Clean Coalition Joins MSL

We are pleased to announce that the Clean Coalition has joined MSL as a Member institution. The Clean Coalition is a nonprofit organization whose mission is to accelerate the transition to renewable energy and a modern grid through technical, policy, and project development expertise. As such, it complements MSL’s goals and approach.

More specifically, the Coalition drives policy innovation to remove barriers to procurement and interconnection of distributed energy resources, and to establish market mechanisms that realize the full potential of integrating these solutions. The Clean Coalition also collaborates with utilities and municipalities to create near-term deployment opportunities that prove the technical and financial viability of local renewables and other DER. These deployment opportunities may offer collaborative opportunities with MSL’s demonstration project agenda.

The Coalition’s main programmatic efforts are as follows:

• Utility Renewables Programs — Working with electric utilities and industry stakeholders to design and implement programs that bring local renewable energy online.
• State Renewables Policy — Advancing state level policy that accelerates adoption of local renewable energy.
• Grid Modernization Policy — Working to modernize America’s power system by improving grid planning, access, and solutions.
• Community Microgrids — Working with electric utilities to design and implement community microgrids that prove local renewables provide a reliable and cost-effective foundation for a modern grid.
• Net Zero Energy — Developing and promoting local fuel switching efforts for net zero energy in built environments and in the transportation sector.

The policy programs can mutually reinforce MSL’s future efforts in that area; and the Community Microgrid Initiative is particularly well suited to collaboration, and supports MSL’s interest in utility distribution microgrids.  From the Coalition’s perspective:

“We work with electric utilities to design and implement Community Microgrids that prove local renewables provide a reliable and cost-effective foundation for a modern grid.

“A Community Microgrid is a coordinated local grid area served by one or more distribution substations and supported by high penetrations of local renewables and other distributed energy resources, such as energy storage and demand response. Community Microgrids represent a new approach for designing and operating the electric grid, relying heavily on DER to achieve a more sustainable, secure, and cost-effective energy system while generally providing renewables-driven power backup for prioritized loads over indefinite durations. The substation-level foundation of a Community Microgrid ensures that the approach can be readily extended throughout a utility’s service territory and replicated across utilities.”

The Coalition’s Community Microgrid Initiative is designed to achieve three demonstration projects by year-end 2016 that prove local renewables connected to the distribution grid can provide at least 25% of the total electric energy consumed while at least maintaining grid reliability and power quality. It’s Long Island Community Microgrid project is a recipient of NY Prize funding, and it’s Hunters Point (PDF) project with Pacific Gas & Electric is currently in development.

The Clean Coalition has assembled a strong team and advisors, led by Executive Director Craig Lewis, who has over 20 years of experience in the renewables, wireless, semiconductor, and banking industries. We look forward to working with them.