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MICROGRID INSTITUTE ARCHIVE

Reports, Presentations, and Videos

STAKEHOLDER ENGAGEMENT:
Fuel-Switching Policy in Minnesota's Conservation Improvement Program
Microgrid Institute Director Michael Burr facilitates a statewide stakeholder engagement process for the Minnesota Department of Commerce, focusing on fuel-switching policies in the state's Conservation Improvement Program. Public materials in this ongoing project are located at the Burr Energy LLC website here.

WEBINAR:
​What Sustainability Executives Need to Know about Microgrids
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GreenBiz webinar sponsored by Hitachi Microgrids.

This one-hour webinar provides a primer on microgrids for sustainability executives — from companies, universities and municipalities — focusing on the tools and knowledge to assess when a microgrid is the right solution for an organization. WATCH VIDEO

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VIDEO:
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Resilient Community Microgrids: ​An Introduction
Learn about the potential of community microgrids in this online short course.
Microgrid Institute teamed up with HeatSpring to provide a comprehensive introduction to how community microgrids work, what problems they can solve, and how market trends are driving microgrid development. Michael focuses on three key factors affecting community microgrid development: regulatory issues, business models; and financing options. READ MORE

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VIDEO: Rethinking Public Power: Microgrids and District Energy Development
Microgrid Institute Director Michael Burr provides an overview of community microgrids for clean-energy stakeholders on the Olympic Peninsula, in Jefferson County, Washington. WATCH VIDEO

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Regulatory and Business Models for Community Microgrids

Establishing an economic foundation for consumer energy resilience (PDF download)

IEEE Power & Energy Society General Meeting, microgrid panel moderated by Washington State University Associate Professor Anurag Srivastava. Program included presentations from Microgrid Institute, U.S. Department of Energy, Sandia National Laboratory, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and National Technical University of Athens. 

Logo: American Bar Association Section of Environment, Energy, and Resources
Community Microgrid Models
Keeping up with innovation in energy technology and customer needs

ABA Committee teleconference included presentations from Microgrid Institute and the New York State Smart Grid Consortium (NYSSG) addressing evolution in electricity distribution services and microgrids. (Moderated by Roger Feldman of Andrews Kurth.)
  • Microgrid Institute Presentation (1.7 MB PDF download)
  • Link to ABA Program page

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Resilience through Microgrids

Trends and Opportunities for States and Communities
Presentation: NASEO 2015 Energy Outlook Conference
(3.7 MB PDF download)

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Community Clean Energy and Resilience Project Evaluation Methodologies and Resources
Working guide to project evaluation methodologies, criteria, and other resources

Olney Town Center Microgrid Control System R&D
     Project FAQ

     Project Overview Presentation

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Solar Microgrids for Local Resilience

Achieving community goals with solar energy, microgrid technologies, and strategic planning and development.

Go Solar Fest presentation, June 7, 2014
(11 MB PDF download)
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Microgrid Institute completes assessments of community microgrids in Boston, Pittsfield, and Palmer, MA
Performed in partnership with S&C Electric under contract with the Massachusetts Clean Energy Center, the studies yielded insights into options and challenges for multi-user microgrids in Eversource and National Grid service territories.
Final Reports Available for Download
boston_raymond_l._flynn_microgrid_final.pdf
File Size: 905 kb
File Type: pdf
Download File

city_of_pittsfield_downtown_microgrid_final.pdf
File Size: 1082 kb
File Type: pdf
Download File

palmer_community_microgrid_final.pdf
File Size: 1251 kb
File Type: pdf
Download File


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Supported by a grant from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), Office of Electricity, through the National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL)
Report: Microgrid optimized resource dispatch for ​
​public-purpose resiliency and sustainability
Burr, Michael - Microgrid Institute
Camilleri, John - Green Energy Corp
Lubkeman, David, Long, Qian, and Du, Yuhua - North Carolina State University FREEDM Systems Center
This report presents the results of more than two years of research, development, and testing. Project results showed that a multi-zone microgrid control approach – managing distributed solar photovoltaics (PV), energy storage systems, and gas-fired combined heat and power (CHP) units in several independently islanding sub-systems – can effectively ensure the availability of resilient energy supplies in Mid-Atlantic communities.

Organized in four volumes, the 160-page report details technical design and configuration considerations for multi-zone microgrid systems; analysis of test results; and examination of regulatory and financial options for public-purpose microgrids. 

