Designing a Neighborhood Microgrid

The document describes the use of HOMER Grid software to analyze solar and battery storage configurations for the Parker Village neighborhood in Highland Park, Michigan. It outlines financial assumptions, building stock electricity demand based on full electrification and heat pump use, and technology costs for solar PV, Tesla Powerpack storage, and backup generators. The analysis results in several recommended system configurations combining 1.1 MW of solar PV with varying levels of storage and backup options (diesel, natural gas, or grid connection) to ensure resilience and reliability.

• The analysis assumed a fully electrified neighborhood where all buildings utilize electric heat pumps for heating and cooling.
• Due to constraints on available land and roof size in the neighborhood, the solar photovoltaic (PV) capacity was limited to 1.1 MW in the modeling.
• The HOMER modeling identified multiple viable microgrid configurations combining 1.1 MW of PV with storage (ranging from 1.1 to 6.3 MWh) and different backup options, including diesel, natural gas, or a grid connection.
• Backup generators are recommended for grid-separated systems to maintain resilience and reliability, specifically to address power demand during winter peaks when solar and storage are insufficient.

APA

Baek, Y., & Gignac, J. (2022). Designing a Neighborhood Microgrid. Union of Concerned Scientists. https://www.ucs.org/sites/default/files/2022-03/technical-appendix.pdf

Chicago

Baek, Youngsun, and James Gignac. Designing a Neighborhood Microgrid. Union of Concerned Scientists, 2022. https://www.ucs.org/sites/default/files/2022-03/technical-appendix.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Baek |first1=Youngsun |last2=Gignac |first2=James |title=Designing a Neighborhood Microgrid |publisher=Union of Concerned Scientists |date=March 2022 |url=https://www.ucs.org/sites/default/files/2022-03/technical-appendix.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{baek2022designing, author = {Baek, Youngsun and Gignac, James}, title = {{Designing a Neighborhood Microgrid}}, institution = {Union of Concerned Scientists}, year = {2022}, month = mar, url = {https://www.ucs.org/sites/default/files/2022-03/technical-appendix.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }