Work Continues on Creating a Microgrid Roadmap

The California Energy Commission will hold a public workshop in San Diego to create a roadmap to accelerate the adoption of microgrid technology.

The April 25 workshop, which begins at 9:30 a.m. at the U.S. Grant Hotel, is the third in a series of workshops to develop a roadmap with stakeholders.

Microgrids are small-scale electrical systems that provide and manage power independent of the larger electric grid. They are used to support facilities with critical energy needs like hospitals, industrial complexes or university campuses. Many microgrids incorporate clean energy resources such as solar photovoltaics and can store energy using batteries and other technologies.

Despite the ability of microgrids to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, support grid reliability and facilitate higher levels of distributed generation, their use is not yet widespread due to cost, regulatory issues and other factors.

At the workshop, representatives from the Energy Commission, the California Public Utilities Commission and the California Independent System Operator will discuss how stakeholders including utilities, microgrid owners and manufacturers can address barriers hindering the wider deployment of the technology.

Directions for participating in the workshop, including instruction for participating remotely through WebEx, are in the public notice.

Two workshops on the subject were held in 2016 and two more will be scheduled later.