PJM General Session Focuses on Microgrids
:: FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE ::
May 20, 2015
May 20, 2015

Atlantic City, N.J.: At the PJM Interconnection's General Session today, Microgrid Institute Director Michael Burr delivered a presentation that focused in part on trends in "nested" microgrids -- e.g., systems with multiple islanding nodes that are operated as a portfolio. Additionally, Burr participated in a panel discussion on the topic, and served as its moderator.
"In the United States, the utility grid is highly reliable but not necessarily resilient," Burr told attendees at the event, which included approximately 400 PJM stakeholders and staff. "Microgrid technologies offer local customers options to ensure reliable power supplies for vital assets and services." Additionally, he explained the concept of nested microgrids, and discussed how it can address the needs of communities whose vital systems aren't conveniently clustered together -- such as the Olney Town Center microgrid project in Montgomery County, Maryland, where a team led by Microgrid Institute is designing and testing control systems to serve a nest of six separate microgrid nodes.
General session presenters and panelists also included:
"We applaud PJM stakeholders for focusing attention on the important topic of local resilience," Burr stated. "Microgrid systems will provide the greatest benefit for customers if they are developed and operated as part of an integrated power network. In addition to improving local resilience, microgrids can help transmission system operators to resolve such issues as load pockets, transmission constraints, and balancing requirements."
About Microgrid Institute: Microgrid Institute (www.microgridinstitute.org) is a collaborative organization that addresses key factors affecting the development of microgrids and distributed energy assets. Efforts focus on market development, regulatory and financial analysis, and project development support. Microgrid Institute is an independent initiative of Burr Energy LLC.
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CONTACT:
Peter Douglass, Microgrid Institute
www.microgridinstitute.org
+1.320.493.1923 / [email protected]
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"In the United States, the utility grid is highly reliable but not necessarily resilient," Burr told attendees at the event, which included approximately 400 PJM stakeholders and staff. "Microgrid technologies offer local customers options to ensure reliable power supplies for vital assets and services." Additionally, he explained the concept of nested microgrids, and discussed how it can address the needs of communities whose vital systems aren't conveniently clustered together -- such as the Olney Town Center microgrid project in Montgomery County, Maryland, where a team led by Microgrid Institute is designing and testing control systems to serve a nest of six separate microgrid nodes.
General session presenters and panelists also included:
- Micah Kotch, New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA)
- Lawrence Jones, Alstom
- Tom Nyquist, Princeton University
- Tom Fenimore, Duke Energy
"We applaud PJM stakeholders for focusing attention on the important topic of local resilience," Burr stated. "Microgrid systems will provide the greatest benefit for customers if they are developed and operated as part of an integrated power network. In addition to improving local resilience, microgrids can help transmission system operators to resolve such issues as load pockets, transmission constraints, and balancing requirements."
About Microgrid Institute: Microgrid Institute (www.microgridinstitute.org) is a collaborative organization that addresses key factors affecting the development of microgrids and distributed energy assets. Efforts focus on market development, regulatory and financial analysis, and project development support. Microgrid Institute is an independent initiative of Burr Energy LLC.
-30-
CONTACT:
Peter Douglass, Microgrid Institute
www.microgridinstitute.org
+1.320.493.1923 / [email protected]
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