Inclement weather and unreliable grid infrastructure can interrupt essential emergency services and hinder the day-to-day operations of local and state governments. That’s why public sector information management company Tyler Technologies is installing 300 kilowatts of solar combined with 600 kilowatt-hours of energy storage at its North Texas campus. During events, such as a grid failure, the company will have the ability to maintain solar power generation, while utilizing its battery storage system to maintain operations.

Nonprofit, The Sol Collective, has finished construction of a 4 megawatt solar installation at the Siempre Para Los Ninos orphanage in Tijuana, Mexico. Solar energy generated by the project is expected to provide the facility with 70 percent of its annual electricity needs. The installation is the first project for the San Diego based charity in their effort to unite solar professionals to deliver fully funded renewable energy projects to under developed regions around the world. 

The US Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) is teaming up with Xcel Energy to develop scalable, net-zero grid infrastructure that incorporates more efficient renewable energy distribution in planned developments before construction. The project will use energy consumption and efficiency data collected at Peña Station NEXT, a net-zero planned development near Denver, CO, to model scalable grid and efficiency systems solutions for larger projects in the future.

A group of Democrats have introduced a bill in the House of Representative that presents a plan to transition the US away from fossil-fuel generated electricity to a 100 percent renewable energy supply by 2050. Initially unveiled in the Senate as S.987, the 100 by ’50 Act will make clean energy more affordable and accessible, keep the US competitive in global energy markets and provide funding to update grid infrastructure to facilitate future wind and solar development.

Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo (D) has green lighted a $440 million, 78-mile modernization of New York’s north-south power transmission pipeline, connecting the state’s upstate renewable energy sources with high-energy demand metropolises downstate. The Moses-Adirondack Smart Path Reliability project is expected to create 2,000 full-time jobs, invigorate local and regional economies and enable even more solar and wind project development across the state.

The University of Virginia at Arlington (UVA) is adding more solar to the Commonwealth, thanks to the development of the 15 megawatt Puller Solar Facility in Middlesex County, VA. The solar farm is expected to provide the UVA campus with 9 percent of its energy demands. Combined with its Hollyfield Solar Facility, the University will have a total of 32 megawatts of solar capacity, meeting 21 percent of the campus’ annual electricity needs. 

Retired garbage dumps in Massachusetts have recently gotten solar power makeovers. Construction of four solar farms totaling 15.6-megawatts are complete and operational on the unused properties that were once landfills. Solar development on sites owned by Waste Management will invigorate local economies, lower the cost of energy and provide enough solar energy to power approximately 3,000 Commonwealth homes every year. 

Energy customer in the Sooner State can start celebrating more access to solar power, thanks to the development of a 10-megawatt solar plant in Covington, OK. Once operational in early 2018, the largest solar project in the state is expected to generate enough electricity to power over 1,000 homes.  

Kentucky is about to get 6.8 megawatts of solar power with the installation of three small solar farms. The projects, scheduled come online in late 2017, will diversify Duke Energy’s generation portfolio in the state and increase grid resiliency in the state's  northern region.

Tech industry giants, Microsoft, Accenture and Envision Energy, are forming an alliance to accelerate renewable energy growth by digitizing power generation and distribution. As the Energy IoT and Smart City Technology Alliance, the companies will combine data platforms and smart energy management technology to help increase grid reliability and efficiently.