Community Microgrids

Community microgrids empower local leaders to serve community energy needs in a more economical, reliable, and environmentally friendly manner than the existing centralized electricity grid. A community microgrid can bring together whole-building energy efficiency improvements, clean distributed generation, renewable energy, and smart energy management technologies at the local level to lower energy costs, boost resilience and reliability, reduce pollution, and attract new investment. Community leaders can seize the opportunities community microgrids offer by conducting energy planning that sets goals, identifying potential sites that match those goals, and carrying out the necessary analyses that lead to financing and construction. State energy policy makers can create a friendlier environment for community microgrids by providing regulatory guidance, establishing financial incentives, and adopting clear rules on the role of a community microgrid in our electricity system. This report helps to point the way.