Micro Grid Labs

Partner: Microgrid Labs Solutions

Members: Andrew Reetz, Enric Sabadell, Jonathan Levy, Liz Gilliland, William Johnson

The Microgrid Labs Solutions team will conduct techno-economic feasibility studies of microgrids, also known as localized groups of electricity sources capable of operating independent of the traditional electricity grid, During the course of this Capstone project, these studies will take place at pre-identified locations within the City of Boulder:

  • One city owned/operated critical facility with an objective of increasing resiliency, reducing their operating costs, and reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from day to day operations; and
  • One commercial property/campus with an objective of reducing their GHG emissions and operating costs. Further, a microgrid feasibility study will be conducted with the objective of being able to operate these facilities and support the community in an event of grid-outage.

Both studies will include an electric vehicle (EV) charging infrastructure design intended to mitigate the impacts of charging on local electrical infrastructure through the incorporation of localized distributed energy resources and storage options.

The outcome of this pilot will provide a holistic framework addressing the multi-faceted problem of GHG reduction, resilience improvement and electrification of transportation. The pilot study report will include the steps, requirements, and methods for conducting the feasibility study and can serve as a framework for other cities and commercial facilities.