MICROGRIDS
MACRO GROWTH WITH MICROGRIDS
HOW MICROGRIDS ARE ADDING VALUE TO THE EVOLVING GLOBAL ENERGY LANDSCAPE Critical change is afoot in the global energy landscape and microgrid technology is playing an enormous role. Here, Fabio Monachesi, Global Leader for Microgrid Applications, ABB Smart Power, explains the rise in microgrid applica-tions and products and how they are expected to be used in the future:
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s advances in digital technology continue to shape the way we live, work and travel, the global energy landscape must evolve in order to deliver a clean, reliable electricity supply capable of sustaining our increasing reliance on digitalisation. Factors such as a trend for remote working increasing, in parallel with the rollout of a fully electrified transport system, are just a few day-by-day examples of global changes that will require electricity for success. Before we explore the role that microgrids will play in the evolving global landscape, let us first understand three key trends that are driving innovation in the energy infrastructure space: resiliency, sustainability and digitalization.
RESILIENCY It is now more important than ever before those businesses, homes and infrastructure operators have access to power around the clock. As working patterns become flexible, transportation is electrified and cloud computing becomes increasingly common, 24/7 continuity of electricity is vital, also during time windows which would have once been considered ‘off-peak’ or low consumption. Even extreme weather events, ongoing terrorist threats and the continued pressures of the pandemic placed on hospitals around the world all contribute to our need for power.
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SUSTAINABILITY In order to overcome the challenges of global climate change and stabilize the grid, a highly regulated shift from fossil fuels to renewable power is underway. The benefits of renewable energy are undeniable, with 1 MW of solar energy saving the equivalent of a half-kton of CO2 annually in a manufacturing industrial plant or supplying clean electricity for 130 EVs over the same one-year period.1
DIGITALIZATION Technologies vital to achieving both resiliency and sustainability goals fall under digitalization. As we move in favour of distributed energy resources (DER) like those combined to form a microgrid, advanced software-based platforms will become increasingly necessary to manage electrical distribution systems and achieve shared value for all energy eco-system stakeholders, owners, integrators, utilities and society.
THE RISE OF MICROGRIDS ABB’s definition of a microgrid mirrors that of the US Department of Energy and other US federal agencies and global institutions. It states that a microgrid is “a group with clearly defined electrical boundaries of low voltage DER and loads that can be operated in a controlled, coordinated way either connected to the main power network or in islanded mode.”
ENERGY MANAGER MAGAZINE • MARCH 2022
Microgrids are designed in a range of sizes and can feature a diverse resource configuration including conventional and renewable energy supply, energy storage, demand response and more. It is important to note that once a microgrid sells a service to a load aggregator or utility, it becomes classed as “virtual power plant-ready”, and if a utility develops a microgrid and deploys it to help mitigate voltage hotspots on a feeder (for example), it may be viewed as a distributed energy resource management system (DERMS). The microgrid market exceeded USD 9 billion in 2020 and is anticipated to grow to USD 40.5 billion by 2029.2 This exponential growth trajectory of over 19% CAGR is due to an increasing demand for an uninterrupted and resilient power supply, plus the increasing global electrification rate.
MICROGRID GROWTH BY GEOGRAPHICAL REGION By examining this growth by geographical region, we can see that the rise of microgrid usage in Europe is largely for renewable energy integration, which is also a key driver in North America alongside supporting an aging and unreliable grid. In Asia Pacific, the Middle East, Africa and Latin America, increasing electricity demand, a growing requirement for off grid power and Government programs toward electrification are the key drivers.
