Why do Microgrids Matter for Facilities?

12/2/2024

Facility executives are embracing microgrids like never before. Here’s why: Microgrids provide energy independence by allowing a facility to operateeven during grid outages.  

In the event ofextreme weather or other disruptions, a microgrid can provide backup power, minimizing operational risks. This is critical for institutional and commercial facilities where downtime can be costly. Microgrids can also optimizeenergy consumption by integrating renewable energy sources and energy storage systems, reducing reliance on expensive peak-hour electricity from the main grid. 

“The biggest use of microgrids is still primarily with facilities that require power 24/7 during local power grid disruptions and outages,” says Brian Patterson, chairman, EMerge Alliance, a membership-based, not-for-profit industry association formed in 2008 to create and promote the adoption of new vanguard standards for direct current (DC) and hybrid AC/DC power infrastructure in buildings, neighborhoods and communities.“Although this was a role traditionally played by single purpose, on-site, back-up generation and UPS systems, microgrids add additional primary electricity capacity by integrating on-site, or near-site renewable energy resources such as solar, wind, NG turbine, and fuel cell generation, and include additional energy storage system capacity.”  

Because a microgrid is normally used continuously to handle all or a portion of the facility’s base load, and integrates multiple sources of energy supply, they don’t run the common black-start risks associated with internal combustion engine generation, such as reliance on a single or limited number of dedicated units that may not be readily available during an outage, potential fuel supply issues, challenges with synchronization during restart and the possibility capacity shortage due to high initial load demands, says Patterson. 

Primary users 

The biggest users of microgrids categorically include facilities such as hospitals and other healthcare facilities, military installations, data centers and other critical information and communication system infrastructure like cell towers, emergency services like police and fire stations and even municipal service facilities, including electric utility control centers and power stations, nuclear power plants that must maintain operational control for safety reasons, water utilities, sewage collection and processing plants, surface and air transportation facilities. 

“The next biggest users are large industrial facilities that are particularly sensitive to power interruptions,” Patterson says. “This includes semi-conductor processing plants and other continuous process manufacturing plants, and e-commerce and supply chain logistics hubs. Suffice it to say that any entity that must continuously operate, even when the main power grid experiences interruption, is a candidate for microgrid use today.” 

Alexi Miller, director of building innovation at the New Buildings Institute, says that currently microgrids are mainly used as resilience assets and are often installed in facilities that have a particular need for resilience capabilities, especially larger facilities or campuses with multiple buildings. For example, military bases, hospitals and other healthcare facilities, and university campuses are relatively common microgrid sites.  

“This is partly because of the value placed on resilience but also in part because they often have energy networks that are well-suited to microgrids,” Miller says. “Microgrids are also somewhat more common in remote areas or places with unreliable grid electricity supply.” 

Kevin Kanoff, campus energy engineer at Milton S. Hershey Medical Center, Penn State College of Medicine, Department of Facilities, adds that campuses of all types are typically good candidates for microgrids – generally, campuses which have critical missions which require reliability and resiliency. Since 2010, the Hershey Medical Center has been working to create a more sustainable power system. As a leading medical care facility offering lifesaving measures, Hershey Medical Center must have uninterrupted access to a fully functional power grid with backup systems in the event of a power outage.  

“In the case of Hershey Medical Center, reliability and resiliency are very important concepts,” Kanoff says. “The facility is a Level 1 trauma center serving the center of Pennsylvania. Additionally other unique high level medical procedures are carried out on a regular basis. All this points to the need for very reliable power.” 

Benefits and challenges 

Microgrids help ensure energy resilience as a reliable supply of energy even if or when the main electricity grid goes down. As Miller explains, this is critical for some facilities that cannot afford to shut down in an emergency or a grid disruption. 

Microgrids can also help integrate renewables into local energy systems, which helps reduce environmental impacts associated with energy use.  

“Microgrids that incorporate thermal or battery energy storage, or other load shifting strategies, can help stabilize the broader grid by reducing demand during peak hours and soaking up low-cost, low-carbon electricity during times of high renewable energy penetration,” Miller says. 

Microgrids can also help minimize the cost of energy. 

“Microgrids, by virtue of their essential design and safety requirements, are inherently intelligent systems,” Patterson says. “Microgrids enable real-time and transactive management of energy conversions and flow between power sources, storage, and loads. This management requirement further lends itself to a high degree of articulation for the purpose of optimization, and independent energy decision making.” 

As Patterson further explains, additional layers of intelligent functionality can be easily added to the basic controls of a microgrid for the purpose of setting energy decision-making criteria for the facility being served.  

“Active and variable conditions of source availability and price, storage status, future load requirements and demand profile shaping, system maintenance diagnostics, scheduling and prevention, and even future weather conditions can all be intelligently integrated into the operational control parameters of a microgrid,” Patterson says.  

Microgrids can also offer multiple simultaneous benefits such as improved resilience, reduced emissions, better reliability, and lower operating costs.  

“If done right, it can be a win-win-win, with one single system delivering benefits across all these areas,” Miller says. “While many microgrids are installed primarily for resilience, the day-to-day benefits of operating a microgrid for grid services, improved renewable energy utilization, or cost savings may ultimately be of the same or higher value.” 

Due to the increasing challenges facing the electric power industry and its customers, consideration for use and actual implementation of microgrids is rapidly growing. But this places more pressure on the challenges facing microgrid supply-chain stakeholders and potential users.  

According to Patterson, fortunately, there are no fundamental roadblocks or basic technical inventions needed to accelerate the rate of their adoption and use. The focus is more on education, design ease, eco-system development, regulatory policy, and financing.  

“These areas of development are all getting a significant increase in attention and appropriation of both human and monetary resources by commercial, government, and academic resources as well as increasing support by the public, sometimes as a product of crisis resolution and prevention,” Patterson says.  

For Kanoff at Hershey Medical Center, power reliability and resiliency, more efficient energy management, and the ability to “island” a facility or campus from the general electrical grid are the key benefits afforded by microgrids.  

“When a microgrid has been established, there is typically an interconnection agreement with the local power grid provider,” Kanoff says. “This interconnection agreement will establish safeguards for both the local power grid provider and the campus or facility.” 

Maura Keller is a freelance writer based in Plymouth, Minnesota.