The Microgrids, Infrastructure Resilience, and Advanced Controls Launchpad (MIRACL) research initiative is part of the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Wind Energy Technologies Office’s distributed wind portfolio of investments aimed at enabling wind technology to be an affordable, accessible, and compatible distributed energy resource. Distributed energy resources are increasingly used by individuals, businesses, and communities to cost-effectively build resilient infrastructure and enhance the capabilities of local distribution grid operations.
From 2018 to 2022, MIRACL researchers are documenting a baseline and future research opportunities for distributed wind controls research. They are also establishing the capabilities needed at DOE’s national laboratories to enable industry validation of new technologies and methodologies for a future that includes high contributions of wind in distributed power systems.
MIRACL’s priorities are to:
- Research and develop grid modeling tools to accurately value grid system contributions from wind as a distributed energy resource.
- Achieve greater, measurable resilience in microgrids and distribution systems through distributed wind integration and cybersecurity.
- Demonstrate and document the ability of advanced distributed wind turbine controls, which operate the turbine’s mechanical and electrical systems, to support electric grid stability and resilience.
To learn more about MIRACL and opportunities for collaboration, download the Microgrids, Infrastructure Resilience, and Advanced Controls Launchpad (MIRACL) Fact Sheet.
To learn more about MIRACL’s advanced controls research, download the Microgrids, Infrastructure Resilience, and Advanced Controls Launchpad (MIRACL) Research: Controls Fact Sheet.
Funded by DOE’s Wind Energy Technologies Office, MIRACL is a collaborative research project that includes DOE’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Sandia National Laboratories, and Idaho National Laboratory.