Microgrids Have Arrived

First, a definition of microgrids from Wikipedia:

A microgrid is a localized grouping of electricity generation, energy storage, and loads that normally operates connected to a traditional centralized grid. This single point of common coupling with the macrogrid can be disconnected. The microgrid can then function autonomously. Generation and loads in a microgrid are usually interconnected at low voltage. From the point of view of the grid operator, a connected microgrid can be controlled as if it were one entity.

Microgrids are often considered the grid of the future for a number of reasons.  The first is that cost of microgrids are decreasing.  Currently, a university campus or an industrial facility may want to reduce energy costs by using demand side resources such as microturbines, fuel cells, solar panels, batteries or demand response.  In particular, as solar panels decrease in cost, they provide many customers with a source of local power that is less than the cost of grid power, as I have described before.  Solar panels, however, do not match the load profile of a customer, so  microturbines and/or batteries are needed in addition to the panels to create a self-sufficient microgrid.

Power lines damaged by Hurricane Sandy in 2012
Source: Wikimedia Commons

While microgrids still are typically more expensive than traditional grid service, they offer the additional benefit of added reliability compared to grid power.  The big news in this area is that this past September, a microgrid in Borrego Springs, California enabled a community to quickly restore power after a thunderstorm-induced transmission outage in the area.  The quote from UT San Diego:

1,060 customers had their power restored automatically within hours by the Microgrid, using the on-site power. This included the essential downtown business area that contains several gas stations, stores and the local library, which is the designated “cool zone” for the community. The Microgrid continued to use on-site generation to power these customers while repairs were made to the damaged poles, allowing them to keep air conditioners and other vital appliances running during the intense heat. This is one of the first times in the nation that a Microgrid has been used to power a large portion of a community during an emergency situation.

My hat goes off to all the people behind the Borrego Springs microgrid.  Microgrids are starting to live up to their potential, and hopefully we look back on September, 2013 as a major landmark in their development.