Renewable Energy Commercial and Industrial Microgrids

Michaud Law Group has and continues to assist commercial and municipal clients with microgrids in Connecticut.  Microgrids are integrated systems of on-site energy infrastructure that use advanced controls to optimize distributed energy resources such as solar arrays, battery energy storage, fuel cells, and other dispatchable generation.  Their operations can be integrated with a utility grid connection if available while retaining the ability to operate independently from the grid in case of a utility outage. Microgrids can also provide a completely self-sufficient off-grid power source for facilities that currently lack a grid connection while retaining the ability to integrate with utility service if and when it becomes available.  

Microgrids use on-site distributed energy resources, including solar, battery energy storage, and fuel cells, to power a facility or facility in a given area. Typically, microgrids operate with the utility grid, with advanced controls optimizing energy use from each resource to minimize energy costs and emissions. If the utility grid goes down, microgrids can automatically isolate (or “island”) from the grid and rely on on-site resources to keep critical operations running.

Microgrids can provide several valuable advantages compared to relying exclusively on the utility grid, including cost savings, enhanced resilience, and improved sustainability performance. Many businesses also turn to microgrids to provide power supplies (or additional capacity) for facilities sooner and at a lower cost than waiting for utility service or capacity upgrades.