The report was produced by a project team comprised of the following organizations:
  • Microgrid Institute (prime contractor, project manager, and principal investigator)
  • Green Energy Corp (microgrid control system R&D and development)
  • North Carolina State University – FREEDM Systems Center (test design and execution)
  • Schneider Electric (bi-directional inverter, engineering analysis)
  • PEPCO Holdings (utility partner)

The microgrid control system was built on Green Energy Corp’s open-source GreenBus distributed energy resource control platform. The project included development and integration of GreenBus applications to support system interoperability; low-latency messaging and secure transport; and customizable data automation and control capabilities. The GreenBus platform enabled development of a microgrid control architecture that includes multiple zones capable of autonomous operation.

The report, titled Microgrid optimized resource dispatch for public-purpose resiliency and sustainability, is publicly available via the following permalink:
www.microgridinstitute.org/olneymicrogrid.html

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ARTICLE:
How Not to Shoot Yourself in the Foot: 
Smart Planning and Public-Private Partnerships
By Michael T. Burr and Jeffrey Domanski
(23 Jan., 2017) San Francisco: When community leaders consider investments in sustainability, resilience, and smart infrastructure, they face a dilemma. Immediate priorities drive a focus on meeting short-term needs, but strategic objectives often require a big-picture outlook.Illustrative examples are found in the sustainable energy sector.

In one case, a clean-energy marketing firm offered to a municipality a long-term power purchase agreement (PPA) that would reduce its electricity costs by 15 percent while meeting its 20 percent renewable energy goal. The town conducted a competitive procurement, found the offer to be the lowest-priced option, and entered the contract. Later, however, town leaders realized that the sole-source, take-or-pay contract effectively foreclosed other opportunities to reduce costs, including energy conservation measures and the opportunity to participate in a community solar garden.
 READ MORE (offsite)

NYSERDA NY Prize badge
NY Prize Microgrid Stage I - 
​Project public documents
New Paltz Microgrid
Feasibility Study Final Report
- 195-page report (PDF)

Project Brief - 2-page handout (PDF)

Project Team Qualifications - 2-page handout (PDF)

Project Public Presentation - 20-slide presentation (PDF)

Warwick Microgrid
Feasibility Study Final Report - 140-page report (PDF)

Project Brief
- 1-page handout (PDF)

These projects are made possible by grants from the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) under the NY Prize Community Grid Competition.

Minnesota CHP Stakeholder Engagement
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The Minnesota Department of Commerce, Division of Energy Resources, engaged Microgrid Institute to support a CHP stakeholder engagement process as part of the state's effort to increase energy efficiency in Minnesota. Among deliverables produced for this project, Microgrid Institute prepared several policy brief documents, and sythesis/summary reports. 

Summary Reports

Synthesis Report: CHP Action Plan Comment Period
Microgrid Institute June 30, 2015 report summarizes and synthesizes stakeholder comments submitted to Minnesota Department of Commerce during the Draft CHP Action Plan Comment Period, March 30 through May 15, 2015.

CHP Stakeholder Engagement Process:
Options, Outcomes, and Recommendations

FINAL REPORT synthesizes comments and findings in the Minnesota CHP Stakeholder Engagement Process and provides recommendations for development of a CHP Action Plan. (February 2015).

Meeting Reports 
Outcomes from the four meetings hosted by the Minnesota Department of Commerce, Division of Energy Resources in late 2014:
https://mn.gov/commerce/industries/energy/distributed-energy/combined-heat-power.jsp

CHP Market and Policy Briefs

Elements of Standby Rate Design
Policy brief document on utility standby service pricing and policies, distributed at CHP Stakeholder Meeting #2 (Sept. 3, 2014).

CHP and State Portfolio Standards
Summarizing various state policy approaches to CHP, including energy efficiency standards, renewable energy targets, and alternative portfolio standards (Sept. 24, 2014).

CHP in Minnesota:
Technical & Economic Potential
Baseline & Value Proposition
Energy Policy Context


Minnesota Department of Commerce Project Website

This project was made possible by a grant from the U.S. Department of Energy and the Minnesota Department of Commerce.


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Community Renaissance:
When one age ends, another begins

Fortnightly, April 2014
By Michael T. Burr

Community microgrid initiatives reveal simmering conflicts about the role of the utility franchise, versus the free market. Who gets to develop community microgrids? And how will they be financed?

