Introduction to Micro Grids

With the increased importance of electricity in our day-to-day lives and overall economic prosperity, the notion of depending on outdated, centralized power grids that inefficiently deliver power and occasionally fails to meet basic needs for power may be insufficient, if not outdated. This has brought about the application of localized power grids, as part of an overall U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) smart grid strategy, by:

• Providing locally produced power requiring less need to import from outside power plants or depend on the network,
• Decreasing the likelihood of a run on electricity during periods of skyrocketing temperatures,
• Increasing the potential of an energy reserve to be sold as excess electricity within the local network or to other customers serviced by the local utility.

The key to making this happen is technology where fuel cells, micro tubes, reciprocating engines, solar cells, and wind farms present viable approaches to powering neighborhoods, retail areas and industrial facilities. As the concept of micro grids takes holds, power sources may be in one’s backyard as a micro-turbine no larger than a refrigerator, or in using one’s electric car to charge the micro grid.

Advantages of Micro Grids

Micro grids allow for choice regarding use of power, as they are not necessarily apart from the larger power grid, but in optimizing:

• Power sources; allow local communities to choose where and when to purchase their electricity from outside or local sources.
• Power uses; by prioritizing vital needs and limiting the use of superfluous uses in dealing with temporary energy shortages.
• Heat energy taking advantage of unused heat and converting it to electricity.

Cities, industries and military bases are all in the process of implementing this type of technology, just one part of an overall plan to modernize and improve the efficiency of the future power grid.