Hybrid Micro-grid with High Penetration Wind for Islanding and High Value Grid Services

Dependence on the national electric grid threatens the ability of the Department of Defense (DoD) to secure and sustain affordable power to perform missions on installations nation-wide. The integration of micro-grids offers a potential means to improve energy security at reduced cost. However, current State-of-the-Art DoD micro-grids generally use diesel generators as their primary power source. The cost of diesel fuel, fuel logistics, and environmental restrictions generally limit the use of generators in grid-tied service. This, in turn, limits achievable tangible economic benefits to motivate 3rd party financing of micro-grid implementation and sustainment. To address this challenge, EW-201606 sought to demonstrate technical feasibility, provide a business framework, path find policy and procedural issues, and provide implementation guidance for high penetration Renewable Energy (RE) and energy storage micro-grids. This entailed demonstrating reliable islanding using high penetration wind and energy storage, cyber-secure execution of regulation services for ISO-NE, and demand management capabilities.