Exploding the micro grid market

By 2020, the market of micro-grid is expected to reach annual revenue of about 40 billion USD. It can be said that this market has developed from experimental studies and has now gradually reached commercial scale. Energy researchers think that this market will have an explosive phenomenon in the coming time, and will bring many interesting things for investors who want to invest in this field.

When Super Typhoon Sandy hit the United States in October of last year, it caused enormous damage, estimated at 71 billion USD, including heavy damage to the entire grid in the area where the storm passing, causing widespread power outages for 3.5 million households using electricity. Another effect of super typhoon Sandy since that time has been a debate about the efficiency of distributed power grids over centralized power grids, especially the exploitation of micro grids that will be reduced. Minimize the damage of the entire electrical system, while reducing damage to customers using electricity in case of natural disasters.

The proof for this comment is a Perfect Power Institute study in the United States: if 24 states in the United States affected by Sandy super typhoon use about 2,000 microscopic grids at essential social institutions such as police, fire, medical, schools, gas stations, hotels, etc. all states can guarantee essential activities for the community within a month without having to connect to the grid. Concentrated coordination which has been seriously damaged by super typhoon Sandy.

This study is very consistent with previous studies on micro-grid made by Navigant Research. Navigan Research predicts that the market of micro-grid will reach about 40 billion USD / year in 2020. And in March this year, the Global Micro Grid Forum will be held once in California. moreover, it has affirmed the great interest in micro grid thanks to its energy stability and independence for electric customers.

So what is the micro grid? There may be many definitions for this concept, but a relatively complete definition of Navigan Research: ' Micro grid is an integrated energy system that includes distributed energy sources (DER - distributed energy). resources ), some load and metering systems, this system can act as an independent grid, separated from the current distribution grid '. The feature of independent operation has created the micro grid of special interest in the Americas and some other markets.

In addition, the concept of micro grid is mentioned when in developed countries there has been a need to replace aging grids with more flexible and intelligent systems. According to SBI Energy, the micro grid can be used as a building block for smart grid.

Market share of micro grid

In the past 2 years, the most important development of the nascent micro grid market is the formation of commercial scale from theoretical studies. According to energy researchers, the huge demand for energy distribution and distribution systems that can operate independently of the centralized grid has spurred the development of the micro grid market.

In the extensive research of Navigant Research, there are 5 basic energy market segments that are benefiting from the development of the micro grid market:

Trade / Industry (5.6%).

Residential community / Service industries (31.7%).

Educational institutions / branches (44.6%).

Army (6.3%).

Remote areas / Areas without electricity (11.8%).

(Percentage of statistics of 2011).

If we consider the proportion of the micro grid market by geography, the North American region will account for the largest proportion, reaching 2,088MW for all pre-feasibility projects, feasible, are construction and went into operation.

The rest of the world saw the strong growth of the micro grid market from 0.1% in mid-2011 to 12.7%, equivalent to 404MW by the end of 2012.

The Asia-Pacific region has declined in proportion, while Europe maintains a market share of about 12%. According to some researchers, Europe seems to be focusing on studying ideas about virtual energy facilities rather than developing micro grid.

Although there are a number of micro-grids that are already being exploited, they are mainly the first generation to be operated and run by diesel generators. Meanwhile the next generation of micro grid is being studied to integrate information technology management systems, complex software and new adapters to different power sources, all both create a system with high stability and reliability.

In the next section, we will monitor some typical projects on micro grid.

42MW micro grid in San Diego, USA

With a capacity of 42MW, the micro grid at the University of California, San Diego is leading the way in this area.

Micro grid here includes: a fuel cell with a capacity of 2.8MW using biogas from the city's wastewater treatment plant; a photovoltaic battery with a capacity of 1.2MW with 2 optical concentrators; a 30kWh integrated optical energy storage system; plus a 27MW power plant with a cooling system and a thermal energy storage system with a capacity of 15 million liters.

Micro grid at the University of California also has an intermediate transformer station 69kV, 96 12kV feeder circuits underground and 4 distribution substations distributed over an area of ​​about 500 hectares. According to the University of California assessment, this micro grid has an impressive performance, meeting up to 92% of the university's annual electricity demand, and also ensuring to meet up to 95% of demand. heating and cooling of all University of California buildings in the winter and summer .

However, the most impressive benefit of deploying the micro grid at the University of California with a community of up to 45,000 thousand is that the university has saved up to $ 850,000 compared to the direct use of electricity from the centralized grid.

In early 2013, the University of California received a grant of about $ 1.6 million from the California Energy Commission to support the development of a pioneering micro grid system here. And the University of California also spends a £ 1.5 million reciprocal on the grant. The grant will be partially invested in the analysis of independent energy storage technologies to increase the efficiency of micro grid systems.

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Micro grid of US troops in Afghanistan

The US military has commissioned a mobile power project (PM MEP) that includes a micro grid system in Afghanistan. This work is considered part of a groundbreaking project, which reduces fuel consumption on the Afghan battlefield. Energy is a major concern in US deployment areas, because of deployment involves problems with generators, energy use and renewable energy sources.

Reducing the demand for energy on the battlefields is seen as an important military challenge of the DOD supply division (belonging to the US Department of Defense). The DOD has recently launched its first active Energy Strategy, with the aim of increasing energy efficiency, limiting the risk that the military faces when using, transporting and storing energy resources, Minimize defense spending on energy issues.

With a capacity of 1MW, the micro-grid of the US military in Afghanistan will replace 22 complex generators with four larger generators, simplifying maintenance as well as cutting fuel consumption. The benefit of micro grid is the adjustment and scalability of generators with different quality. For example, the micro grid system provides electricity for tactical and living communication devices of soldiers, but when there is an electrical problem, there is no effect on military operations in time. experiment. Specifically, the micro grid provides electricity for kitchens, laundry rooms, toilets and sleeping tents. If there is an electrical problem, the radio, radar or other military equipment is not cut off.

