IEEE Electrification Magazine - March 2014 - 7

accelerated adoption of microgrids
will be the path that supports clear,
attractive benefits for the affected
utility. certainly, the default position
in a case where a microgrid is sought
by an end user or a third-party developer is, at the very least, to not
adversely impact the affected utility.

Typical Use Cases
it is worth reviewing typical use
cases to provide context for minnesota's exploration of microgrid opportunities. The U.s. department of
defense (dod) is a leading adopter of
microgrids for stationary bases to
meet its fundamental obligations to
protect the American people, the
homeland, and our allies, where our
bases are located, overseas. The business case, which is so important to
private enterprise, takes a backseat
to mission criticality in this example.
in contrast, a variety of industrial
facilities, such as ports, mines, refineries, airports, and campuses, require
uninterruptible power to ensure the
continuity of processes, the safety of
patients and the public, and/or the
protection of assets. energy assurance and its costs in those cases are
typically weighed in light of the cost
of the consequences of power failure.
on corporate campuses, especially in
regions where the cost of grid-based
electricity is high or very volatile, a
self-contained system offering a mix
of dg and load control creates an
attractive business case. The same is
true for isolated, off-grid communities where fossil fuel must be
shipped in at great cost.
on the utility side, a microgrid
can provide the advantage of islanding to reduce load on a stressed circuit, defer capital investment in
capacity (known as a "deferral
opportunity"), or meet load growth
through a line extension. microgrids
can provide a controllable means of
managing dg, especially where
intermittent renewable energy
sources can lead to voltage instability and other operational issues.

Utilities in california and maine
are exploring the latter opportunities,
while in connecticut, nonutility
actors, including municipalities, are
considering microgrids to bolster system reliability in the wake of a series
of devastating storms that culminated
in 2012's Hurricane sandy. in contrast,
minnesota has a history of viewing
energy assurance as a fundamental
aspect of economic productivity and
stability and energy innovations as a
means to achieve environmental and
self-sufficiency goals.

determined last year to take a hard
look at microgrids, which appeared to
align with the state's energy, environmental, and economic policy goals,
with an emphasis on energy assurance as a pillar of the local economy.

American Recovery and
Reinvestment Act Grant
for Microgrid Study

The minnesota department of commerce's division of energy resources
sought and won a U.s. department of
energy grant under the American
recovery and reinvestment Act that
The Land of 10,000 Lakes
funded many related smart grid projminnesota is the 12th largest state
ects in the 2008-2009 time frame.
and straddles the continental craton,
(The fact that minnesota's departwhich has been etched by glaciers,
ment of commerce has a division of
leaving innumerable freshwater
energy resources reflects the fact
lakes, thus its nickname, "Land of
that energy assurance is considered a
10,000 Lakes." its population of
mainstream, bread-and-butter issue
roughly 5.5 million
to the economic
citizens is relatively
health and welfare of
The path of least
highly educated and
the state.) Policy makresistance to
exhibit high voter
ers wanted to better
accelerated adoption
turnout. more than
understand the drivhalf of the state's
ers, opportunities,
of microgrids will be
residents cluster
and barriers associatthe path that supports
around the Twin cited with microgrid
clear, attractive
ies of minneapolis
adoption and the
benefits for the
and saint Paul, hubs
effects on the gamut
of business, industry,
of stakeholders. To
affected utility.
transportation, eduthat end, the state
cation, government,
contracted with a
and a thriving arts community. its
microgrid team led by Burr energy
economy, historically based on agrarLLc, to which i contributed my experian pursuits and natural resource
tise on interconnection standards
extraction, has evolved into a welland policies. i was one of seven
integrated mix of finished products
co-authors of the resulting study,
and services. Thirty-three of the top
"minnesota microgrids: Barriers,
1,000 publicly traded companies in
opportunities, and Pathways Toward
the United states by revenue were
energy Assurance," which was pubheadquartered there in 2008. minnelished by the minnesota department
sota borders canada to the north, the
of commerce in september 2013. The
dakotas to the west, Wisconsin and
white paper was incorporated as an
Lake superior to the east, and iowa to
annex to the official minnesota enerthe south.
gy Assurance Plan.
Whether those factors translate to
The six-point scope of the white
the state's policy support for dg,
paper (paraphrased for brevity) lays
renewable energy resources, and
out the context here.
xx
review regulations and policies
energy alternatives i will leave to the
affecting microgrid development,
experts on minnesota. suffice it to say
ownership, and operation.
here that state policy makers

IEEE Electrific ation Magazine / MARCH 2 0 1 4

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of IEEE Electrification Magazine - March 2014