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Related: About this forumIndustry study: Microgrids to become ‘fundamental building block’
Industry study: Microgrids to become fundamental building block
WRITTEN BY
David J. Unger
10 hours ago
...Used primarily to ensure reliability and access in military and other critical applications, microgrids have emerged in recent years as a niche interest for utilities and communities looking to bring more renewables online and increase resilience in the face of extreme weather. Despite the heightened profile, microgrids islandable networks of generation and distribution remain a small part of the U.S. energy system, making up a fraction of a percent of the nations total power generating capacity.
That is poised to change, according to a report released earlier this month by the National Electrical Manufacturing Association (NEMA), an industry group representing electrical, medical imaging, and radiation therapy manufacturers.
[The grid is] moving away from a passive to an active grid, said Steve Griffith, an industry director at NEMA. You can actually have distributed generation based on renewable resources solar, wind and electrical storage devices power that not only flows from the utility to the customer, but now from the customer back to the utility.
Microgrids help manage these reverse power flows by addressing the technical challenges of variation in voltage and frequency. Its why NEMA envisions a future where microgrids play a foundational role in the way the broader power system operates, working in tandem with the existing power structure.
From 2025 onwards, fully controllable, independent microgrids interconnected with [direct current] links will allow for full decoupling from the alternating current (AC) electric power system. the report concludes. They will also facilitate the segmentation of the distribution system, a new paradigm for electric grid management....
http://midwestenergynews.com/2016/09/21/industry-study-microgrids-to-become-fundamental-building-block/
WRITTEN BY
David J. Unger
10 hours ago
PHOTO BY Sandia National Laboratories
...Used primarily to ensure reliability and access in military and other critical applications, microgrids have emerged in recent years as a niche interest for utilities and communities looking to bring more renewables online and increase resilience in the face of extreme weather. Despite the heightened profile, microgrids islandable networks of generation and distribution remain a small part of the U.S. energy system, making up a fraction of a percent of the nations total power generating capacity.
That is poised to change, according to a report released earlier this month by the National Electrical Manufacturing Association (NEMA), an industry group representing electrical, medical imaging, and radiation therapy manufacturers.
[The grid is] moving away from a passive to an active grid, said Steve Griffith, an industry director at NEMA. You can actually have distributed generation based on renewable resources solar, wind and electrical storage devices power that not only flows from the utility to the customer, but now from the customer back to the utility.
Microgrids help manage these reverse power flows by addressing the technical challenges of variation in voltage and frequency. Its why NEMA envisions a future where microgrids play a foundational role in the way the broader power system operates, working in tandem with the existing power structure.
From 2025 onwards, fully controllable, independent microgrids interconnected with [direct current] links will allow for full decoupling from the alternating current (AC) electric power system. the report concludes. They will also facilitate the segmentation of the distribution system, a new paradigm for electric grid management....
If interested, you can find your way to the study through NEMA's press release. Enrolling is required to download.:
http://www.nema.org/news/Pages/Electrical-Manufacturers-Say-Microgrids-Essential-to-Americas-Future-Infrastructure.aspx
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Industry study: Microgrids to become ‘fundamental building block’ (Original Post)
kristopher
Sep 2016
OP
Bringing new load online in the form of microgrids helps the current centralized system...
kristopher
Sep 2016
#4
tonyt53
(5,737 posts)1. Gonna take a boatload of money though.
kristopher
(29,798 posts)2. Compared to what?
Spending it non-locally on fossil fuels?
LouisvilleDem
(303 posts)3. Hey!
Do my eyes deceive me or is that a nuclear power plant in the lower left corner?
kristopher
(29,798 posts)4. Bringing new load online in the form of microgrids helps the current centralized system...
...both in added stability and lower costs.
But the more microgrids become a standard feature, the less centralized generation of all types is required. In fact, most visions of problems related to high renewable penetration actually have it ass-backwards - it isn't the new distributed energy sources that are going to be the problem, it will be the legacy elephantine coal and nuclear plants that will be lowering grid resiliency and causing higher prices for power.