How microgrids and DERs can maximize sustainability and resilience in industrial and commercial facilities
Distributed energy resources (DERs) like solar energy, wind energy, combined heat and power (CHP), battery energy storage systems (BESS), and even conventional generators can be significant contributors to improvements in sustainability and resilience in commercial and industrial facilities, especially when combined into a microgrid using an automated control system to intelligently coordinate and manage energy generation, flow, storage and consumption. To maximize microgrid environmental and economic benefits, the controller must balance the operation and integration of DERs in real time, manage smart loads like lighting, heating ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) systems, electric vehicle (EV) charging and information technology installations, use historic demand information to project future load profiles, provide safe and efficient connections to the utility grid and provide support for demand response functions with real-time energy pricing data. This article reviews the elements that comprise a microgrid, looks at microgrid architectures, presents an overview of IEEE 1547, which establishes requirements for interconnection of DERs, and IEEE 2030 that provides a comprehensive technical process
for describing the functions of a microgrid controller, then considers how microgrid controllers can enhance sustainability, resilience, and economic benefits, and closes with a brief overview of cyber security concerns for microgrids. What does it take to make a microgrid? Microgrids are diverse in their implementations and components. To discuss how microgrids and DERs can maximize sustainability and resilience, it’s best to start with a definition and a few examples of microgrid components and architectures. The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) defines a microgrid as “a group of interconnected loads and distributed energy resources within clearly defined electrical boundaries that acts as a single controllable entity with respect to the grid. A microgrid can connect and disconnect from the grid to enable it to operate in grid- connected and island-mode.” 1 While the definition of a microgrid is straightforward, there’s a range of microgrid categories, operating modes, and possible subsystems to choose from when building a microgrid, and realizing a microgrid’s maximum sustainability and resilience involves numerous architectural and operational choices.
By Jeff Shepard Contributed By DigiKey's North American Editors
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