Public Content Library

Arindam Maitra, Annabelle Pratt, Tanguy Hubert, Dean Weng, Kumaraguru Prabakar, Rachna Handa, Murali Baggu, and Mark McGranaghan, IEEE Power & Energy Magazine
July/August 2017

Summary

Microgrids have long been deployed to provide power to customers in remote areas as well as critical industrial and military loads. Today, they are also being proposed as grid-interactive solutions for energy-resilient communities. Such microgrids will spend most of the time operating while synchronized with the surrounding utility grid but will also be capable of separating during contingency periods due to storms or temporary disturbances such as local grid faults. Properly designed and grid-integrated microgrids can provide the flexibility, reliability, and resiliency needs of both the future grid and critical customers. These systems can be an integral part of future power system designs that optimize investments to achieve operational goals, improved reliability, and diversification of energy sources.