Powering Forward in 2019

“Distributed energy storage.” If you aren’t yet familiar with this term, get ready, because you’re about to hear a lot more from Hygge Power in 2019. 

Put simply, storing and distributing electricity as effectively as possible is very important because electricity supply (generation) and demand (consumption) vary daily and by the minute, and suppliers must meet demand instantaneously. While electricity doesn’t go unused because it always has to be balanced, renewable energy production is curtailed when there’s too much energy being produced. Without efficient storage technologies, renewable generation cannot address this issue, due to the intermittent nature of many renewable technologies.

Let’s look at the need for better energy storage systems to better people’s lives. For starters, consider how renewables are increasing as a source of electricity. As a result, our infrastructure needs to change to accommodate them. As energy becomes cleaner, we’ll further electrify an increasing number of devices, appliances and more. Our degrading energy grid infrastructure is struggling to keep pace with our expanding energy needs as utilities, businesses and consumers alike are all searching for solutions that are affordable and effective.

Distributed energy storage is an increasingly integral part of how smart utilities plan, operate and maintain their distribution grids, which, combined with the technology's decreasing cost, has it poised for "explosive growth." Through our numerous conversations with utilities around the world, we are increasingly hearing and seeing how utilities are upping their investment in distributed resources to meet consumer demand. 

As pointed out in the most recent United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) special report on the impacts of global warming, distributed energy storage is gaining traction precisely because it holds the potential “to significantly alter the grid as we know it.” As the report’s conclusion makes unequivocally clear, there has never been greater urgency to mitigate the impact of ever-increasing energy consumption. 

For us at Hygge Power, that urgency has translated into accelerating our efforts to help transform every power outlet into its own distributed energy storage system through our OPO line of products, ultimately making hygge accessible to everyone. In the first half of 2019, we will move from an alpha to beta utility pilot phase to validate functionality and leverage utility research and expertise to augment the solution, improving the system to play friendly in a smart ecosystem, ultimately increasing renewable penetration and flexibility with OPO.

And based on initial feedback, we are installing customer-centric modifications that ensure we can deliver on the promise to introduce an affordable, advanced energy system that responds to energy pricing fluctuations, renewable prioritization, service interruptions and smart home devices to optimize energy consumption and keep essential electronics running during blackouts and storms. 

Distributed energy storage is just around the corner. Are you ready for it?