business owner had no idea what his PV system was doing. “Besides completely eliminating their utility bills, they are now enjoying uninterrupted energy supply which keeps their operations running and no more equipment damage,” informs Perkins.

Coming Soon: The DR Nanogrid

The Californian fire seasons, and the mandatory power shut offs that accompany them are starting to affect residences as well. Last year, several regions located hundreds of miles away from a fire or potential fire, were also victims of blackouts. To address the energy needs of residences, DR Microgrid will soon launch a new residential solution titled DR Nanogrid that will offer the same benefits of microgrids but at a smaller scale.

Perkins will introduce the new residential solution at the North America Smart Energy Week (23-26 Sept.) followed by the Net Zero 19 Conference in LA and the Energy Storage North America Conference in San Diego in October and November respectively. Shortly after, a white paper will be released to detail the integration of microgrids/nanogrids with existing solar energy systems. Through these conferences, DR Microgrid hopes to reach out to more installers.

Already a difference-maker in California’s energy paradigm, DR Microgrid is primed to reach greater heights. Under the leadership of Perkins, who has worked closely with the California Energy Alliance to create a support policy within the state, DR Microgrid has forged a number of key strategic alliances with companies such as Lockheed Martin Energy, 365 Pronto and Optec International. The latter has launched a new technology of solar LEDs and cameras—an integrated camera system onto a solar LED panel—allowing DR Microgrid to put lights and cameras in remote locations without any wires.

Through such alliances, the company has access to more than 9,000 solar installers, a number that is bound to rise. Perkins says, “We are actively seeking more alliances throughout the U.S. so we can support businesses, residences, and the utilities themselves.” With the business of utilities witnessing a drastic shift, DR Microgrid has admittedly “taken on the responsibility” to support the changing landscape of energy. With three major Californian utilities proposing a spike to their energy rates, DR Microgrid’s sales pitch gets more pronounced by the hour. “We are giving businesses the opportunity to shield themselves from rising utility rates, protect themselves from public safety power shut offs and earn revenue for supporting the grid,” he adds.

DR Microgrid plans to expand nationally, beyond California, and support human response efforts such as the hurricanes in Florida and other natural disasters across the country. “The entire nation is dealing with weather and grid-related challenges. It is crystal-clear that the time to embrace microgrids is NOW,” concludes Perkins.
- Olivia Smith
    September 19, 2019
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Top 10 Smart Grid Solution Companies - 2019
DR Microgrid

Company
DR Microgrid

Headquarters
Santa Ana, CA

Management
AJ Perkins, President and Nick Sartini, VP of Sales/ Founder & Miki Domine, VP of Operations and David Perzynski, VP of Marketing

Description
Dr. Microgrid Protects businesses from utility costs and blackouts through creating microgrids. The company takes advantage of specialized incentives through demand response, and aggregate their customer base to sell energy back to the grid. It also provides megawatt sized battery storage systems, creating resilience and energy independence operating within utility incentive programs designed to cut demand charges. Dr Microgrid further integrates smart controls that effectively allow businesses to get off the grid for prolonged periods

DR Microgrid News

Safeguarding Business from Blackouts and Rising Utility Costs through Creating Microgrids and Sustainable Resiliency: DR Microgrid

“We focus on being great for the PEOPLE and PLANET.”

For a long time, microgrids and nanogrids were heralded for their ability to provide power locally when the grid goes down. Now, more and more, they win friends because of their intelligent usefulness. Microgrids and nanogrids — as well as virtual power plants — are increasingly employed to undertake sophisticated management of energy resources beyond their footprint. They serve not just as local energy, but as grid resources.

Given the preceding, we’re delighted to present DR Microgrid

DR Microgrid protects businesses from blackouts and rising utility costs creating Microgrids! The company takes advantage of specialized incentives and revenue through demand response and aggregates its customer base to sell energy back to the grid. It has combined Reduction, Generation, and Over-sized battery storage systems, creating resilience and energy independence. DR Microgrid operates within utility incentive programs designed to cut demand charges. The firm is focused on the SMB market specializing in manufacturing, industrial, school, hospital, municipal, retail, hospitality and hotel, and multifamily buildings.

The company was founded in 2019 and is headquartered in Santa Ana, California.

In conversation with AJ Perkins, President DR Microgrid

What was the reason behind the genesis of DR Microgrid?

