Power August 2023 - 19

DISTRIBUTED ENERGY AWARD
1. Homes in the Medley at Southshore Bay
development in Florida each have a BlockEnergy
BlockBox outside. An upgraded version
of the equipment, available next year, will feature
an electric vehicle-charging component.
Courtesy: BlockEnergy
Weathering the Storm
A consistent supply of energy kept the
lights on throughout Medley at Southshore
Bay during Hurricane Ian in September
2022. The microgrid system utilized
in-neighborhood generation of electricity,
storing energy in a network of batteries
throughout the community. TECO maintained
the rooftop-mounted solar panels,
battery storage, and bidirectional tie to
the main power grid during the storm.
None of the microgrid equipment was
damaged by the hurricane. The system
provided 100% uptime to customers,
even when the grid-tie went down for
three days.
" The BlockEnergy power system operates
the entire community networked
with central controls, supplemented
generation, and extra battery power-
making the system scalable and stormresilient,
but not as a backup power
system only, " said Bennett. " With no single
point of failure, power is generated
and distributed locally with multiple levels
of security, including protection from
cyber and storms. In the event of a gridtie
outage, there is no action required
of the system as its 'always-on' and not
dependent on the grid for ongoing power
reliability and resiliency. The grid-tie is for
grid services, not for grid-dependency. "
Bennett noted the importance of delivering
grid services without being dependent
on the local grid. " Yes, BlockEnergy
functions autonomously. At its essence,
the BlockEnergy system is comprised of
microgrids and nanogrids, which enable
off-grid energy service and the ability to
share excess energy produced back to
the grid-making the system much more
valuable and reliable than traditional solar-plus-storage, "
said Bennett.
Because the system at Medley at
Southshore Bay operates under a utilityowned
business model, homeowners
still pay for electricity at the same meAugust
2023 | POWER
tered rate as they normally would, with
no extra grid charges or other fees. In the
BlockEnergy network, though, as much
as 70% of their electricity comes from
solar power. Since rooftop solar is included
with each home, there is no need for
a homeowner to install their own rooftop
system or go through the permitting or
install process. Homeowners also are
not responsible for the upkeep and maintenance
of the system.
" The BlockEnergy neighborhood at
Medley is integrated seamlessly with
the broader utility grid, offering easier
management and control of distributed
energy, " said Bennett. " [As] a hybrid AC/
DC system, the BlockEnergy system
readies itself as a futureproof design to
allow native-DC loads at the home directly
without conversion, making the
system much more efficient.
" Usually, clean energy or even backup
power comes with a price tag for homeowners
to retrofit or plan their resiliency
systems, " said Bennett. " But BlockEnergy
makes clean energy accessible and affordable.
With the utility-owned business
model, homeowners still pay for electricity
through their utilities, as always. "
Adding EV Charging
Bennett
said a Version
3.0 BlockBox
system will be available to homeowners
in 2024. The new BlockBox will be
equipped with an integrated DC electric
vehicle (EV) charger.
" Some homeowners
believe
their
home has a higher resale value due to
the resilient energy system they adopted
with BlockEnergy, " said Bennett,
noting the growth of such community
microgrids across the U.S., including
government or utility-sponsored programs
in states including New Jersey,
California, and Maryland.
" BlockEnergy provides a system to
utilities and doesn't bill homeowners-
this is the responsibility of the utility, "
said Bennett. " In the case of Medley, by
partnering with utilities for the front-ofthe-meter
model, the superior energy
system had no direct investment cost
required by the homeowner because
BlockEnergy has helped TECO make the
case that the system is an effective substitution
to serving new residential energy
loads on the distribution grid. "
BlockEnergy, like other companies participating
in the buildout of community
microgrids, has said such projects offer a
solution to the challenge of modernizing
the power grid. It's a way to help support
local utilities as they strive to build more
www.powermag.com
POWER POINTS
Winning Attributes
✔ Security. Power is generated and
distributed locally with multiple
levels of security, including
protection from cyber and storms.
In the event of an outage, each
community reverts to using its own
BlockHome powered solar-andstorage
system.
✔ Resiliency. No single point of
failure; each BlockHome has its
own solar generation, storage,
and controls. The project pushed
the boundaries for what's been
done with a commercially operated
engine power plant running on
renewable fuels.
✔ Renewable. All homes are supplied
by energy stored in batteries, with
most of the generation coming from
rooftop solar.
✔ Operational Visualization.
BlockEnergy's user interface gives
second-by-second visual information
so that operators can override the
system automation and control the
amount of energy directed to each
load.
✔ Data Controlled. The BlockEnergy
system has watt-by-watt data,
which allows real-time observation
and control. It is autonomous and
self-healing; any problems are
revealed and corrected instantly
allowing for quick response and
continual optimization.
infrastructure for power generation, transmission,
and distribution. It also supports
the power generation sector's efforts to
decarbonize, replacing fossil fuel-powered
electricity production with renewable
energy and battery storage.
" In the example of the homeowners
at Medley at Southshore Bay, homeowners
did not have to pay a higher price for
their BlockEnergy-powered home as this
was the agreement and decision of TECO
[the system owner], " said Bennett. " The
homeowners
also
received
countless
benefits, one of the biggest being the
peace of mind in knowing their energy security
and consistency is much higher. " ■
-Darrell Proctor is a senior
associate editor for POWER.
19
http://www.powermag.com
Power August 2023

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