Microgrids provide prime power to businesses awaiting grid connection in the short term, and deliver flexible onsite capacity during outages or times of peak demand in the long term to support the grid
HOUSTON, May 16, 2024 – Enchanted Rock, a leading provider of electrical resiliency microgrids, today announced its latest microgrid offering to businesses awaiting firm grid connection: Bridge-to-Grid. These microgrids are the answer to addressing skyrocketing power demand spurred by data center growth with artificial intelligence (AI), electrification of buildings and transportation and new or expanding manufacturing operations.
Enchanted Rock’s new Bridge-to-Grid managed service provides short to mid-term onsite generation prior to grid interconnection, enabling data centers and other power-intensive industries to build, commission and fully operate their facility on their own schedule. Once the grid interconnection is completed, the onsite microgrid technology can be removed with no long-term site impacts or remain onsite to provide local power resiliency and support the grid with flexible power capacity.
“These new, flexible approaches to grid integration and power generation are absolutely essential,” emphasized Thomas McAndrew, founder and CEO of Enchanted Rock. “In today’s interconnected world, adequate and reliable power supply is paramount. By reimagining the challenge through this lens, the path forward becomes evident: our microgrids provide the needed flexibility for data centers to reach commercial operations sooner while at the same time mitigating strain on the grid.”
As businesses with large loads grapple with unprecedented delays in securing grid power, crucial energy capacity is constrained by factors like clogged interconnection queues, supply chain for high voltage equipment, and the retirement of baseload generating plants. Utilities are eager to serve new loads and customers since they bring additional energy sales, jobs, and tax base to their service area, but forecasts show power demand outstripping supply across the country. With Enchanted Rock’s Bridge-to-Grid, utilities don’t have to refuse service or turn away customers.
These onsite Bridge-to-Grid microgrids, with their ability to transition from primary power sources to flexible capacity or backup power solutions, play a pivotal role in alleviating the necessity for new supply or transmission infrastructure that utilities would otherwise have to construct to meet long-term demand.
“While data on new customer interconnection is not publicly available, in our experience, customers with large loads are being told to wait three or more years for interconnection. Other customers are being refused interconnection altogether,” explains Allan Schurr, chief commercial officer for Enchanted Rock. “It is time to invest in innovative power generation technologies to ensure a reliable and resilient energy supply for data centers and other large electric uses, safeguarding against disruptions and fostering sustainable growth in the digital age.”
Enchanted Rock is recognized as a leading energy resilience provider, recently being awarded the top spot on the Guidehouse Insights Resilience Provider Leaderboard. The company currently operates 329 dual-purpose natural gas microgrids and has more than a gigawatt of capacity commissioned or under construction. With over 2.2 million run hours on their generators and a proven reliability of 99.9995%, their extensive experience positions them as the go-to solution for reliable onsite power pre-grid connection and on-demand backup power post-grid connection.
Enchanted Rock’s Bridge-to-Grid solution is the lowest cost, clean bridge power application available, with quiet operation, low local emissions and benign visual impact making for rapid permitting and deployment. The Enchanted Rock team customizes solutions using its proprietary natural gas microgrids and other technologies for an ideal generation mix based on customer load parameters and local requirements.
To learn more about Enchanted Rock’s Bridge-to-Grid, go to www.enchantedrock.com/b2g/.
About Enchanted Rock
Founded in 2006, Enchanted Rock is a national leader in electrical resiliency-as-a-service, powering companies, critical infrastructure and communities to ensure business continuity during unexpected power outages from extreme weather, infrastructure failures, cyberattacks and other grid disruptions. Enchanted Rock’s dual-purpose microgrids use natural gas and renewable natural gas (RNG) to produce significantly lower carbon emissions and air pollutants than diesel generators, capable of achieving resiliency with net-zero emissions. Additionally, the company’s end-to-end microgrid software platform, GraniteEcosystem™, provides real-time 24/7/365 system monitoring and optimization, including forecasting of electricity market conditions to provide grid support services and ensure cost effective and worry-free reliable power to customers. For more information, please visit www.enchantedrock.com or LinkedIn.
