Microgrids in the USA

A Microgrid is a localized group of electricity sources and loads that normally operates connected to and synchronous with the traditional wide area synchronous grid (macrogrid), but can also disconnect to "island mode" and function autonomously as physical or economic conditions dictate. [1]

A Microgrid can effectively integrate various sources of distributed generation, especially Renewable Energy Sources (RES) , and can supply emergency power, changing between island and connected modes.

The US Microgrid market is growing faster than expected, fueled by a rise in new ownership configurations, says a report released today by GTM Research. [2] GTM now forecasts that US Microgrid capacity will reach 4.3 GW by 2020, up from the research firm’s estimate last quarter of 3.71 GW. The US currently has about 160 microgrids with 1,649 MW of capacity.

Should the growth figure hold, the market will expand 116 percent over four years, according to the third quarter report, “U.S. Microgrids 2016: Market Drivers, Analysis and Forecast.” GTM sees US Microgrid market opportunity doubling from $836 million in 2016 to $1.66 billion in 2020. The figure above illustrates the growth projections for US Microgrid market.

DomaniSystems has been evaluating this market for some time as the Microgrid segment represents a very profitable use case for Blockchain technology. We recently presented our concepts of Blockchain based Smart Contract for both energy trading and Microgrid control at the Swiss-US Energy Innovation Days 2018 in Switzerland. [3] Below is the presentation.