Resilient Microgrids For Critical Services

The Resilient Microgrids for Critical Services report describes technologies, procurement strategies, and polices that can contribute to microgrid development.

For more information on Resilient Microgrids for Critical Services, please contact Shauna Beland at shauna.beland@energy.ri.gov.

Resilient Microgrids Webinar

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

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.