Climate change, sustainability practices, and investment and asset management were a few of the central topics of the 2018 Sustainable Investment Forum, which met in New York City on Sept. 26. The event brought together banking experts, asset managers, and global institutions – including World Bank Group and United Nations.

In this explainer, we’ll take a close look at the infrastructure of microgrids – more specifically, community microgrids. We will show how they can play an essential role in local resiliency while delivering system-wide benefits.

While solar and wind resources are abundant in the western United States, the region faces technical, operational and management challenges in transitioning to cleaner energy portfolios. Integrating renewable energy into existing electric grids continues to be a difficult hurdle for many electricity markets. When utilities face intermittent renewable energy generation, energy imbalance markets (EIMs) have been developed to mitigate the gaps between production and demand.

At the Yale Center for Business and the Environment, we constantly scan the horizon for transformative solutions in clean energy markets and finance. And as far and as wide as we look, we are drawn back to study the remarkable work across our home state of Connecticut.

What insights about the cleantech startup ecosystem can accelerate the clean energy economy? Speakers on a panel at Horizon18 in Boston on Oct. 11, “Game Changers in the Clean Economy Marketplace: Innovative Solutions for the Future,” said that while some dynamic trends are taking place in the market, they recognize the obstacles that slow down new startups and technologies.

Although New Hampshire isn’t in the forefront of clean energy in New England, the solar power and energy efficiency industries are active there, according to Michael Behrmann, director of New Hampshire Clean Tech Council. In this interview, he said that some solar developers are working around bottlenecks at the state level by bypassing bureaucratic intervention. There is more state support for energy efficiency than for solar power.

Wyoming is dipping a toe into the solar market this year for the first time. In the energy efficiency arena, it has not yet explored its potential. However, analysts predict it will become a leading wind-power state in a few years. Scott Quillinan, director of operations and communications at the University of Wyoming School of Energy Resources, said in this interview that the state is experiencing differential growth in its clean energy markets.

There is a strong groundswell of support for solar power and energy efficiency in Oregon. This has boosted the state’s programs and amplified their accomplishments, according to Janine Benner, director of Oregon Department of Energy. In this interview, she said Oregon is using these technologies to offset the environmental impact of its growing IT industry.

Clean energy is competing with natural gas in Pennsylvania. As the state attempts to optimize its renewable energy incentives, the market is chugging forward with some difficulty, according to Rob Altenburg, director of PennFuture Energy Center. In this interview, he explains some of the roadblocks that exist.

Legislative reluctance to support clean energy has held back entrepreneurial opportunities for companies in Ohio, according to Greg Smith, president of Energy Optimizers USA. In this interview, he said energy efficiency has massive potential in the state but fossil fuels have a solid base of support.