CASE STUDY Designing a Neighborhood Microgrid

The Union of Concerned Scientists used the HOMER Grid model to analyze microgrid configurations for Parker Village, a planned eight-acre development in Highland Park, Michigan. The analysis focused on a grid-separated (islanded) system powered by solar photovoltaic panels and battery storage to maximize community independence. Findings indicate that while a grid-separated microgrid is feasible, it requires significant solar and battery capacity and necessitates fossil fuel backup (natural gas or diesel) to meet winter peak demand. Alternatively, a grid-connected backup option reduces initial investment costs and battery requirements but maintains a dependency on the utility for approximately 2% of annual power demand. The study emphasizes that increasing building energy efficiency could reduce the necessary scale of energy resources and minimize reliance on fossil fuel backups.

• A grid-separated microgrid powered by solar and energy storage is technically feasible for Parker Village, but achieving this while limiting outages requires a "relatively large amount of solar and battery capacity for the space available in the neighborhood."
• To maintain reliability during winter peak periods when solar and storage are insufficient, islanded configurations for Parker Village require fossil fuel backup generation.
• The study identified a trade-off between cost and independence: a grid-connection backup is less expensive than fossil fuel generators and requires fewer batteries, but it leaves the neighborhood dependent on the utility for about 2% of its annual power demand.
• The initial modeling for Parker Village assumed full electrification of all buildings, including the use of electric heat pumps for heating and cooling, which results in winter peak demand.
• Six feasible system configurations were modeled, with initial investment costs ranging from $2.85 million for a grid-connection backup option to $6.30 million for a diesel-backed system with 30 Tesla Powerpacks.

APA

Union of Concerned Scientists (2022). CASE STUDY Designing a Neighborhood Microgrid. https://www.ucs.org/sites/default/files/2022-03/designing-neighborhood-microgrid.pdf

Chicago

Union of Concerned Scientists. CASE STUDY Designing a Neighborhood Microgrid. 2022. https://www.ucs.org/sites/default/files/2022-03/designing-neighborhood-microgrid.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Union of Concerned Scientists |title=CASE STUDY Designing a Neighborhood Microgrid |date=March 2022 |url=https://www.ucs.org/sites/default/files/2022-03/designing-neighborhood-microgrid.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{unionofconcernedscientists2022case, author = {{Union of Concerned Scientists}}, title = {{CASE STUDY Designing a Neighborhood Microgrid}}, institution = {Union of Concerned Scientists}, year = {2022}, month = mar, url = {https://www.ucs.org/sites/default/files/2022-03/designing-neighborhood-microgrid.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }