POWER July 2021 - 34

MICROGRID
Why Microgrids Are the Key to
Our Carbon-Neutral Future
As we continue to work toward a more sustainable future globally, demand for renewable
energy integration is increasing. This requires more flexibility in grid infrastructure
and the ability to add more types of distributed energy resources (DERs),
including wind and solar. There is also a strong drive to move beyond a centralized
grid to a more distributed one in order to reduce large-scale outages and deliver
electricity to remote areas. Declining technology costs for key DER assets such as
solar PV and advanced energy storage systems-as well as business models linked
to long-term financing offers-are driving accelerated adoption of smaller, smarter,
and cleaner energy systems.
Alexander Frick
T
he origin story of microgrids goes
back more than 30 years to Mawson
station in Antarctica. This research
operation had a problem. The station
relied entirely on diesel, and needed
a platform system to both generate and
stabilize energy output. This was ultimately
accomplished by integrating two
wind turbines to capture wind energy
and convert into an electric boiler, creating
an entirely new concept.
Microgrids, by common definition
today, are smaller-scale self-sufficient
generation and distribution systems.
They allow the energy network to
evolve and address new challenges
and applications. Every day new use
cases are expanding the definition
of microgrids, from those used in remote
regions with extreme conditions
to large utility or commercial systems
with both energy reliability and new
market-driven needs.
This expanded view of microgrids is
driven by many factors, including climate
change, energy distribution, the
rise of electric vehicles (EVs), and new
commercial models. All these examples
are converging around the need for
more sustainably based electrification.
While we continue to integrate high
amounts of renewable energy, we're
also now solving for climate-related
challenges like wildfires, earthquakes,
and severe hurricanes, increasing our
need for energy resiliency.
The general availability of microgrids
changes the construct of the power system,
creating new, more efficient utility
operations, including how we consume
energy and where it comes from. It enables
grid resilience against extreme
34
events, removes infrastructure
limitations
as an inhibitor to electric power,
and brings transmission and distribution
to the 21st century.
Why Microgrids Are Needed
International Energy Agency data indicates
that 13% of the world (940 million
people) does not have access to electricity,
and it's especially limited in remote
communities and regions with extreme
environmental conditions. The World
Bank found that approximately 47 million
people rely on microgrids globally. Yet,
most of the world's population without
electric power still lacks the resources
and economic means to develop largescale
grid infrastructure development
projects, making the focus on lower
cost, easier-to-manage microgrid projects
a critical alternative.
Communities in remote locations
and businesses looking for more secure
power supplies represent another
growing market of perfect candidates
for today's sophisticated microgrid technologies.
Microgrids represent a flexible,
easier-to-deploy, and often lower-cost option
for businesses and enterprises like
hospitals, police stations, and college
campuses that benefit from having their
own self-sufficient continuous-flowing
power supply systems, and reduce the
risk from wildfires, storms, and other
drivers of unplanned power outages.
With the fast-growing renewable energy
segment, microgrids become even
more enticing to deploy. Wind and solar
photovoltaic (PV) installations are expected
to capture the largest share of global
power projects over the next 30 years. In
order to integrate intermittent resources
like wind and solar on the grid, it will take
www.powermag.com
1. Cordova,
Alaska, implemented an advanced
microgrid system that includes the
battery energy storage system shown here.
Courtesy: Hitachi ABB Power Grids
a wide variety of new technologies to
balance energy supply, including the integration
of energy storage systems.
This rapid growth in distributed energy
resources creates even more opportunities
for hybrid systems that incorporate
new energy storage technologies
and sophisticated energy management
systems. Today's hybrid microgrids integrate
renewable energy, an energy
storage technology, and advanced gridmanagement
software.
Types of Microgrids and Success
Stories
There are three common types of microgrids:
off-grid,
grid-connected, and
behind-the-meter.
Off-Grid Microgrids. The most common
type is the off-grid microgrid,
which are often found in remote and
island communities that are not connected
to a main power grid and often
rely largely on expensive diesel fuel
for power. These types of microgrids
ensure a path toward energy independence,
and allow these communities to
reduce or entirely eliminate reliance on
POWER | July 2021
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POWER July 2021

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