Microgrids
Kurt Myers is Idaho National Labs Group Lead of Distributed Energy and Grid Systems Integration. Former NARUC President Paul Kjellander, also former Idaho PUC President, is Senior Advisor at Public Utilities Fortnightly.
There is a functional microgrid at Idaho National Laboratory that is unique in many ways. Dubbed the Microgrid in a Box, it can tie into the electrical grid and coordinate distribution of electricity for a military base, its first intended use, or a small village, or be moved for disaster relief, or has flexibility to manage electricity generation from sources including solar, wind, nuclear, or diesel generators while offering grid services options.
The creators of Microgrid in a Box have loftier goals, to make the grid smarter, as its combination of batteries, inverters, and technology aim to provide ancillary services to the grid, in addition to blackstart and frequency regulation capabilities. That will allow utilities to handle more of the two-way flows and variable generation associated with distributed generation and electric vehicles.
It's complicated and to explain how Microgrid in Box works, Public Utilities Fortnightly went to the authority and Idaho National Labs Group Lead of Distributed Energy and Grid Systems Integration Kurt Myers. Listen and learn.
PUF's Paul Kjellander: What is your role at Idaho National Laboratory, and what is Microgrid in a Box?