In September of 2018, Jigar Shah told me that he needed help building microgrids because the utilities were going to shut off the grid up to 30 times in 2019. He said that his company, Generate Capital was willing to pay for all of these microgrids to be installed to help protect businesses from these Public Safety Power Shutoffs. We put together a Microgrid solution that could be easy to understand, finance and deploy with a focus on the Small-Mid Size Business (SMB) market.

In May 2019, we attended Microgrid Knowledge Conference 2019 in San Diego, where it was evident that there was a big need for a residential solution to help protect families against the growing Public Safety Power Shutoffs problem that would be affecting the state of California in the upcoming months. We designed this solution for solar installers around the country to integrate a microgrid/nanogrid into an existing solar system with an upcoming white paper to follow.

In this modern business world, what do you exactly mean by “A Smart Company”?

As the market and needs began to take shape, we realized that we are nimble and intuitive and decided to be in front of the market that would be created. We saw that market boundaries were blurred and decided to change the industry structure, taking a page from W. Chan Kim & Renée Mauborgne’s Blue Ocean Strategy. We created a business environment with the pursuit of differentiation and efficiency (lower cost) to open up a new market space and create demand without competition.

What challenges did you face in your initial start? What can your peers learn from it?

We expected organic growth as we went to the market, but the need was so great that we were concerned that our success could be our downfall. We needed capital to finance projects and the company’s growth and it continued to grow at an astounding pace. We needed to reassess our strategy and began putting the financial stability of our company at the forefront and began crafting a more deliberate approach to customer acquisition.

As this began to solidify, our new problem was, “the market and opportunity were too big, and we need help”. Businesses needed our solution and we couldn’t build our team fast enough. We decided to create more strategic partnerships. We get our solution out, our partner gives their customers a new resilient system and the customer gets what they need from the people they are familiar with.

Is your company a ‘leader’ or a ‘follower’? Do you formulate your own core values?

We are a leader that has learned from many of the greats. In designing DR Microgrid, we saw an opportunity to take a complex microgrid, simplify it and created a standardized solution that can be easy to finance and easy to deploy in scale. We then took this repeatable solution and created a unique way to patent our process.

We have built this company with the triple bottom line as the focus of how we serve the people and grow our company:

• We commit to doing our best work for the PEOPLE, those on our team, our partners and those we serve.
• We commit to protecting the PLANET with the best products, technologies, and resources available.
• We know that if we succeed in the first 2 P’s, we will inevitably increase PROFITS, so we focus on being great for the PEOPLE and PLANET.


What are the factors that make your brand one of the SMARTEST and why?

The Latin term “Nanos gigantum humeris insidentes” expresses the meaning of “discovering truth by building on previous discoveries”. All progress begins with the truth and we have taken previous discoveries that have traditionally been complex and complicated and we have created a standardized design. With this standard microgrid design, we are able to reduce design and construction costs and can build microgrids that are 30% cheaper and installed and operating in half the time of a “piecemeal” or non-standardized solution.

Do you have any new products ready to be launched?

Customers have proven over and over again that they aren’t particularly interested in paying cash for solar installations for their roofs and don’t want to go to the work of keeping track of energy assets like solar or energy storage in the home. This opens up the potential for a larger list of energy-as-a-service offerings for solar for customers. Pair solar with energy storage, demand response, and EV charging and it may be the start of a real transition to renewable energy for millions of people.

Solar+Storage Killer App From DR Microgrid

One of the stealth technologies that was unveiled at the recent Solar Power International trade show in Salt Lake City a few weeks ago is the plug-and-play solar+storage+nanogrid solution from start-up DR Microgrid, of Santa Ana, CA. It looks like a killer app because it is the only other system of its kind on the US market except that of Sonnen, which is more expensive, says DR Microgrid President AJ Perkins.

The market reception for the technology on an installer level is huge: the company received over 400 phone calls from installers seeking to add the tech to their portfolio of offerings, Perkins says. He has also been approached by entities in eight other countries, he adds.

Nanogrids are residential or commercial-scale microgrids designed for a single home or building, which typically do not involve more than 100 kilowatts of renewable generation. The beauty of the nanogrid is that if you are subject to utility power outages — like many of us in California — the system can “island” your home or building, so that power continues even if the grid is down.

