Bolstering Resilience: Maryland County Showcases the Power of Microgrids | Article

Montgomery County

Montgomery County aerial view

Wildfires trigger rolling blackouts throughout the western United States. Hurricanes damage energy infrastructure along the Atlantic and Gulf coasts, leaving thousands without electricity. These and other emergency events cause people to lose power, often for days at a time. Without electricity, vulnerable populations face elevated exposure risks, limited access to emergency assistance, and reduced food availability.

The electrical grid is an expansive, interconnected system that links homes, businesses, and facilities to centralized power sources. When disasters impact one area of the grid, the effects are amplified, causing outages far beyond the original damaged area and leaving many people without power. With climate change exacerbating extreme weather events, building robust, reliable grids is essential to keeping communities safe.

To help address the vulnerability of our electricity supply, microgrids are taking the stage as a resilient solution. Smaller, localized, and autonomous, microgrids are capable of disconnecting from the main electrical grid and acting independently. In times of emergency or repair, they can seamlessly take over and continue to supply energy. Microgrids range in size and complexity—from covering a single facility to entire communities—and are designed to precisely meet the specifications of the area or building in which they are installed.

“There is no such thing as a one-size-fits-all microgrid,” said Eric Coffman, Director of Programs at the Maryland Energy Administration (MEA). “Each one will have its nuances, but they have many of the same building blocks.”

Microgrids can receive energy from many different sources and frequently include multiple options within their system. Following advancements in renewables and energy storage technologies, coupled with a greater push to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, today’s microgrid projects increasingly make use of more sustainable energy sources such as solar panels and wind turbines. In addition, the proximity of microgrids to their power supply reduces transmission line losses and increases overall efficiency.

An example of a successful microgrid project is Montgomery County, Maryland, which is the largest county by population in Maryland and borders Washington, D.C., to the north. Following the aftermath of a violent derecho in 2012, which left 250,000 people without power for multiple days, Montgomery County began exploring resilient energy alternatives. The county turned to microgrids so as to ensure public safety in emergencies, upgrade existing infrastructure, and help reach its overall climate goal of a 100 percent reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2035. Montgomery County successfully implemented two microgrid projects in 2018 that expanded renewable energy use increased resilience, and proved a model for future microgrid endeavors.

Limited by budget constraints, the county turned to Schneider Electric and Duke Energy Renewables to develop an innovative private-public partnership based on the Energy-as-a-Service (EaaS) model. Throughout the 25-year long service life of the projects, Schneider constructs and maintains the equipment; Duke Energy Renewables owns and operates the generated energy, and Montgomery County pays fixed-rate capacity and energy fees. With this service, the county was not required to pay any money down, saving taxpayer money on expensive infrastructure construction.

“Today, businesses face accelerating energy challenges related to cost, sustainability, resilience, and reliability—and often lack the resources to address these needs,” said Gregg Morasca, Schneider Electric's Vice President and Microgrid Content Officer, who manages the Montgomery County project.

The project also benefited from several Maryland Energy Administration (MEA) incentives and state energy policies. MEA provided funding opportunities for the microgrids’ power sources through their Parking Lot Solar PV Canopy and Combined Heat and Power grant programs. State policies like net metering, renewable energy credits, and aggregate net metering offered additional support. Combined, these resources helped meet the project’s full economic demands.

Both microgrids are run largely in parallel with grid power, using a mix of both grid and on-site energy. In cases of emergency, the microgrids immediately switch to complete on-site power, protecting the facilities from outages. They provide the buildings with a level of redundancy, strengthening the reliability and security of their overall energy systems.

One of the Montgomery County microgrids is deployed at the county’s Public Safety Headquarters, which is home to critical services, including transportation management resources, the Emergency Management and Homeland Security offices, and the police department. The facility’s microgrid project integrates two megawatts of solar photovoltaic arrays, an 800-kilowatt combined heat and power (CHP) system, an electric vehicle charging station, and a cybersecurity system. The solar arrays are installed over the parking lot, acting as canopies and making efficient use of space. The combined heat and power system captures waste heat created during electricity production, which is then used to regulate heating and cooling. The CHP systems generate electricity and use waste heat released as a byproduct to regulate heating and cooling. The green technologies used by the Public Safety Headquarters reduce greenhouse gas emissions by nearly 6,000 metric tons annually.

The second microgrid project is located at the Montgomery County Correctional Facility and merges a 240-kilowatt CHP system with existing diesel generators. This system decreases annual greenhouse gas emissions by more than 950 metric tons.

Combined, the clean energy technologies supplying the microgrids generate over 11 million kilowatt-hours of electricity and reduce nearly 7,000 metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions annually. These drastic cuts in emissions are equivalent to taking 1,400 cars off the road or planting 178,000 trees.

The Montgomery County public-private partnership provides financial feasibility, strengthens community reliance, and exemplifies what can be accomplished with microgrids.

“When you are talking about those critical aspects of a community, providing reliability is essential and that is where resilience comes in,” Eric Coffman said. “With all these microgrids, even if they are damaged, they have the ability to bounce back fast.”

As localized sources of power, microgrids also support energy equity. Embedded in the communities they serve, microgrid systems directly benefit those in their immediate area. For vulnerable and low-income communities, they can provide refuge by ensuring individuals have continued access to power during crises. Microgrids create a more reliable, equitable and, in many cases, greener electrical power system.

However, microgrids still face many barriers to widespread implementation. There is a need to create a sustained, profitable market; establish regulatory policies; standardize criteria for the interconnection process; identify funding sources, and define the role of utilities in microgrid implementation and operation. New and updated policies are needed to help determine the ownership structure behind the meter; develop clear transparent rules that govern the way microgrids interact with the utility; and allow for the access of right of ways, which permit neighboring facilities to share energy assets and resources. Current and planned microgrid projects are helping to inform policymakers as they craft legislation that adequately addresses these challenges while ensuring a net benefit for all.

Author: Emma Walker