REC wins microgrid planning grant
San Luis Valley Rural Electric Cooperative (REC) has received a grant through the Colorado Department of Local Affairs (DOLA). The Microgrid for Community Resilience (MCR) planning grant for $36,000 will help REC study where and how a microgrid could be implemented into its system.
DOLA’S MCR program is designed to build community resilience regarding electric grid disruptions through the development of microgrids. DOLA defines a microgrid as “a group of interconnected electric loads and distributed energy resources with clearly defined electrical boundaries that can function as a single, controllable entity with respect to the electric grid. Therefore, a microgrid can be connected to or disconnected from the electric grid to enable it to operate either in ‘grid-connected mode’ or in ‘island mode.’ When it isn’t receiving power from the grid, the microgrid can sustain power delivery while conditions, which may have caused the outage, improve or while repairs are made.”
Microgrids can:
•Improve customer reliability
•Increase resilience to grid disturbances
•Help deploy zero-emissions energy sources
•Reduce energy lost through transmission lines
•Help manage power supply and demand
•Improve grid resilience during extreme weather
Many rural towns experience extreme weather, high cost of living or other socioeconomic strains, or vulnerabilities to the grid that impact a community’s resilience. Microgrids are one tool in strengthening a community’s ability to keep the lights on in the event of planned or unplanned outages. Recognizing what a benefit microgrids can be for these rural communities, DOLA initiated the MCR grants to bolster community resilience.
In addition to emergency resiliency, microgrids provide another benefit that helps achieve what many community members have deemed a high priority— climate action. On a typical day, a microgrid that uses a photovoltaic (PV) array to collect abundant solar energy, storing it in a battery system, can deploy that electricity during the “peak,” when the energy is most valuable. This time period is called the “peak” because it’s when most residential loads are at their highest, and overall dependence upon centralized fossil-fuel generated power is at its daily maximum; these rates are also typically higher. When a microgrid is used in this manner, it brings down the peak, not only decreasing costs, but also reducing the need for fossil-fuel-generated energy, resulting in fewer emissions. This unique feature of a microgrid allows greater levels of locally-produced renewable energy to be delivered when it is most economically advantageous to the hosting community as well as the entire REC membership, potentially deferring future pressure on rates.
With the planning grant, REC can better assess the Valley’s energy future. This is just one step forward as the coop will continue to work to leverage state and federal incentives and to explore options to advance community sustainability goals and enhance power reliability.