Innovative “virtual power plant” technology supports decentralized electric grid of the future

The American-Made Solar Prize, a multimillion-dollar competition funded by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and administered by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), has selected Mana Monitoring as a finalist in the Solar Prize Round 5 Hardware Track. Mana Monitoring, a high-quality provider of advanced energy monitoring and asset management solutions, was awarded funds to further the development of its solar site controller technology, MeDER.

By advancing to the final phase of the competition, Mana Monitoring can work directly with members of the American-Made Network, a collection of more than 250 organizations that support competitors, to further develop its innovations in a way that addresses real-world challenges of the solar market. The collaboration with NREL includes the opportunity to validate MeDER's utility interoperability as well as natively integrate the critical security standards needed to support a stable, secure decentralized electric grid of the future. Mana Monitoring will also seek to deploy MeDER across utility territories that have or are preparing to roll out ancillary services like virtual power plants (VPP).

"We're honored to be among the Solar Prize finalists, recognized for our meaningful advancements in a clean energy future," said Zoltan Milaskey, president of Mana Monitoring. "With our state-of-the-art, AI-enabled technology, we can now synchronize infinite assets like solar, electric vehicles and battery storage with the utility grid to create virtual power plants that improve grid stability and increase a facility's revenue streams."

The Mana Enabled Distributed Energy Resources (MeDER) site controller is designed to address a gap within the rapidly evolving electric vehicle (EV) market between EV charging, on-site solar and a facility's energy load. Mana Monitoring's MeDER device intelligently controls EV charging to eliminate peak demand contribution, reduce stress on a facility's existing electric infrastructure and promote a solar-first approach. When aggregated, MeDER can also mediate peak load stress on the utility grid infrastructure.

Mana Monitoring was selected as one of 10 Hardware Track finalists after making significant advancements since the start of the competition, including validating RS-485 communications with three industry leading meter manufacturers - eGauge, Veris and Elkor's Wattson. The final competition event will take place in September 2022, when Mana Monitoring will showcase the evolution of their work and be evaluated on a range of criteria, including the success of its product's development and ability to garner a committed pilot partner.

Managing more than 500 MW of energy nationally, Mana Monitoring provides energy asset management solutions for commercial and industrial (C&I), government and utility sectors throughout U.S. and Latin American territories. Specializing in energy SaaS solutions that aggregate solar PV and renewable energy portfolios, Mana Monitoring equips C&I asset owners with comprehensive monitoring, reporting, off-taker billing and more for multiple energy systems in one centralized dashboard.

About Mana Monitoring

Mana Monitoring helps energy professionals in the commercial, government and utility sectors attain their renewable-energy objectives. The Mana Monitoring Platform is a single-source aggregator and asset management solution that is flexible, scalable and compatible with a wide range of solar PV and grid edge distributed energy resources. For commercial property owners/managers, Mana's Energy Platform provides a real-time energy data and reporting solution designed for managers. For solar companies, PPA owners/asset managers and energy utilities, Mana Monitoring provides comprehensive monitoring and reporting services to ensure their renewable-energy assets are operating at peak performance. Headquartered in Maui, Hawaii, Mana Monitoring is privately held. For more information, visit manamonitoring.com.

About the American-Made Solar Prize

The American-Made Solar Prize is a multimillion-dollar prize competition designed to energize U.S. solar innovation through a series of contests that accelerate the entrepreneurial process from years to months. Competitors leverage the American-Made Network, an innovation engine of more than 250 organizations, including world-class experts at the Energy Department's 17 national labs, clean tech accelerators, incubators, universities, facilities, and more. The Solar Prize is directed and administered by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory and is funded by the U.S. Department of Energy Solar Energy Technologies Office. Learn more.