The power comes from the battery component of the system, for which DR Microgrid provides a minimum of 20 kW per hour, expandable up to 60 kW/h for heavy users, like those with an EV charging station included in the system.

The system can operate with either lithium-ion or lithium-iron-phosphate (Li-FePO4) batteries that have a greater tolerance for heat and are less prone to catch fire than the standard lithium-ion type. DR Microgrid is packaging its own batteries under the brand Instant On, with a standard 20-year warranty. At the end of the warranty period, the batteries are expected to continue to operate at about an 80% charge level, Perkins notes. The warranty includes the expected change-out of the batteries after about 10 years.

The system also includes smart plugs that are used with major appliances or other equipment, which communicate to the software controller. Machine learning and artificial intelligence add to the system, creating a platform that can proactively help customers modify their electricity usage to minimize utility bills.

The software also has a built-in capability to sell energy back to the utility for a profit, supporting the grid during times of demand stress.
The software was developed by CarbonTRACK, in Melbourne, and is being marketed in the United States by Naak. The system has already been installed in some 22,000 homes in New Zealand, according to Perkins. As such it could represent the largest such network in the world, since Sonnen only claims some 10,000 homes in its European network, centered in Germany.

The software already has three patents and the company is expanding its coverage around the world aggressively, Perkins notes.

The cost of the DR Microgrid product for home use is about $25,000, although it all depends on size and other configurations. An alternative to the outright purchase of the tech is a monthly rental of the system as a service, at about 10% of the current electricity utility bill, Perkins estimates. The company may offer financing for system purchases, with an interest rate as low as 6%. For comparison, Sonoma County offers 7% solar financing, but after middle-men add their markups, the rate can come closer to 9%. Sonoma was the first California county-operated Property Assessed Clean Energy lender (PACE).

The company is also willing to, and prefers to, install solar at the same time as it installs the microgrid or nanogrid tech. However, retrofitting the tech to a home or business with existing solar is still a plug-and-play operation, Perkins says. One big difference between a retrofit and an all-in install is that the inverter needed for storage must operate in two directions. Standalone solar systems traditionally have been installed with one-way inverters, so retrofitting storage requires the addition of two-way capability.

Nanogrids and microgrids perform a variety of cost-saving functions including peak-shaving, time-of-use charge avoidance, commercial demand charges (for volume of use), among others. The software also can unite various users so that the microgrid acts as a single entity in transacting with the utility, taking advantage of peak hour demand times when utilities sometimes pay hundreds or thousands of dollars per kilowatt to keep the grid up to demand.

DR Microgrid already has a private investor that brought in $100 million to the startup’s war chest. The company has not had to turn to venture capital, which has pulled the plug on many promising solar startups over the years. Among other strategic partners, Lockheed Martin Energy is a trade ally, Perkins notes. Lockheed targets commercial and industrial battery storage systems, offering financing.

Dr Mircrogrid: The Energy Solution for California's Cannabis Needs

Microgrids As An Energy Solution for Cannabis

For cannabis growers in California – particularly in the rapidly expanding legal indoor market – there are few concerns as constant and costly as energy. Issues with capacity and access have become routine, as companies grow and the state’s overburdened grid struggles to keep up with demand, and it’s own managerial shortcomings. DR Micrgogrid is a Southern California based utility provider, originally built to adapt to the massive and changing energy needs of the state’s many industries, including the gigantic agriculture market; California agriculture generated over $100 billion in economic activity in 2018. DR Microgrid has now turned their attention and solutions to cannabis, in a moment of increasingly urgent need for the budding but rapidly growing industry.

A ‘microgrid’ is pretty much what it sounds like; an independent ‘energy island’, based on traditional and renewable energy sources, that allows the customer to exist outside of the high costs, inefficient customer care, and breaches in trust and service that the large utility providers often come along with. When they were approached — initially by Adam Meyn of Cannatech Network — about the major energy issues and costs specifically faced by the growing cannabis industry, they recognized both a need and an opportunity. Cannabis, Hemp, and Controlled Environment Agriculture is the nation’s fastest-growing agriculture sector. The modern growing process has kept the cannabis industry a substantial energy consumer, and the utilities have struggled to provide adequate power to support its growth. This problem is compounded for facilities in remote areas, where infrastructure wasn’t designed to supply the energy capacity needed for growers.

