Don’t follow one-time disasters to find microgrid opportunities; look instead to areas with recurring power outages and businesses interested in resilience, says a new study.
Curious about the impact of storms and disasters, Wood Mackenzie, a global research and consultancy business, looked at microgrids sized 100 kW and above that were built after storms and wildfires between 2012 and 2019, said Isaac Maze-Rothstein, research associate with Wood Mackenzie Power and Renewables.
The study found that only 14% of US microgrid capacity was built in areas affected by the seven most costly natural disasters within three years of the incident, he said.
“I was surprised,” said Maze-Rothstein. “I thought that it would be the opposite story — that the microgrid market is moved by natural disasters.” He added that projects were built after disasters like Superstorm Sandy, but not many compared to the total market size during that time period, when 2.18 GW of microgrids were installed and operational in the US.
Recurring outages are a bigger motivator for businesses and manufacturers to consider microgrids for resiliency, the report said. Outages as short as “momentary blinks” in manufacturing facilities can bring down a whole manufacturing line, he noted. If for example, this happens in a metal making plant, the company might have to scrap a whole line.
As for the programs spurred by Superstorm Sandy — such as the New York Prize and the New Jersey Township Microgrid Program — there has been little action, he said.
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