Building Microgrids with Scale: What Packagers and Developers Should Know

Microgrids are no longer a niche engineering case and have grown to become a critical structural setup in a wide variety of situations. For numerous facilities, such as medical campuses, universities, military installations, local neighborhoods and, increasingly, data centers, microgrids give greater control and safety to operators, allowing them to improve regional energy resilience, optimize costs, and create greater sustainability.

However, with the growing demand for microgrids, it has also become important for packagers and developers to be able to build microgrids at scale. This means a greater focus on replicability, standardization, size, and long-term operability. This necessitates the coordination of supply chains, integration of controls, unified regulatory and standards, and lifecycle planning.

In this blog, we’ll take a look at what both packagers and developers need to know about building microgrids with scale.  

Scaling Through Modular Design

Replicating successful design processes across multiple sites is the essence of structured scaling of microgrids. Modular systems should offer configurable pathways, that is, interchangeable components within a standardized frame, rather than locking developers and suppliers into strict confines.

For example, modular control panels and switchgear could arrive pre-assembled and tested, ready to be fit into place, eliminating onsite labor or repetitive commission and design costs. Integrated packaging can be created for battery storage, gensets, or renewable power, with docking stations included, which can be easily dropped into place and ready to provide power safely. 

For developers, the replicability of modular design reduces costs and complexity, and accelerates time-to-market. Even the concept of having microgrid archetypes that are efficiently planned and deployed, such as a 60kW solar/120kW genset/200kWh battery grid, gives engineers clear parameters for what they’re setting up and whether or not that can meet their needs. 

Modular design also delivers significant benefits for developers’ financial and regulatory planning. Having ready-made, pre-approved designs allows for faster permit processing and ensures regulatory alignment, while also providing predictable performance and economic modelling with consistent start-up and ongoing costs. A unified design standard and replicable concepts also make it easier to secure financing and demonstrate scaling plans.

Make Interoperability a Foundation

Microgrids require several complementary systems, which become more complex with size and can hinder scaling. These include:

• Diversity of energy assets powering microgrids, such as mains power, solar or wind, on-site CHP systems, diesel gensets, batteries, fuel cells, and even bio-waste.

• Communications systems, including remote IoT sensors, HMI and PLC screens, switchgear, and remote control components.

• Software systems, control and monitoring applications, and cybersecurity programs.

As you scale, it’s vital not to become locked into the various proprietary ecosystems that are present in the field and to search for control systems and architectures that are vendor-agnostic and protocol-flexible. Sometimes, a single-vendor approach may present a compelling business case, but the entire project lifecycle must be considered when pricing, as losing interoperability poses a significant risk for developers with scaling intentions. Being capable of adding new energy resources, upgrading to superior communications systems or game-changing software can be the difference between making scaling worthwhile and not.

Consider Lifecycle Sustainability and Its Impacts

While microgrids are often heavily connected with clean energy through the incorporation of renewable power sources, they are just as often powered by fossil fuels through on-site gensets. Whatever the power source, however, sustainability is an important consideration for microgrid scaling for two main reasons. 

First, with ESG goals becoming increasingly integrated into the public consciousness, investors and data center operators expect a greater focus on the sustainability of the microgrid's energy management. Second, it often makes more financial sense to use recyclable materials or incorporate ‘low-usage protocols’ focused on saving energy or limiting fossil fuel inputs when forecasted demand is low.

For developers seeking to enhance their ESG metrics, tracking and publishing carbon reduction per kWh for scaled microgrids versus smaller models can be beneficial. This comparison highlights how scaling and providing greater energy security can positively impact social areas, such as job creation and energy equity.

Consider the ROI Outcomes for Scaling

While demand for microgrids and their capabilities is high, there’s no sense in constantly seeking to scale without a solid business case behind it. It is critical to power your decision-making with the right kind of data in terms of demand, production, pricing, and costs to ensure that building to scale is right for the projects in question.  

On the packaging side, integrating load forecasting algorithms into your energy management systems will help ensure delivery optimization for managing your distributed energy resources (DERs) around spikes and troughs in demand and mains pricing. This can be supplemented by advanced telemetry and metering to help recognize the exact costs of usage or other relevant expenses. 

For developers, the surrounding market and access to certain energy resources may determine whether scaling is beneficial. Greater scaling of successful microgrid functions may also help create revenue outside of the primary intended use of the grid without any drop-off in capacity or resiliency.

Conclusion

Microgrids are becoming increasingly prevalent across several areas, including medical campuses, military installations, and, especially, data centers. The benefits of microgrids include greater control for operators, the ability to deploy and incorporate multiple distributed energy resources (DERs), and the capacity to operate in ‘island-mode’ when mains power is unavailable. 

With the increase in demand comes greater opportunities to scale up capacity; however, this also presents challenges for both developers and packagers. Modularity is a popular solution that eases supply chain concerns and improves time to market. However, it’s crucial to maintain interoperability at the heart of operations, as single-vendor ties can otherwise restrict development. 

Scaling up microgrids also has the potential to greatly improve sustainability through more efficient power usage or using low-carbon power sources. This can help both governance goals and your bottom line. Ultimately, your bottom line will determine whether scaling is right for your data center project, with local factors often being decisive determinants.

At Enercon, we have decades of experience in designing, building, and installing microgrids across numerous industries. If you’d like to talk more about how Enercon can help with your next microgrid scaling project, contact us today.