Opportunities to Enhance Grid Resiliency with Microgrids
Microgrids can enhance resiliency, support grid efficiency, and unlock new economic opportunities.
Microgrids for Resiliency
Blackouts are becoming frequent
This phenomenon has worsened over the past decade as electrification continues to expand and our dependence on intermittent renewables grows.
Our reliance on the grid is surging. Power demand is climbing at an unprecedented rate, even as fossil fuel consumption declines.
This surge is driven by the rising adoption of electric vehicles, the electrification of home heating, the rapid growth of data centers, and the on-shoring of energy-intensive manufacturing.
Blackouts have a highly disruptive effect on our lives
Each facet of our lives is increasingly powered by electricity, a reality that brings its own set of concerns—particularly as blackouts grow in both severity and duration.
Certain aspects of our lives are so critical that the loss of power, and the services it sustains, becomes almost unimaginable. Picture a surgery interrupted by a sudden loss of light. The terror of being stuck in an elevator during a blackout pales in comparison to the catastrophic consequences of power outages in hospitals, blood banks, or sample storage facilities—where life and health hang in the balance.
Other areas, such as data centers and military installations, demand uninterrupted power. Even a brief outage in air traffic control systems could have dire consequences. These examples underscore the urgent need for a more resilient and reliable grid, one that ensures critical users are never left in the dark.
Yet, the impacts of blackouts extend beyond vital users like hospitals. Businesses with large refrigerated inventories—think Walmart or Costco—stand to lose significant revenue in such scenarios. While corporations of that scale may recover, a small grocery store facing a similar loss could face existential ruin.
For individuals like you and me, a blackout is an inconvenience we’d rather avoid, especially during a cold spell when home heating is essential. Such outages can lead to personal economic losses, from spoiled refrigerated food to the expense of relocating to a hotel.
It’s an inconvenience—but the degree varies. For a single person interrupted mid-Netflix binge, it’s a minor annoyance. Yet for families with infants or elderly parents requiring constant care, it’s far more serious.
Without power, our phones cannot be charged. Without phones, we lose the ability to let our loved ones know we’re safe or to call for help. These are real challenges—ones that anyone who has lived through a blackout understands and deeply appreciates.