Modular Microgrids: Are They the Future, Will They Liberate Microgrids?

Modular microgrids are on their way in. In fact, they boast so many benefits they could liberate microgrids.

And why exactly do microgrids need to be liberated?

It’s all spelled out in a Navigant Research whitepaper, “Liberating Microgrids (and All DER),” commissioned by Spirae, which markets a microgrid control platforms.

The problem, explained Peter Asmus, principal research analyst, Navigant Research, is that larger-scale microgrids tend to be so complex that they sometimes die in the planning process.

“They die because they are sold as complex projects and require money spent on complex engineering that doesn’t always make economic sense,” he said. They also require complex control schemes.

Modular microgrids, on the other hand, often involving a number of microgrids under 100 kW in size, are smaller, expandable and have simpler controls. They don’t have to be forced into an existing system in the form of a retrofit. And they’re easier for utilities to install. Such benefits are the key to liberating microgrids, according to the whitepaper.

“It’s easier to make modular microgrids plug and play,” Asmus said. “The smaller microgrids can run off of smart inverters, don’t need complex control schemes, and can provide more renewables and less reliance on fossil fuels.”

Modular microgrids will lead to the development of more greenfield projects, said Asmus.

“If people understand you don’t need to tie into existing diesel plants, and want to focus on just solar plus storage, those are the kinds of microgrids that will lead to more greenfield projects,” he said.

Starting with a clean slate, rather than trying to tie into existing plants, will make it easier and quicker to get microgrids–or nanogrids–up and running, he said. The latest “craze” right now in greenfield projects is solar plus storage, he said.

“In terms of greenfield projects, you see stories weekly about solar plus storage because the costs have come down so much,” he said.

The key players helping to advance modular microgrids are Tecogen, Blue Pillar and Spirae, according to Navigant. And Duke Energy’s Coalition of the Willing is helping move the market, with its goal of developing a common interoperability framework for microgrids.

Tecogen, for example, offers combined heat and power (CHP) units, and has embedded in each unit a chip with an inverter, which means that controls cost nothing, said Asmus. Some argue whether Tecogen’s unit is really a microgrid.

“The company is focused on 1 MW and below. In that category, it’s easier to make microgrids plug and play. The Tecogen unit is 100 kW. You can put three together, and then add solar and batteries,” he said.

These types of offerings will take up a growing share of the market, said Asmus. In fact, Tecogen ranked fourth in total installed microgrid projects globally last year in Navigant Research’s Microgrid Deployment Tracker. And in a separate report ranking microgrid developers that offer their own controls platform, Tecogen ranked fifth, according to a blog by Asmus.