DR Microgrid provides power, protection, and proper profile through the building of microgrids, addressing what they have identified as three main areas of concern for the industry:

Not Enough Power – Facilities are being denied interconnection and service upgrade requests, and often made to wait several months for service from the Utility – forcing businesses to put operations on hold.

Inconsistent Power – Facilities are experiencing blackouts and brownouts (in the past year more often from temporary reductions in system voltage or total system capacity) have had lights, computers, and other electronic devices ruined – causing disruption and sometimes loss of production.

Power Profile – Cities in California are now proposing restrictions on cannabis growers after backlash from residential consumers facing rising electricity bills, and the state potentially missing its energy reduction goals – blamed by many at least partially on the high energy use typically required for indoor grows.

The DR Microgrid combines generation from solar, fuel cells, CHP, and natural gas generators, along with energy storage and advanced controls. These all combine to give the facility the ability to “island” itself from the grid when blackouts and brownouts occur, when rates are the highest, or when supporting the grid network via demand response. “We have been called in to provide support to facilities for various reasons surrounding these three areas of concern,” says DR Microgrid president AJ Perkins. He also gives some background on the needs that introduced him and DR Microgrid to the cannabis market and its specific – and urgent – energy needs. “Cannatech Network brought us in to help a high profile facility that was only able to get 2500 amps but needed 3500. We see many facilities that need an extra 200-400 amps and are waiting an average of 15 months to get the power they need. We learned of a facility that was running their diesel generator every day to supplement their power, and the California Air Resources Board came and removed their generator. We are able to come in with a microgrid and give them a specially designed system that can be installed and commissioned quicker, reducing their cost of delay.” This highlights another of the uniquely needed services of this new agricultural wave: reducing the time it takes to get energy needs met, and more efficiently beginning or continuing operations. One point of frustration for many cannabis growers; large utility companies often do not trust that cultivators will be in business long enough to warrant an expedited upgrade, and the waitlists have grown accordingly. DR Microgrid is here to help, and can provide increased amperage within months instead of years.

Indoor and Outdoor: DR Microgrid For Safety and Efficiency

The DR Microgrid solution is not just for indoor grows and facilities, however, as AJ further elaborates. “We have a few of these same customers that are at the end of lines and although blackouts were not prevalent for them (at the time), the fluctuation of power had caused their lights to explode causing a fire in one of the grow rooms and destroying their crop with fire and smoke.” DR Microgid provides stabilization from both reductions and surges that can otherwise endanger a crop or operation. This scenario isn’t just hypothetical, either; a recent Northern California emergency power outage by PG&E threatened thousands of cannabis farms and indoor grows.

Another area of concern is the state-mandated electronic tracking system needed to allow transporters and distributors to continue to operate when power is out. With a microgrid, they are now able to have consistent, reliable energy that would allow for normal operations for hours or days at a time.
Sometimes just keeping up with trends in energy efficiency is enough to get growers saving energy and reducing strain on the grid. “We had one customer that wanted a microgrid to help reduce their usage specifically because he wanted to ‘look like his neighbor.’ He said that he knew that his power bill was many times higher than other businesses in his area, and he also didn’t want to stick out like a sore thumb.” For customers such as this, who are not prepared for the unexpected, or are in need of more energy independence, there are lower-cost solutions as well. “Rather than doing a full facility offset, he chose to go with a microgrid that would reduce his utility costs by 60% and protect just essential loads. In the event of a power outage, his crops and main electrical equipment would still operate, protecting his business.”

The California wildfire season has become more of a year-round phenomenon, and public safety power outages are happening more frequently, especially toward the end of the calendar year when the bulk of this year’s multi-billion dollar crop is coming in from the field for processing and drying. Maintaining temperature and humidity control is also just as crucial to these facilities, and resiliency is now at a premium. An indoor facility experiencing two days of no indoor light could ruin an entire crop.

In a state and industry committed to the cleanest and most efficient supplier of energy needs available, microgrids provide energy independence. They are an “energy insurance policy,” used for emergencies and everyday operations alike. Through combining on-site power generation, battery storage with intelligent controls that “island” from the grid, critical equipment can still operate during power outages. DR Microgrid is helping create the path to a resilient, reliable, and cleaner energy footprint for our businesses, our communities, and our grid.

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