ADVANCING MILITARY MICROGRIDS

This report details the findings and recommendations from a two-day workshop conducted by the Electricity Innovation Lab (e-Lab) and Naval Facilities Engineering Command Southwest (NAVFAC Southwest) in April 2013. The document examines the technical, economic, and regulatory challenges of implementing microgrids on U.S. Navy bases to improve energy security and integrate renewable energy.

• NAVFAC Southwest lacks a comprehensive strategy to implement the Department of the Navy's energy security goals, and current design data is insufficient for microgrid planning. While the Navy uses a tiered rating system for building criticality to site and size back-up generators, this does not provide the necessary guidance for microgrids, which require data on islanding duration, shifting critical loads during outages, and granular building-level load criticality.
• The Navy's '1 GW Task Force' focuses on large, utility-scale renewable projects (greater than 20 MW capacity) to meet 2020 goals. However, this strategy may undermine energy security because large-scale projects create major vulnerability and choke points, whereas smaller, distributed renewable projects integrated via microgrids would be more resilient.
• There is a near-term opportunity for NAVFAC Southwest to reduce energy costs and mitigate price risk by investing in enhanced control systems for energy demand and supply, even before a full microgrid is operational. This is particularly urgent as NAVFAC Southwest plans to shift from futures procurement contracts to procuring electricity on California's spot market within two years.
• Microgrids connected at the distribution level face high transaction costs and complex regulatory requirements to participate in electricity markets. In California, this involves the interconnection process via the wholesale distribution access tariff (WDAT), selecting market designations (such as 'non-generating resource' or 'proxy demand response'), and following the CAISO new resource implementation process.
• Several internal Navy barriers impede microgrid adoption, including split incentives where the stakeholder benefiting from the microgrid is not the one funding it. Additionally, the formal acquisition process limits informal engagement with outside experts, and Unified Facilities Criteria (UFC 2-000-05N) may force the installation of redundant diesel generators for compliance even if a microgrid is present.

APA

RMI (2013). ADVANCING MILITARY MICROGRIDS. https://rmi.org/app/uploads/2017/05/RMI_Document_Repository_Public-Reprts_NavyReport.pdf

Chicago

RMI. ADVANCING MILITARY MICROGRIDS. 2013. https://rmi.org/app/uploads/2017/05/RMI_Document_Repository_Public-Reprts_NavyReport.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=RMI |title=ADVANCING MILITARY MICROGRIDS |date=September 2013 |url=https://rmi.org/app/uploads/2017/05/RMI_Document_Repository_Public-Reprts_NavyReport.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{rmi2013advancing, author = {{RMI}}, title = {{ADVANCING MILITARY MICROGRIDS}}, institution = {RMI}, year = {2013}, month = sep, url = {https://rmi.org/app/uploads/2017/05/RMI_Document_Repository_Public-Reprts_NavyReport.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }