The North American electric grid is truly an impressive piece of infrastructure, connecting homes, businesses and other facilities to central energy sources. It has been described as the biggest machine on Earth. When part of the grid is damaged, however, such as during Super-Storm Sandy in 2012, entire blocks can lose power for weeks at a time. This can be devastating for facilities such as hospitals, medical centers, data centers or other businesses relying on constant uptime. That’s why many organizations are now evaluating solar microgrids for resilience and independence.
Local-scale power generation/consumption systems, known as microgrids, are becoming a popular alternative to typical grid reliance. As renewable energy has become cheaper and more reliable, these microgrids have become a more realistic and attractive prospect for many facilities and communities. These days, integrating solar into microgrids allows communities to leverage clean, reliable energy with optimal uptime, either independently or synchronously with the main grid.
What Is A Microgrid?
The Department of Energy defines a microgrid as “A local energy grid with control capability, which means it can disconnect from the traditional grid and operate autonomously.”. While a typical microgrid will still pull most of its power from the larger electric grid, microgrid users can cut costs by lowering their total electricity consumption, especially during peak hours when electricity is more expensive and the grid is often overtaxed. Increasingly, solar microgrids are being adopted due to these cost and independence benefits.
While many conventional solar arrays do not provide power to its host facility in the event of a grid failure, in a microgrid setup, a transfer switch can separate the facility from the main grid either manually or automatically in order to function as a separate power producing island. For added reliability, many facilities now design solar microgrids that can operate safely during outages.
How Much Can a Microgrid power?
In an ideal setup, a microgrid should produce roughly the same amount of energy that the facility it is connected to consumes. This becomes important in the case of a blackout or other emergency, although a variety of setups exist. Some may not have the capacity to power everything in the case of a complete disconnect from the main grid, although this will largely depend on the amount and variety of power sources included in the microgrid. In many cases, a combination of solar and other renewables makes microgrids highly effective.
Many microgrids are almost entirely powered by alternative energy sources such as solar, while others will also include conventional fossil fuel plants and/or battery systems that can provide energy during times when renewable sources are not available. Focusing on solar can make financing a microgrid project far more affordable, due to tax credits and other government funding programs available to renewable energy projects. As a result, solar microgrids are increasingly favored for their affordability and environmental benefits.
How Can SCF Help Establish a Microgrid?
SCF has a significant amount of experience working with non-conventional solar power projects, such as combined farmland arrays, community solar arrays and many more. Our experts can help you to determine the feasibility of such an array, as well as navigate the legal and technical issues in order to make it a reality. Furthermore, SCF understands the unique challenges that come with developing solar microgrids and can guide you through each step.
For more information, please contact SCF today to discuss potential terms for your solar microgrid project. Let’s explore together how solar microgrids could reshape your approach to reliable energy.
