A Feasibility Study on Building a Stand-Alone Community Microgrid in the United States

In recent years, the U.S. and countries across the globe have seen a major rise in the development of microgrids. Microgrids represent a great opportunity for integrating renewable energies and thus, vital tools in the fight against climate change. The increased occurrence of natural disasters has made delivering constant and reliable power to critical facilities a major problem especially in remote areas, which is where microgrids excel. This study analyses the costs-benefits of building a self-sufficient community microgrid infrastructure that uses 100% Distributed Renewable Energy (DER) resources. The proposed systems also incorporate energy storage solutions to serve a 1000 households with the total capacity of 8 MW. The study employs NREL's System Advisor Model (SAM) to model performance and financial metrics by using a time-based modeling approach, based on installation and operation cost of the project and the system design parameters. Insights obtained from the model are used to guide planning strategies which in turn, could be used to sell homes at attractive prices and encourage the switch from conventional energy to clean renewable energy.