Multi-user microgrids: obstacles to development and recommendations for advancement
Date
2018-11
DOI
Authors
Boston University Institute for Sustainable Energy
Version
OA Version
Citation
Abstract
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY:
Multi-user microgrids (MUMs) are an emerging approach to electricity service that allows
neighboring customers to obtain greater resilience in electricity service, from a set of locally installed distributed energy resources (DERs) of their own choice (sometimes including solar
energy and energy storage), through joint participation in a power production and delivery
system that can operate independently from the host electric utility.
To date, there are relatively few MUMs in operation. This is primarily because regulated utility
service from the electricity grid has historically been adequate and cost-effective for most
customers – and it is highly likely that this will remain largely true, so that MUMs will not
become widespread anytime soon. However, with improving microgrid economics and
increasing customer needs for resilience, there will be a growing number of situations in which
MUMs will become viable. Even today, certain sets of customers find the benefits offered by
MUMs to outweigh the additional costs.
Despite this, MUM activity has been extremely limited because of a number of significant
barriers associated with implementing this novel business model. Exacerbating this, there is a
dearth of comprehensive study on these barriers. Consequently, the goal of this research is to
provide a first investigation into the barriers to MUM development and some early hypotheses
on potential remedies that would facilitate MUM development when and where they might be
a good solution – with a particular focus on the Northeastern U.S. [TRUNCATED]