Microgrid Knowledge Names Congressman Jimmy Panetta as ‘Microgrid Person of the Year 2021’

Microgrid Knowledge began choosing a person of the year in 2019, but we have yet to name an individual, instead making the award conceptual rather than personal, a convention?Time?magazine sometimes uses. Last year, for example, we chose the?home microgrid?and before that we selected the state of?California.

This year is different because one individual stands out whose actions could significantly drive microgrid adoption. That person is Californian Congressman Jimmy Panetta (D-Carmel Valley).

Panetta is the author of legislation with the acronym MICROGRID, which means Making Imperiled Communities Resistant to Outages with Generation that is Resilient, Islandable and Distributed.

While other lawmakers have introduced bills significant to microgrids, Panetta’s work stands out because the most important element of the MICROGRID Act — a 30% investment tax credit for microgrid controllers — was incorporated into the?Build Back Better Act,?which is a key piece of President Joe Biden’s agenda. Build Back Better has passed the House and at this writing is just one vote short of approval by the Senate.

Why is the microgrid tax credit so important? Continue reading on Microgrid Knowledge.