Intelligent Microgrids – Feasibility And Planning
On October 29th, 2012, Superstorm Sandy slammed into New York City’s shoreline. In the days and weeks that followed, the New York City Subway system and all but one of the road tunnels entering Manhattan where severely flooded, entire neighborhoods were decimated and millions of customers in New York City and on Long Island lost power – many for days and weeks. Microgrids kept the lights on at New York University in Manhattan, Princeton University in New Jersey, South Windsor High School in Connecticut and Co-op City in the Bronx during Sandy storm and its aftermath. In addition to providing greater resilience compared to the conventional power grid, microgrids have also been recognized as a key strategy fo rimporving energy efficiency, deferring or avoiding capital investments in new transmission and distribution infrastructure and mitigating cyber security risks. In the aggregate, these forces are moving microgrids from the margins into the mainstream of America’s energy economy. The following eBrief is the first in a three-part series describing the key regulatory, technical and financial issues affecting microgrid projects. This eBrief describes the regulatory issues likely to affect a microgrid project, including the risk of violating franchise laws and the possibility that the microgrid will be subject to economic regulation under state utility law. In addition, the eBrief provides strategies for avoiding these pitfalls in order to realize the maximum value from a Microgrid.
