ABOUT MICROGRIDS
A microgrid is a small energy system capable of balancing captive supply and demand resources to maintain stable service within a defined boundary.
Microgrids are
defined by their function,
not their size.
Microgrids combine various distributed energy resources (DER) to form a whole system that's greater than its parts.
Most microgrids can be further described by one of five categories:
Microgrids combine local energy assets, resources, and technologies into a system that's designed to satisfy the host's requirements -- which can include factors as basic as electrification, and as complex as integrating variable DERs in a balanced net-zero system.
Local leaders consider
community microgrids
as part of local planning.
Local energy projects usually are initiated and led by local leaders -- i.e., business groups, municipal or county governments, as well as utilities and cooperatives. Legal and financial structures differ among microgrids serving different purposes,
and so do economic factors. What all microgrids share in common, however, is the need to optimize both energy usage and generation to achieve customer goals for resilience, reliability, and sustainability.
The best microgrids will do all of that in the most economical way possible.
MICROGRID TRENDSThe number of installed microgrids is small, but it's growing in many regions around the world. The International Energy Agency (IEA) estimates that to achieve its goal of universal access to electricity, "70% of the rural areas that currently lack access will need to be connected using mini-grid or off-grid solutions."
Microgrid projects are driven by factors that can be very different from one deployment to another. Some key drivers include:
Technologies available to make microgrids work:
Fully grid-tied systems that can't operate in island mode aren't microgrids, but instead are defined as grid-tied distributed generation (DG). Also, backup systems that serve very specific, limited loads and don't otherwise actively balance supply and demand, might be considered microgrids, but arguably they are more properly in the categories of uninterruptible power supply and simple backup systems.
A microgrid is a small energy system capable of balancing captive supply and demand resources to maintain stable service within a defined boundary.
Microgrids are
defined by their function,
not their size.
Microgrids combine various distributed energy resources (DER) to form a whole system that's greater than its parts.
Most microgrids can be further described by one of five categories:
- Off-grid microgrids including islands, remote sites, and other microgrid systems not connected to a local utility network.
- Campus microgrids that are fully interconnected with a local utility grid, but can also maintain some level of service in isolation from the grid, such as during a utility outage. Typical examples serve university and corporate campuses, prisons, and military bases.
- Community microgrids that are integrated into utility networks. Such microgrids serve multiple customers or services within a community, generally to provide resilient power for vital community assets.
- District Energy microgrids that provide electricity as well as thermal energy for heating (and cooling) of multiple facilities.
- Nanogrids comprised of the smallest discrete network units with the capability to operate independently. A nanogrid can be defined as a single building or a single energy domain.
Microgrids combine local energy assets, resources, and technologies into a system that's designed to satisfy the host's requirements -- which can include factors as basic as electrification, and as complex as integrating variable DERs in a balanced net-zero system.
Local leaders consider
community microgrids
as part of local planning.
Local energy projects usually are initiated and led by local leaders -- i.e., business groups, municipal or county governments, as well as utilities and cooperatives. Legal and financial structures differ among microgrids serving different purposes,
and so do economic factors. What all microgrids share in common, however, is the need to optimize both energy usage and generation to achieve customer goals for resilience, reliability, and sustainability.
The best microgrids will do all of that in the most economical way possible.
MICROGRID TRENDSThe number of installed microgrids is small, but it's growing in many regions around the world. The International Energy Agency (IEA) estimates that to achieve its goal of universal access to electricity, "70% of the rural areas that currently lack access will need to be connected using mini-grid or off-grid solutions."
Microgrid projects are driven by factors that can be very different from one deployment to another. Some key drivers include:
- Need for electrification in remote locations and developing countries
- Customer need for more reliable, resilient, and sustainable service
- Grid security and survivability concerns
- Utility needs for grid optimization, investment deferral, congestion relief, and ancillary services
- Demand for lower-cost energy supplies than are locally available (especially at remote sites, such as islands, military or mineral/resource installations, and isolated communities relying on expensive, high-polluting fuels)
- Environmental, efficiency, and renewable energy benefits
- Government policy, regulation,
- Utility tariffs, contracting,
- Financing, risk management
- Interconnection, interoperability
- Resource planning,
- System operations
- Technology and
- Fuel supply trends
Technologies available to make microgrids work:
- Gas or diesel cogeneration / CHP
- Fuel cells and microturbines
- Photovoltaic (PV) modules
- Wind, biomass, small hydro
- Storage capacity
- Energy management
- automation systems
Fully grid-tied systems that can't operate in island mode aren't microgrids, but instead are defined as grid-tied distributed generation (DG). Also, backup systems that serve very specific, limited loads and don't otherwise actively balance supply and demand, might be considered microgrids, but arguably they are more properly in the categories of uninterruptible power supply and simple backup systems.