While we all appreciate having access to electricity, most of us probably don’t give too much thought as to how it gets to our homes and businesses. We just want it to go on when we need it, for it not to be too expensive, and to be as clean as possible.
We can largely thank our grid infrastructure for helping to have achieved this over the years. But the grid has its limitations:

• You are at the mercy of the fees charged by your local utility provider;
• Because everything is centralized, there are risks of major outages and even security threats;
• You don’t have control over the source of your power (for example coal vs renewable energy);
• And, more recently, the influx in electrification (notably of our cars) will put significant strain on the grid.

In seeing these issues in his own community of San Diego (home to the USA’s most expensive electricity), Rod Matthews decided to do something about it. In early 2020, this navy veteran and a partner of his founded a company called Brevian Energy. Offering affordable commercial microgrids, Brevian Energy partners with renewable energy providers (solar, wind, hydrogen) as well as storage solutions (typically batteries) to offer affordable, reliable, renewable power to homes, businesses, and communities

In this episode, Rod shares with us the difference between the classic grid, microgrids and mini grids, how microgrids can play a critical role in reducing energy costs, increasing resiliency and minimizing emissions. Rod also shares his path to founding Brevian Energy, key government incentives to propel this transition, and shares incredible resources supporting veterans and BIPOC and women owned companies, especially in the renewables space.

I loved chatting with Rod, and learning about how he identified a gap in the market, and has leveraged his entrepreneurial spirit and expertise to launch such an innovative company.

(0:00) Intro
(3:13) Rod in his own words
(5:16) What is the traditional grid, and what makes a microgrid different?
(9:15) Brevian Energy: a microgrid solutions provider
(13:19) Partnering with renewable energy and storage providers
(14:34) Microgrids for commercial buildings, neighborhoods
(15:38) Leveraging state and federal level incentives
(17:27) Remote communities: micro vs mini grids
(18:58) The need for

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