Microgrids Offer Us a Promising Future, Especially Where Traditional Energy Infrastructure Has Failed

On September 28, 2024, members of the Double Island community Western North Carolina fled to the Volunteer Fire Department after watching their homes get obliterated by Hurricane Helene. The station became a beacon of hope within the eye of the storm. The way the community came together almost certainly saved lives.

For those first few days after the storm, the station's generators were a lifeline to the community. They allowed people to charge their phones so they could get in touch with loved ones. They kept food from spoiling, powered emergency radios, and helped keep medical devices operating. With many roads washed out or blocked by fallen trees, the generators were an island of safety and comfort until crews could restore access.

The next time such a disaster hits, communities like Double Island will be ready. They'll have their own microgrid, powered by an array of 32 solar panels along with a set of four-hour batteries.

Thanks to installations like this, microgrids are gaining appreciation for their ability to not only help communities decarbonize and be more resilient, but to also save lives.

What Is a Microgrid?

You've likely heard the term "grid" before to refer to electrical infrastructure in towns and cities. Criss-crossing networks of poles and wires bring power to buildings, including residences, schools, hospitals, and businesses. 

While utilities have developed many measures to increase grids' uptime, especially in the face of a disaster, there's always a domino effect that can occur when something goes seriously wrong. A single misplaced tree — or motor vehicle — can black out entire city blocks at a time. When these incidents occur over a widespread area, it can take crews hours, days, or even weeks to bring the grid back to full functionality.

A microgrid, by comparison, acts like an independent power source. Using an electricity generating device, like solar panels or wind turbines, coupled with energy storage, the grids are capable of sustaining themselves even when the main grid is disrupted. 

During typical weather, these microgrids can be net generators of electricity, reducing loads for local utilities and creating opportunities to generate revenues.

Microgrids are often integrated into the municipal grid to draw power from main sources as needed. However, they incorporate a controller mechanism to tell the microgrid when to operate independently and even when to redistribute power to other systems.

These capabilities make microgrids a "distributed energy resource," or DER. They create a means to efficiently distribute power from renewable energy on a small scale. On a bigger scale, networks of microgrids can be used to reduce loads on a municipal grid while creating independent sources of energy that combine to power whole communities.

Building Resilience for Climate Readiness and Disaster Response

One major opportunity created by microgrids can be seen in places like the above-mentioned Double Island Volunteer Fire Department. With the ability to generate and store power, locals can maintain vital supplies and communications while waiting for primary services to be restored.

“We’ll have at least a way to run our radio equipment, run our well and basic lighting and refrigeration” the latter of which can keep vital medications from spoiling, says Assistant Fire Chief Dan Buchanan. ​“It may not seem like much — but that’s the Willy Wonka golden ticket.”

A group of co-ops, interest groups, and supplier businesses joined forces to ensure that rural places like Double Island could be ready to spring back more quickly after the next disaster hits. They keep a stock of batteries, solar panels, and other equipment to loan out to locals and community support centers in an emergency. 

Dubbed "resilience hubs," these deployable microgrids can mean the difference between life or death, especially for those with complex medical needs or who live in remote areas. 

Speaking of the latter, few places are more remote in North Carolina than Ocracoke Island. It can only be reached by boat or ferry. As a barrier island, it's also often the first to bear the brunt of increasingly strong Atlantic storms. 

Local energy co-op Tideland EMC installed a microgrid on the island back in 2017. Not only can it provide backup energy in an emergency, but it can also offset stress on the island's main grid during peak loads. The arrays can also power instruments to keep transmitting vital readings, helping inform disaster response while gathering valuable data for climate studies.

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The information gained from the microgrid has also acted as a test balloon, helping other utilities and energy companies to improve dynamic load controlling and develop other complex microgrid systems.

Microgrids as a Municipal Energy and Development Strategy

Communities all across the U.S. have been investing in microgrids as a means to balance energy loads, reduce emissions, incorporate renewable energy sources, and improve resilience during an emergency.

Examples can be seen throughout Colorado, per the State's Department of Local Affairs. They operate at multiple scales, from single-building grids to campus-sized ones to ones that power entire communities. 

They're also being used as community re-investment and development projects in places like Detroit. The city has been running pilot programs, restoring blighted areas and installing solar arrays alongside green spaces to power entire neighborhoods.

Sun Prairie, Wisconsin — located just outside of Madison — has begun linking major city infrastructure elements to renewable sources using microgrids. The city has a goal of powering 100% of its operation with renewable energy.

The city's Sustainability and Resilience Manager Rose Daily says that emissions reduction is a major factor in their plans.

"By decarbonizing our municipality through our electricity consumption, we are really leading by example so that our residents and our businesses can follow in our footsteps,” she expressed to Wisconsin Public Radio for a March 2025 interview.

As the risks increase for climate disasters, overloaded grids, brownouts, blackouts, and skyrocketing energy rates, projects like these help communities reduce their reliance on centralized energy infrastructure. They add robust, independent infrastructure, making the communities they power more resilient. 

They can even generate opportunities to create revenue streams by fueling electric vehicle charging or selling energy back to the macrogrid. Benefits like these can add up, enabling communities to thrive economically and not just environmentally.

Gemini Energy Solutions Can Help You Envision a New, Cleaner, Brighter Future for Your Community

Microgrids are a major part of our efforts to invigorate communities through smart energy investments. Our team is available to consult with you to help you set realistic goals, concretely define requirements, study feasibility, determine options, and create all the other needed parameters for success. From budget to scope to funding, we are ready to help you dream of a new future — and then make it a reality.

Reach out to our Community Decarbonization Hub consulting team to learn more.

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