Dive Brief:
- Schneider Electric is expanding its partnership with American Microgrid Solutions to accelerate the deployment of end-to-end microgrid solutions for building operators in the healthcare, manufacturing, multifamily, utility and public sectors, the companies announced Monday.
- Under the agreement, AMS will use Schneider Electric’s EcoStruxure Microgrid Flex technology suite to design, deliver, commission and operate microgrids, AMS said in a release. The partnership will also enhance early-stage microgrid development by combining technical evaluations with financial and operational planning, helping move projects more efficiently from concept to deployment, according to the companies.
- Facilities that have to switch to backup power after a natural disaster or for other reasons should find the capabilities of the enhanced platform useful, the companies say. “Microgrid lifecycle capabilities [will] allow resilience and recovery amid wildfires, hurricanes, earthquakes, blackouts and other causes of extended outages, maximizing energy availability,” Samantha Childress, microgrid partner and strategy director at Schneider Electric, said in a statement.
Dive Insight:
Organizations are facing more or longer power interruptions this year as grids across the country deal with the strain of data center growth and other peaks in demand, as well as more extreme weather, reports show.
More blackouts are expected to come, with AI data centers on the East Coast in particular “gobbling up so much juice that nonprofit grid operators PJM may be forced to enact rolling blackouts on its customers during heat waves and exceptionally cold weather just to protect the grid’s integrity,” a January Futurism report says.
Against this backdrop, building operators are looking to microgrids that use solar and battery energy storage as a way to improve resilience.
Schneider Electric’s EcoStruxure Microgrid Flex offering is a modular architecture designed to accelerate microgrid delivery through commissioning and enable repeatable deployments at scale, the company says.
By integrating that technology with its power systems platform, building operators can “move from concept to commissioning while improving resilience, visibility and long-term performance across sites,” Geoff Oxnam, CEO and founder of American Microgrid Solutions, said in a statement.
The companies demonstrated the expanded partnership at Hillandale Gateway, a mixed-use development in Montgomery County, Maryland, that combines age-restricted housing and retail space, a resilience hub and community amenities with high-performance building standards, according to the release.
Using EcoStruxure Microgrid Flex allows AMS to support efficient operations at the Hillandale Gateway microgrid under normal conditions and ensure uptime and delivery of critical services during grid disruptions, the company said. AMS configured the system, which includes a 1.1-MW solar rooftop array and a 375-kW/860-kWh battery, with battery set points that progressively prioritize the most critical loads at the facility as available charge declines, maximizing impact during outages, the release states.
Going forward, the system will provide up to 72 hours of energy support and offset 600 metric tons of carbon dioxide per year, AMS said.
“This allows the resilience hub and age restricted residential buildings to maintain power when it is needed most,” AMS said. “By supporting vulnerable populations while generating an estimated savings of more than $150,000 annually, Hillandale Gateway demonstrates how advanced energy systems can enhance equity, security and sustainability at the community scale.”
Additionally, the expanded partnership will enhance early-stage microgrid development through feasibility studies, resilience assessments, business case development and pro forma modeling, according to the release. It will also help customers de-risk investment decisions and accelerate delivery of resilient energy systems with long-term operational value, they said.
