Microgrid Systems

The Office of Electricity (OE) supports critical grid systems research to strengthen grid reliability and resilience, help mitigate grid disturbances, and take full advantage of all sources of affordable, reliable and secure energy, to accelerate our evolution into a more dependable future-ready grid. Increasing power demand, aging grid infrastructure, increasing frequencies of higher impact natural disasters, rising physical and cyber security attacks, and long lead times facing system upgrades, threaten the reliability, resilience, security and affordability of the nation’s grid. Power outages are becoming more common across the U.S., largely due to an increase in extreme weather events, and other causes such as transient instability associated with large dynamic load connections. Power outages obviously pose serious threats, especially in remote, electrically isolated communities, and in cases where they cut people off from critical services that impact their health and well-being. 

Grid systems, such as microgrids or networks of microgrids, provide strategic energy solutions via localized power systems that can operate in grid-connected modes, providing reliability services during normal and abnormal grid conditions, or in islanded modes, powering remote communities or commercial/industrial operations. 

Microgrid Systems Research & Development (MSRD) Program 

DOE envisions that microgrids will become essential building blocks of the future electric grid, leveraging all sources of affordable, reliable, and secure energy. The mission of the program is thus to accelerate beneficial microgrid innovations that improve the reliability, resilience, security, and affordability of the U.S. electricity delivery system — advancing U.S. energy independence and dominance.

A microgrid system represents a group of interconnected loads and local energy resources within clearly defined electrical boundaries that acts as a single controllable entity with respect to the grid. This technical definition essentially articulates three core attributes of microgrids: (1) they are controllable with respect to the grid, able to seamlessly transition between interacting with the main utility grid (“grid connected”) and operating independently (“islanded”) during power outages or emergencies; (2) they can leverage all localized sources of affordable, reliable and secure energy resources to meet local demand, while also providing grid support; and (3) they can function intelligently, using advanced controllers to orchestrate the balancing of local energy resources and demand, supporting grid interconnection requirements while optimizing power delivery to end-users.

Microgrids are deployed across key sectors to bolster reliability and resilience during grid outages. As generation-agnostic systems, they enhance grid adaptability by integrating local energy resources. This localized generation reduces transmission losses and defers costly upgrades, driving down consumer costs and maximizing overall affordability. They also accelerate grid connection for large-load utility customers.

However, adoption is limited by high upfront costs, complex design, and regulatory barriers. Furthermore, massive new loads like data centers require end-to-end innovation. Microgrids address this by spanning both domains; specifically, their front-of-the-meter applications directly support grid stability, while behind-the-meter controls intelligently optimize user power delivery in coordination with the broader utility grid.

The program will advance practical solutions to overcome these challenges, directly improving grid reliability, resilience, security, and affordability. These strategic investments will transition microgrids from isolated backup systems into dynamic, interconnected energy ecosystems that provide critical stability to the wider electricity grid.