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V O L . X X V I N O. X I I I J U N E 1 5 , 2 0 2 0 22 E N E R G Y / E N V I RO N M E N T F O C U S for diesel. ese are communities that can't connect to the regional grid and have no natural gas pipeline, so they take care of themselves." He's equally excited about future opportu- nities for microgrids in Maine, noting that maturing technology is moving the industry from pure research and development to selling products. "Based on our experience elsewhere, and by going into the market with smaller systems, what we are seeing is the opportunity for our systems that will eventually become part of public infra- structure," he says. "If a new bridge is being built, it will be hydrokinetic power." Long road ahead Among the hurdles to widespread microgrid development: regulation and costs. "Right now you need to be able to completely separate from the grid. at's a pretty rigid structure — it's all or noth- ing," says Sue Ely, climate and clean energy policy advocate and staff attorney at the Natural Resources Council of Maine. "It seems like if you want to expand it beyond island communities and military bases, you're going to need a little bit of regulatory flexibility." Cost is another challenge even for institutions like Bates College, which became carbon-neutral last year. It's looking at ways to get more solar pro- duction on campus as it maps out its sustainability goals for 2030. "We're thinking about what would be the pros and cons of microgrids," says the school's sustainability manager, Tom Twist. At the moment he sees the costs far outweighing the benefits, estimating that it would cost millions to store more energy on campus. "We're hoping that comes down in price in the near future, but right now I think my business office would laugh me out of the room." On the national stage, King, a former energy entrepreneur who founded a startup that developed and operated electrical energy projects he sold after five years, is a vocal cham- pion of microgrids. "I think microgrids are important, not only for Maine but for the country, as a national security issue," says King, who serves on the Senate's Energy and Natural Resources and Armed Services committees. "One of the threats to our country in terms of cyber intrusion is to the grid," he tells Mainebiz by phone from coastal Georgetown. "If you've got a large centralized, totally interdependent grid, then a strike is more devastating than if you have separate microgrids that can withstand that kind of attack, so I view that as important from a national security concern — and then more basically in Maine, more secure for grid resilience in a storm." Noting that both are equally impor- tant, he adds: "If you have smaller centers and nodes that are self-healing and not necessarily reliant on the overall large grid, then you're more self-suf- ficient and more resistant to a loss of service, whether it's because of a cyber attack or a tree falling down." But King doesn't see grids having much of a future without the ability to store excess energy for use during non- peak production hours, and has been a key proponent on Capitol Hill of storage as the real key to a green energy future. To make that happen, he is co- sponsor of the Joint Long Term Storage Act (S.2048), introduced last year and reported out of the Senate's Energy and Natural Resources Committee. It seeks to improve long-duration energy storage technology through a strategic collabo- ration between the U.S. Department of Defense and the Department of Energy. "It's a bipartisan bill, it has a lot of good things in it, and one of them is more emphasis on storage, particularly research," King says. "e key is bringing the cost down. at is happening, but we want to continue to accelerate the down- ward trend of cost per kilowatt hour." Renee Cordes, Mainebiz senior writer, can be reached at rcordes @ mainebiz.biz EXTREME AFFORDABILITY $1,400/session flat tuition rate UNPARALLELED SUPPORT personal academic success coach EXCEPTIONAL FLEXIBILITY Courses are 100% online. Always accessible. You choose the pace. THE WAY IT SHOULD BE Sessions start July 6 & August 31, 2020 This is college for adults: GET STARTED TODAY! at the UNIVERSITY of MAINE at PRESQUE ISLE umpi.edu/yp | 844.811.7391 | umpi-yourpace@maine.edu MaineBiz_UMPI_YourPace-qrtr.pdf 1 5/6/2020 9:20:37 AM PR ES ENTI NG S PONS OR S Do you know a top woman executive who has demonstrated leadership, made a professional impact on her company or industry, has been a mentor to others, and has made a strong community impact? Nominate an outstanding and influential woman in business! Nominate her by June 30! S U BMIT YOU R NOMINATION AT MAINEBIZ .BIZ/NOMINATIONS FOLLOW US @MBEVENTS #MBWTW20 » C O N T I N U E D F RO M P R E V I O U S PA G E I think microgrids are important, not only for Maine but for the country, as a national security issue. — U.S. Sen. Angus King P H O T O / C R E D I T

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