Microgrid Resources

Background

The United States faces a critical national vulnerability: over-reliance on the electric grid that serves us very well under normal conditions but is vulnerable to prolonged disruptions from a range of natural and man-made hazards, despite the historical best practices of regulated utilities. National planning and action to reduce these risks is thus far insufficient to the scale of the problem, and evidently national preparedness for this type of emergency is lacking. A large burden of preparedness falls on state and local shoulders.

The good news is that solutions are available to reduce these risks and provide other benefits as well. The Rhode Island Office of Energy Resources commissioned a report, Resilient Microgrids for Critical Services. In the wake of multi-day power outages due to severe weather events in recent years, OER sought consultant support for design of a program intended to enhance the energy assurance of critical infrastructure through deployment of distributed energy resources and other means. This effort draws from lessons learned in other states with similar programs. This report describes technologies, procurement strategies, and polices that can contribute to microgrid development.

Resilient Microgrids for Critical Services Report PDF file, about 6

Resilient Microgrids for Critical Services Executive Summary PDF file, about 1

Resilient Microgrids Webinar

Microgrids for Municipalities Slides PDF file, about 3

Resources

Microgrid Guide for Publicly Owned Critical Infrastructure from Microgrid Knowledge
Stafford Hill Solar Farm and Microgrid Project Case study from the Clean Energy Group
User Objectives and Design Approaches for Microgrids: Options for Delivering Reliability and Resilience, Clean Energy, Energy Savings, and Other Priorities from the NARUC/NASEO State Microgrid Task Force
Private, State, and Federal Funding Options to Enable Resilient, Affordable and Clean Microgrids from the NARUC/NASEO State Microgrid Task Force
Check the Stack: An Enabling Framework for Resilient Microgrids from the National Renewable Energy Laboratory

Contact Us

For more information on microgrids, please contact Danielle Jameson at danielle.jameson@energy.ri.gov.