Eric Dupont of PowerSecure discusses an approach called Microgrid 360 which follows a series of high standards designed to optimize each microgrid for its intended application. Microgrids are unique, with customer-specific customization occurring on many levels. They must be sized and connected appropriately to handle a certain amount of … [Read more...]
The last entry in a new Microgrid Knowledge special report, released in partnership with Typhoon HIL, highlights how microgrid developers can use Hardware-in-the-Loop testing throughout a microgrid's lifecycle, not just during the design and construction phase. Verification of protection coordination Hardware-in-the-loop testing is a … [Read more...]
This guest post is adapted from a new white paper on microgrid development by the DOE's Rima Kasia Oueid that outlines three development phases for public critical infrastructure microgrids. This entry explores Phase 2: planning. The planning phase involves significant preparation work for the project that begins with broader stakeholder … [Read more...]
This post — part of a new special report — highlights how microgrid developers are using testing tools like hardware in the loop (HIL) to create microgrid testbeds, as well as what these testbeds can be used for. HIL to create microgrid testbeds The electric power grid is the world’s largest man-made system. It is also a very complex machine … [Read more...]
What exactly does building a microgrid entail? It's important to understand your microgrid life cycle and ideal design. This is challenging — but key. That's according to a new report from S&C Electric that details industry best practices and common mistakes in building a microgrid. The financial, resilience, and sustainability impact … [Read more...]
Microgrids are often built as customized, one-off projects. Concern exists that the industry cannot scale under this model, and prices will remain out of reach for many smaller facilities, such as farms. At Microgrid 2018 in Chicago, Craig Wooster, project manager and general contractor for the Stone Edge Farm Microgrid Project, unveiled a new … [Read more...]
Each microgrid project is different — and varies according to requirements, economic factors and more — but there is microgrid technology and a set of common goals that are universal to the design and operation phases. A new whitepaper from Schneider Electric takes a broad look at microgrid development and outlines common approaches to … [Read more...]
In this week’s Industry Perspectives, Scott Manson, of Schweitzer Engineering Laboratories, explains why we need simpler microgrid design and more "elegant" control strategies. About two decades ago, one of the first programmable logic controller (PLC) systems I coded was controlling an expensive machine called a sheeter. This machine … [Read more...]
This paper describes how to design and operate a microgrid by examining a microgrid installed for the US Department of Defense at Fort Sill, Oklahoma. The microgrid is composed of two natural gas generators, a battery energy storage inverter, renewables, and a static switch. Design considerations for this retrofit application with a high … [Read more...]
The white paper demonstrates the feasibility of industrial micro- grids by design of an actual industrial network with on-site distributed generation to temporarily keep crucial consumers in operation in islanded mode, and to increase reliability in the case of blackouts. The objective of this white paper was to determine the design requirements … [Read more...]
Commercial customers paying demand charges and time-of-use rates should seriously consider an investment in solar plus storage, a common technology used in microgrids. RMI’s Ryan Shea and Madeline Tyson describe the the organizations recent research on costs.
Technology innovations are changing the game, while public policies and regulations are shifting to allow new business models to gain traction. Combined, the regulatory and policy framework in California has bolstered the outlook of microgrids in the state. Download the new white paper from Concentric Power that points to a not-too-distant future where microgrids and DERs play an increasingly important role in the state’s energy mix.
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