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Microgrids and the Utility of the Future
Panel 1 of the NYU Law School Symposium on the Utility of the Future addresses market forces and the changing utility industry business model. Microgrid Institute Director Michael Burr addresses drivers for innovation and the role of microgrids.
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Microgrid Milestones
Top 5 Developments of 2013
(in the U.S.)
 
By Michael T. Burr
One of the most interesting trends of 2013 was the rise of microgrids. While the hype overshadows the reality of actual projects, several key developments have set the stage for growth.

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Maryland 'Resiliency through Microgrids' Task Force

Microgrid Institute 'Roadmap' Comments, April 3, 2014

"A singularly important role for policymakers in Maryland is to establish policy goals and regulatory frameworks that foster innovation in serving local energy requirements – not only with microgrids, but with a full range of demand-side services."

Maryland Task Force Comments PDF
File Size: 722 kb
File Type: pdf
Download File


Minnesota Microgrids Final Report, Sept. 30, 2013
Minnesota Microgrids
Barriers, Opportunities, and Pathways
Toward Energy Assurance

(Final Report)


Microgrid Institute study for the
Minnesota Department of Commerce 
Division of Energy Resources
Sept. 30, 2013.



The Division of Energy Resources commissioned the Microgrid Institute Team to perform a study and prepare a report identifying regulatory barriers and opportunities for microgrid development. The study specifically considers energy assurance and renewable energy integration, with a policy roadmap to facilitate microgrid development. 

FINAL REPORT (PDF)

Market Data Analysis by 
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The study was made possible by a grant from the U.S. Department of Energy and the Minnesota Department of Commerce through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA). 

Since its release, the report has served as a resource not only for the State of Minnesota, but has been distributed to stakeholders by other agencies and states, such as New York and Connecticut, and by such organizations as IEEE.

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Utility 2.0 and the Dynamic Microgrid
Superstorm disruption calls for a new utility architecture


Mani Vadari, Modern Grid Solutions, and Gerry Stokes, Brookhaven National Laboratory
With advanced distribution technologies, grid architecture is starting to change in fundamental ways. Distributed energy resources, combined with smart grid technologies, set the stage for dynamic microgrids to emerge and bring a new level of system resilience and efficiency. (November 2013)


PictureAn Adelphi Project
Microgrids: 
An Integrated 21st-Century Solution


Michael J. Zimmer and Elissa E. Welch, Ohio University Voinovich School of Leadership and Public Affairs, December 2013

Economy of Small, Public Utilities Fortnightly, May 2013.
Economy of Small
How microgrids went from unlikely to inevitable 


Michael Burr, Microgrid Institute
Energy microgrids have emerged as more than just a curiosity. The technology is improving, costs are falling, and developers are lining up to build projects. How will microgrids overcome the substantial challenges that stand in their way? The answer is as varied as the customers they're being designed to serve. (May 2013)



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UN Foundation PDF
File Size: 626 kb
File Type: pdf
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Microgrid Multi-Play
Creative solutions for energy access, resilience, and sustainability
 

Michael Burr, United Nations Foundation Minigrids Working Group teleconference, Nov. 21, 2013.

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Energy Bar Assoc. PDF
File Size: 713 kb
File Type: pdf
Download File

Driving forces and barriers for microgrids in the U.S. 
Energy Bar Association Webinar presentation, Sept. 25, 2013.
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Maryland PDF
File Size: 359 kb
File Type: pdf
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Smart, Dynamic Microgrids
Tools for resilience, economics, and sustainability

Michael Burr, Maryland Clean Energy Summit, Oct. 16, 2013.

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ABA - ACORE PDF
File Size: 916 kb
File Type: pdf
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Smart Grids,
Smart Microgrids

Plotting the Trajectory of Power Market Disintermediation
 
ABA-ACORE Webinar Presentation, July 17, 2013.

Other Resources

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Strategy & Mission
Microgrid Institute is a collaborative organization that focuses on key issues affecting microgrids and distributed energy resources (DER) around the world. Our efforts address market development and analysis, regulatory and financial models, and project feasibility and structuring.

We use a multidisciplinary approach. By working with acknowledged authorities and subject-matter experts, we provide thorough and objective study and analysis. Our key goals focus on supporting market development; addressing key issues that affect microgrid and DER projects; and contributing knowledge, insight, and leadership to project development processes.




[email protected]



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