The intelligence of the micro grid system also demonstrates the flexibility in power management, providing the right temperature for people and the environment. If the outside temperature is too high, the air conditioner needs to be cooler, the system processor will report the data to the generators so that the generators can connect to each other and adjust the power supply accordingly. Besides, the installation of new devices into micro grid system is also much easier than the current electricity system.

Managers of hybrid smart power plants (HI Power) of the US Army Research and Development Agency (RDECOM) said that a soldier could go to any generator of the super grid system. Small at any time and plug in the necessary things without worrying about whether there is an overload, no need to calculate, analyze before plugging. Because generators then automatically communicate with each other to control each other, in order to adjust the load accordingly.

From this model, US military researchers are conducting research on energy conversion boxes in a common way, allowing energy sources to interact with each other. This study has passed the testing phase and is being widely deployed in 2013.

US Army TARDEC Center

The TARDEC (Tank Automotive Research, Development and Engineering Center) in the Center for Technology, Research and Development in Michigan is also one of the US military facilities installed with micro-grid with integrated system. Photovoltaic system, designed and installed for the purpose of ensuring energy safety for the two laboratories here, allowing the whole center to function normally in case of disconnection from the centralized grid.

The micro grid at TARDEC includes a wind power system, fuel cells, several power supplies, a dynamic optical system and a charging station for the electric vehicles of the center. Micro grid designers for TARDEC calculate that the excess capacity of micro grid in some times can be met to meet the demand for electricity in other complexes of TARDEC in addition to 2 rooms. above experiment.

The installation of the micro grid at TARDEC is a step forward for the US military in implementing the 'Net Zero' plan with the goal of allowing their facilities to use only the electricity produced at each facility. without power supply from centralized grid. The test results of 'Net Zero' in the military environment will also be shared for the civilian sector, thereby helping to commercialize micro grid projects in the market, helping communities step by step develop an independent electricity system of their own.

"Perfect Power" project at Illinois Institute of Technology

The "Perfect Power" project at the Illinois Institute of Technology - USA (IIT) has a five-year term with the goal of inspecting the entire power supply system of this scientific facility. And the highlight of the project is to deploy a micro grid here. On average, IIT lost 3 times a year, causing significant influence on research and teaching activities of the Institute. Therefore leaders here want to improve this situation. In 2008, IIT cooperated with the US National Energy Commission and the regional power company to deploy the "Perfect Power" project with a grant of US $ 7 million from the US National Energy Commission. .

The "Perfect Power" project was developed with 2 distribution transformer stations and 7 power supply circuits for IIT buildings. This amount of electricity is provided by a number of on-site built-in generators, including solar and wind power systems.

Micro grid at IIT is operated by a central controller. It will analyze the entire operation of the micro grid in real time, then command to regulate the operation of each component to ensure the highest performance. This controller is programmed to focus more power on critical areas as well as reducing the amount of electricity supplied to unsuitable areas, while calculating the electricity price for the amount of electricity to be purchased from the grid Focus to complement the total amount of electricity needed. Each circuit in the total of 7 circuits will be closely monitored, all arising phenomena will be updated promptly. The total investment for the whole project is about 14 million USD, but based on the amount saved about 1.3 million USD / year from reducing the purchase of electricity from the centralized grid will help IIT quickly return capital.

Some other micro grid projects

Japan's Toshiba Group is deploying a micro grid in Miyako Island in coordination with Okinawa Electric Power Company. Once completed, this project will be the largest micro grid project in Japan.

The giant prison Santa Rita in California - USA is also operating a micro grid with a savings of $ 100,000 per year. This grid is built and operated by Chevron Energy Solutions Company, including a 1MW fuel cell, 2 photovoltaic systems 1.2MW, 5 2.3kW wind turbines / turbine and one system 2MW energy storage system.

About virtual power plant (Virtual Power Plant VPP)

As mentioned above, Europe is not devoted to the micro grid of great interest as in the United States, instead they spend a lot of time researching virtual power plants (VPP) . In fact, the VPP is a group of small power plants (operating mainly on renewable energy sources) operating at the same time and controlled by a complex software to avoid abnormal fluctuations in transmit power of wind and photovoltaic systems.

One of the most interesting VPP projects currently being deployed on the Danish island of Bornholm, there is a population of about 42,000 people living by farming and fishing on the Baltic Sea. This community is benefiting from the world's largest VPP project called EcoGrid . Within 4 years, an amount of US $ 28 million was disbursed to implement the EcoGrid to connect 2,000 households on the island with power grids stretching along the island, which helps households use electricity to reduce electricity use. peak hours, while reselling excess electricity at off-peak hours to the power company.

As the name implies, the VPP does not actually exist physically. In fact, the Secretariat uses a smart grid structure to closely link multiple independent power sources into one unified source. One feature of the CO is that it allows linking various types of sources, such as the EcoGrid project on Bornholm Island, including a 36MW wind power plant and a 16MW biomass power plant. In order to operate these plants, a central management system with complex software is needed.

The first VPP projects generated electricity about 10 years ago but are primarily research-based. In the last few years, investors in the energy market, especially in Europe, have considered the VPP as a commercial alternative to adding electricity to the market, as well as a tool to enhance the exploitation of renewable energy sources.

Research firm Navigant Research estimates that global VPP output may reach 107GW by 2017, bringing in revenue of about $ 6.5 billion. Although research on micro-grid still faces some difficulties in terms of cost and system integration capability, this field will still be promoted by the following factors: system reliability, fuel price increases, exploitation costs of renewable energy sources tend to decrease. And so, we can hope for a bright future for micro grid.