Advanced Grid

Back in the 1990’s all of the solar power installed in Minnesota was known as “off-grid solar,” a thing only interesting to people who owned remote cabins. By necessity, these power systems were self-contained, having energy storage that was optimized for the most run-time that the customer could afford.

According to the Clean Jobs Midwest 2020 Report, Advanced Grid and Energy Storage jobs grew 5 percent in 2019. Overall, 2,899 Minnesotans were employed in this sector last year, making up 4.7 percent of the clean energy jobs in the state. Many Minnesotans are unaware of what exactly Advanced Grid is and what people who work in this field do. We talked to two of our member-businesses, Nokomis Energy and Werner Electric to learn more about what Advanced Grid and Energy Storage entail and what employees working in this sector do.

Energy storage is becoming an increasingly popular topic in the energy sector, but what exactly does it mean? And, more importantly, what does it mean for the future of the electric grid?

You might recognize OATI’s beautiful, glass building that sits just off of 494 and France Avenue in Bloomington. What you might not know, is that when the Department of Energy started its smart grid program more than 15 years ago, OATI led the market in the promise of a smarter, more sustainable electric grid for […]