Hurricane Harvey Creates New Abnormal for the Electric Grid

By District Energy posted 08-29-2017 00:00

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Elisa Wood, Microgrid Knowledge

Summary

Stories are just beginning to emerge about microgrids and distributed energy systems that are keeping critical services up and running despite Hurricane Harvey’s best efforts to do them in.

Flooding at the Texas Medical Center. Courtesy of TECO

Twenty-one convenience stores and gas stations in the Houston area remained open thanks to an unusual microgrid system designed by Enchanted Rock (ERock). The Texas-based company installs natural gas generators at commercial sites, which it aggregates into virtual power plant microgrids.

[...] Meanwhile, crucial thermal energy continues to flow to the Texas Medical Center thanks to a Thermal Energy Corp (TECO) combined heat and power and district energy system.

One of the world largest medical centers, the 20-million square-foot complex houses eight hospitals and medical, dental and pharmaceutical schools. About $2 billion in medical research takes place at the center annually.