Order No. 841 Incorporates Storage Facilities as Viable Power Source

Real estate executive Demetrios Panteleakis is president of MacMillan Group, LLC, a full-service real estate firm assisting clients with development, brokerage services, and project management. As part of his work at MacMillan Group, LLC, Demetrios Panteleakis developed an innovative underwriting process to mainstream the financing of utility scale solar installations. He maintains an interest in solar energy and its impact on the nation’s energy resources. 

At the beginning of the year, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) issued Order No. 841, an ordinance that required energy grid operators to reconfigure their markets to allow energy storage facilities to participate more fully. The move will enhance competition in the wholesale energy market and allow stored renewable energy to be used in an efficient, cost-effective manner. Energy grid operators were given until Dec. 3, 2018, to comply with Order No. 841.

Energy experts have lauded Order No. 841 as an important step in modernizing the nation’s energy wholesale energy markets. By incorporating batteries and other storage technologies capable of rapidly switching between charging and discharging energy, renewable energy will be more accessible and will contribute more effectively to the energy needs of markets across the country. These technologies, when incorporated successfully, will contribute to the large-scale use of renewable energy by expanding transmission and increasing operational flexibility.

Prior to Order No. 841, ISO New England, the independent regional transmission organization responsible for the distribution of power in Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont, already had been working toward incorporating storage facilities as a viable energy source. This fall, ISO New England filed revisions with FERC outlining its proposed changes, signaling the organization’s commitment to meeting FERC’s December deadline for compliance.

As Boston Area Real Estate Rises, Other Regions Offer Affordability

A Western Massachusetts business executive, Demetrios Panteleakis directs Macmillan Group, LLC, and seeks out value-driven real estate opportunities. Business focused, Demetrios Panteleakis remains apprised of regional trends spanning a full range of property types, including commercial, industrial, and residential.

A recent MassLive article drew attention to supply and demand dynamics that have led to an escalation of rent prices in desirable Boston neighborhoods such as Back Bay and Seaport. The most expensive zip code regionally is a part of Boylston Street adjacent to the Boston Public Library, which has a median gross monthly rent exceeding $3,000. With traditionally less expensive neighborhoods such as Roxbury and Somerville having gentrified as well, renters and purchasers are increasingly seeking out affordability in cities such as Providence, Rhode Island.

Affordable units are also still available in cities such as Worcester, Fall River, and Springfield, with an $839 median rent in the latter community. This stands well below the state median and is in a price range that promises to generate further real estate activity among those who find the Boston area to be cost prohibitive.

The Sustainability of Solar Energy

Demetrios Panteleakis has served as principal of Icarian Real Estate Advisors since 2009 and president of Macmillan Group since 2016. Beyond his work in real estate, Demetrios Panteleakis stays abreast of developments and news related to solar sustainability.

Solar energy is one of the more sustainable forms of energy available today, particularly when compared to fossil fuels. Solar power, of course, draws energy from the sun, the earth’s single most sustainable resource. Leading energy and sustainability experts agree that the sun represents the planet’s most vital source of energy, particularly in light of the United Nations’ definition of sustainability, which calls for energy that meets the needs of the present day without impairing the success of future generations.

Indeed, solar energy checks off every major box in regard to sustainability. It is highly renewable, with one Scientific American study finding that 40 minutes of daylight represents enough energy to meet the entire planet’s electrical needs for a full year. Furthermore, solar energy is most often collected through solar panels, which create no waste products or noise pollution.

As solar panels become more economically sustainable, households and businesses are encouraged to take advantage of the long-term savings and environmental benefits provided by solar energy.

Sample Peloponnesian Honey in Mani

An accomplished commercial real estate executive in Western Massachusetts, Demetrios Panteleakis brings more than 15 years of experience to his position as the president of Macmillan Group, LLC, in Springfield. A native of Greece, Demetrios Panteleakis hails from the Mani peninsula in the Peloponnese region.

One of the three peninsulas extending south from Greece’s Peloponnese region, Mani boasts a rich history and beautiful natural landscape that draws visitors from around the world each year. In addition to its natural and historic beauty, visitors to Mani enjoy the regional culinary specialties that make the area unique. Among these is Peloponnesian honey. 

The practices of beekeeping and honey making are nearly as old as Greece itself, with references appearing in ancient Greek myths and in classic Greek literature, such as Homer’s Odyssey. In the Peloponnese, this tradition is carried on by producers whose unique honey comes from bees that collect the nectar of eucalyptus trees, orange blossoms, olive blossoms, and other local wildflowers.

In Mani, beekeepers move their hives throughout the year from olive groves to wildflower pastures to pine forests depending on the season. As a result, local producers offer a wide range of products, from the piney taste of fir honey to the aromatic fragrance of wildflower honey.