Energy Systems / EXPLAINER
Why Solar Panels Alone Do Not Create a Microgrid
Learn what a microgrid needs to operate during an outage, including controllable resources, defined loads and a tested transition from the wider grid.
FREE EXCERPT
Generation is one part of the system
A building with solar panels produces electricity under suitable conditions, but that fact alone does not establish that it can keep operating when the wider grid fails. Backup capability depends on the complete electrical architecture, its controls and the loads it is intended to serve. A rooftop photograph cannot answer those questions.
The U.S. Department of Energy describes microgrids as localized systems that can operate connected to a wider grid or in an islanded mode. Its solar integration guidance explains that many solar systems disconnect when they detect islanding. These statements are compatible: an intentionally designed microgrid has capabilities that an ordinary grid-connected solar installation may not provide. The important distinction is the supported operating mode, not whether sunlight is available at the moment of an outage.
Continue with a paid membership
This full article is included with Explorer, Researcher or Architect.
