Dive Brief:
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Swedish-Swiss energy giant ABB says it plans to have a modular microgrid ready for the market by year end.
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The company says its MGS100 will be housed in a single container capable of using renewable resources, including solar-plus-storage, battery storage and an alternating current generator.
- ABB says the unit is designed for applications such as remote villages that are not connected to the grid, and a back-up source of power for small commercial and industrial facilities, and can handle islanding from the surrounding grid.
Dive Insight:
ABB, like other suppliers of generating equipment, is bolstering its market position by adding microgrid capability to its portfolio. The company is looking for partners for its planned roll out of its new single unit microgrid device.
The company’s MGS100 device has three power load ratings: 20 kW, 40 kW and 60 kW. And, because it is modular, the company says it scalable.
The MGS100 is the first microgrid solution of its kind that "makes access to affordable and reliable power a reality, creating life changing opportunities, improving basic living standards and unlocking economic development,” Tarak Mehta, ABB’s president of electrification products, said in a statement.
Utilities' market share of microgrid ownership is expected to reach 18% in 2016, according to a GTM Research report, but the biggest challenge facing the sector is how to build sustainable business models for microgrids.
Following Hurricane Sandy's devastating impact in 2012, many industry experts are eyeing the technology as a way to protect critical infrastructure and boost reliability. Traditional microgrid projects used fossil-fuel generating resources, but more developers, like ABB, are looking at solar paired with battery storage as a way to help meet sustainability goals and cut carbon emissions.