About
Electrical Microgrids
Build and Install A combination of energy resources (DERs-Distributed Energy Resources) connected to the utility grid, also able to operate "Free Standing" on its own, separate from the grid. A power source stand alone supplies access energy back to the grid. We work with several combinations of Green and Blue Energy sources engineered specifically to the individual project for the type of energy demand. We reduce Energy usage from grid by 50 to 70+% from current monthly cost. We ensure reliable power for the mission-critical data centers We provide the resiliency that the utility could not. Old style backup energy was provided by back up batteries for power loss. Our onsite generators take peak energy off the grid therefore eliminating large spikes in costs we provide access power and thermal energy for heating and cooling. We provide on site CCHP (Combined Cooling Heating and Power) all in one further reducing overall energy cost from old style separate energy sources. A microgrid is a self-sufficient energy system that serves a discrete geographic footprint, such as a college campus, hospital complex, business center or neighborhood.
Within microgrids are one or more kinds of distributed energy (solar panels, wind turbines, combined heat and power, generators) that produce its power. In addition, many newer microgrids contain energy storage, typically from batteries. Some also now have electric vehicle charging stations. 1. A microgrid is local First, this is a form of local energy, meaning it creates energy for nearby customers. This distinguishes microgrids from the kind of large centralized grids that have provided most of our electricity for the last century. Central grids push electricity from power plants over long distances via transmission and distribution lines. Delivering power from afar is inefficient because some of the electricity – as much as 8% to 15% – dissipates in transit. A microgrid overcomes this inefficiency by generating power close to those it serves; the generators are near or within the building, or in the case of solar panels, on the roof 2. A microgrid is independent Second, a microgrid can disconnect from the central grid and operate independently. This islanding capability allows it to supply power to its customers when a storm or other calamity causes an outage on the power grid. In the US, the central grid is especially prone to outages because of its sheer size and interconnectedness – more than 5.7 million miles of transmission and distribution lines. As we learned painfully during what’s known as the Northeast Blackout of 2003, a single tree falling on a power line can knock out power in several states, even across international boundaries into Canada. By islanding, a microgrid escapes such cascading grid failures. While microgrids can run independently, most of the time they do not (unless they are located in a remote area where there is no central grid or an unreliable one). Instead, microgrids typically remain connected to the central grid. As long as the central grid is operating normally, the two function in a kind of symbiotic relationship, as explained below. 3. A microgrid is intelligent Third, a microgrid – especially advanced systems – is intelligent. This intelligence emanates from what’s known as the microgrid controller, the central brain of the system, which manages the generators, batteries and nearby building energy systems with a high degree of sophistication. The controller orchestrates multiple resources to meet the energy goals established by the microgrid’s customers. They may be trying to achieve lowest prices, cleanest energy, greatest electric reliability or some other outcome. The controller achieves these goals by increasing or decreasing use of any of the microgrid’s resources – or combinations of those resources – much as a conductor would call upon various musicians to heighten, lower or stop playing their instruments for maximum effect. A software-based system, the controller can manage energy supply in many different ways. But here’s one example. An advanced controller can track real-time changes in the power prices on the central grid. (Wholesale electricity prices fluctuate constantly based on electricity supply and demand.) If energy prices are inexpensive at any point, it may choose to buy power from the central grid to serve its customers, rather than use energy from, say, its own solar panels. The microgrid’s solar panels could instead charge its battery systems. Later in the day, when grid power becomes expensive, the microgrid may discharge its batteries rather than use grid power. Microgrids may contain other energy resources – combined heat and power, wind power, reciprocating engine generators, fuel cells – that add even greater complexity and nuance to these permutations. Working together via complex algorithms, the microgrid’s resources create a whole that is greater than the sum of its parts. They drive system performance to a level of efficiency none could do alone. All of this orchestration is managed in a near instantaneous fashion – autonomously. There is no need for human intervention. |