In the early 20th century, the centralization of electricity production made huge progress, enabling significant economies of scale and improved power plant efficiency. Today, decentralization could help tackle the energy challenges of the 21st century by creating an optimized way to access reliable, green and resilient energy.
Major technical and economic changes continue to occur. There is substantial progress regarding decentralized energy resources such as solar energy and battery storage. The Internet of Things (IoT) is also driving new cooperation, and benefits encompass energy reliability, energy accessibility, independence through renewable generation, and energy cost optimization.
Microgrids are the emerging energy ecosystem that provides practical answers through a local, interconnected energy system within clearly defined electrical boundaries, which incorporate loads, decentralized energy resources, batter storage, and control capabilities. Microgrids’ future is difficult to predict at this stage, but it seems possible that we are moving into an era where microgrids will be the norm, and not the exception.
Download the white paper from Schneider Electric that explores how microgrids are contributing to the energy transition and a shift to a focus on more renewable resources.