The objective of this project is to develop guidelines for Department of Defense (DoD) microgrid definition, component acquisition, site commissioning, continuing operation, maintenance of equipment and cybersecurity of devices, and the inevitable troubleshooting and upgrading of older equipment. The guidelines will be based on experience derived from the existing portfolio of DoD microgrids and will focus on the key issues of energy reliability and system resilience.

This effort will acquire exhaustive information from the existing portfolio of DoD microgrids, aggregate and analyze the performance indicators, and develop a set of comprehensive guidelines for future development. These guidelines can be used by microgrid designers and developers for a consistent approach that will greatly increase the potential for successful project execution. This will be done by creating a step-by-step list of comprehensive instructions that cover best practices for achieving energy reliability and system resilience (ensuring critical facility loads are met at all times), equipment and communication costs (total installed cost of entire microgrid system), and commissioning, certification, and upkeep (allowing the microgrid to operate).

Some DoD microgrids have become unusable because system maintenance can only be performed by the microgrid designer, resulting in sunk initial costs and potential loss of mission operations if the system fails to provide power during a utility outage. The guidelines for microgrid operation will benefit the DoD by providing a consistent and comprehensive set of design, construction, and maintenance procedures that should result in immediate and on-going cost savings for the DoD. (Anticipated Project Completion - 2027)