According to a recent report from Guidehouse Insights global installations of microgrid capacity will grow by a compounded annual growth rate of 18% to reach over $55 billion in implementation spending by 2032.The expanding market for microgrids has created keen competition. It has also led to a series of acquisitions of smaller innovators by larger companies, many of them providers of fossil fuel generators that can be components for a microgrid. There is an advantage to this strategy if selling hardware such as generators is the primary goal. But what about the customer looking for choice and the best fit solution based on an independent analysis?
The most recent acquisition of this sort was Generac’s acquisition of Ageto, a company based in Fort Collins, Colorado. In a blog published by former Guidehouse Insights research director and global microgrid expert Peter Asmus, he made the case for Fort Collins to be considered the microgrid controller capital for the U.S. I would agree with this assessment, especially if you are focused on smaller vendors not affiliated with the giant global companies involved in the microgrid space; companies such as GE, Schneider Electric or Siemens.
Among other acquisitions of smaller microgrid controls firms by fossil fuel generator companies in the recent past are the following:
- The trend started back in 2017, when Wartsila acquired Greensmith, which provided energy management systems for batteries serving as centerpiece of microgrid solutions.
- That same year, Aggreko acquired Younicos, also a company with controls solutions focused primarily on batteries based in Berlin, Germany
- GE acquired Opus One Solutions, a provider of distributed energy resource management systems (DERMS) in early 2022.
- Kohler acquired Heila Technologies in 2022.
The list goes on. The point being that customers looking for independent companies which are free to recommend generators and other assets for microgrids are rapidly dwindling in numbers. Of course, these transactions don’t always end well. For instance, Generac also acquired Enbala Power Networks, a software provider for virtual power plants, in 2020 and that company has essentially disappeared and is no longer a force in the DER management space despite some previous impressive project wins. Generac also acquired Blue Pillar in 2022, an Internet of Things (IoT) software company with deep ties to Encorp.
Encorp Maintains its Independence with “Microgrid for the Masses” Program
As one of the oldest and most established players in the microgrid industry, Encorp is the Fort Collins-based company trusted by the many of the biggest movers and shakers on the customer side of the microgrid equation, including Tesla, E.ON, J.P. Morgan Chase, Verizon, the U.S. Navy and more. Our team of experts has over 200 years of combined experience with microgrid technology and microgrid deployments and is considered one of the best problem-solving DER integration teams in the world.
The one-of-a-kind Encorp Egility solution suite combines the modular functionality of several traditional control modules, protective relays and communication devices into a single, solid-state assembly to reduce troublesome network interfaces that have plagued the microgrid industry in the past due to proprietary and incompatible control schemes. The standardized, modular Egility approach to execution dramatically reduces engineering and assembly time for paralleling switchgear applications, shortening microgrid deployment lead times to significantly less than what has been the industry standard.
Encorp likes to call its approach a “Microgrids for the Masses.” What does this phrase mean? In short, it means that customers no longer must be held captive to the tyranny of large multinationals offering a prescribed strategic bundling of expensive assets, often further compromised by ongoing software and maintenance fees. And it’s not only multinationals we are battling. It is also the above-referenced firms which now have a vested interest in you buying a specific generator for your microgrid project.
Instead, Encorp offers a curated approach customized for each site, offering a comprehensive and collaborative approach with each customer which includes intensive training during installation as well as post commissioning.
Part of the “Microgrid for the Masses” effort also includes educational touch screen dashboards featuring visuals of real-time operations as well as historical performance data on cost, reduced emissions and other factors. We at Encorp want to offer customers curated microgrid solutions to free potential clients from the tyranny of large multinationals that often limit choice with costly prescribed vendor packages and procedures.
Expanding our Services to Meet Customer Demands
Encorp core competency revolves around microgrid controls, The company’s most valuable IP pertains to sequencing of operations during both grid connected and island modes of operation. Encorp also possesses extensive remote monitoring and diagnostic capability due to the company’s prior work with critical data centers, healthcare and hyper-secure military facilities.
Encorp is now expanding its service offerings to include engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) services. We have served as an EPC for a $1.5 million microgrid for Red Feather Lakes in Colorado, which is served by the Poudre Valley Rural Electric Cooperative. We were also the EPC for the $5 million microgrid for Kings River Packaging’s Cobblestone facility in central California. Encorp will now also serve as the EPC for a fleet of six microgrids for Alameda County valued at $45.3 million.
Encorp is one of the only microgrid vendors left in the industry focused on delivering microgrids to diverse clients of all shapes and sizes. Whether you are a large utility providing electricity and natural gas to millions of customers in Europe or a smaller scale enterprise running an eco-conscious resort on an isolated island in the Asia Pacific, we have a solution for you.
We listen to our customers carefully and develop microgrid solutions that can address your unique energy needs. We back up those solutions with 25-year legacy of design and implementation of customized energy solutions. We have helped more than 400 companies maximize the use cases for DER optimization for microgrids and other on-site energy solutions. We believe energy independence is best provided by an independent company free to choose the best solution for you.
