Energy & CivilizationStudent Project Showcase: Fall 2023

Fall 2023

Fall 2023

Group Members

Rijul Gupta, Anahita Saidi, Wikram Chowdhury, Michael Chigaev

Problem Identification Video

Project Report

Executive Summary

Grid reliability poses a significant concern for California, with the largest population in the U.S. exceeding 39 million and the second-highest energy consumption of over 6.9 Quad BTU among all U.S. states in 2021, accounting for 7.5% of the nation's total energy consumption. If California were an independent nation, it would find itself among the top 15 countries globally with the highest energy consumption, surpassing the likes of Australia and Italy. However, to the peril of its residents, the state consistently ranks poorly in grid reliability. Between 2008 and 2018, California was the leading U.S. state for power outages with almost 4,300 blackouts in the ten years. 36,769 power outages were reported to the U.S Today ‘OFF THE GRID’ power outage tracker, and California accounted for an overwhelming majority with 16,438 in the state, followed by Texas with 2,494 outages.

Thus, it is of urgent importance to find solutions to address grid reliability in California. One promising solution is the implementation of solar microgrids within regions of reduced grid reliability, due to their ability to operate even when the main grid is offline. In addition to increasing grid resilience, projects such as the Gridscape microgrid installation in San Diego, are projected to show significant savings for customers. The installation in San Diego for example is projected to save $6 million dollars over the next 10 years.

These factors make solar microgrids an attractive solution to this problem. To accelerate regional implementation, two main elements must be considered. First is the question of financing, and second is the question of local placement.

Financing can be accomplished through a combination of government grants and private investment. Government funding typically provides a small portion of the overall cost and risk reduction. Private investment then provides the rest of the necessary financing. An alternative solution to this problem is the “microgrid as a service” model. A 3rd party constructs and manages the microgrid, and the customer pays for energy from the microgrid as it is used.

Local placement of microgrids is commonly formulated as an optimization problem, where aspects such as generator cost and transmission distance are minimized while capacity and thus resiliency are maximized. Modeling this problem leads to a number of conclusions: microgrids should maintain a small footprint, microgrids should be located near the points of use, and microgrids should supply a limited number of buildings.

In general, the solar microgrid is a promising technology that aims to reduce the unreliability of California’s power grid more cleanly and cost-effectively. For policymakers and private investors, it is a technology that should be considered more often to bear with the difficulties of California’s power grid.

Final Paper: Implementing Solar Microgrids in California to Improve Traditional Grid Reliability