The US Department of Energy (US DOE) has granted more than US$8m to support microgrids projects and improve national power grid resiliency. The projects will bring together communities, technology developers and providers, and utilities to develop advanced microgrid controllers and system designs for microgrids less than 10 MW. Each project also includes a company cost share ranging from 20% to about 50%.
This investment includes seven awardees in Alaska, California, Illinois, Minnesota, New York, Tennessee and Washington. They secured approximately $1.2m of DOE investments each, include Alstom Grid, Burr Energy, Commonwealth Edison Company, Electric Power Research Institute, General Electric Company, TDX Power and The University of California.
Microgrids are localized grids that are usually connected to the more traditional electric grid but can also disconnect to operate autonomously and help mitigate grid disturbances. The US DOE supports a wide range of microgrid activities, including research and development, regional and state partnerships, and a project with the Departments of Defense and Homeland Security to demonstrate that a microgrid can maintain reliable and resilient electric power generation and distribution on military installations.