A single grid powers your house. The energy from giant power plants is directly deposited into the national grid, where it is distributed to consumers.
What happens when this central grid fails? Many homes are left in darkness!
A micro-grid is an energy system that can power small communities.
What is a Solar Microgrid?
Microgrids, which are distributed energy systems powered by fossil fuels or renewable sources of energy, are decentralized. A large number of microgrids are solar-powered systems.
These structures are not large. Most microgrids range from 100kW up to a few MHT1_ and serve a small geographic area.
Microgrids can be used with or without the main grid. When energy storage systems are integrated into the microgrid, it can be fully independent. Solar Microgrids use hybrid or off-grid solar inverters for this.
Why do we Need Microgrids?
1. 24×7 Power Supply
A microgrid can supply power 24/7 if the grid goes down for any reason, such as weather, human error, or unforeseeable circumstances.
Microgrids are especially valuable during natural disasters when the main grid is not reliable. Access to electricity is a major advantage in such situations when conducting rescue operations.
2. Promoting Renewable Energy
The conventional electricity supply is unstable. Solar energy is becoming more popular.
Solar power is only available during daylight hours. We need a storage system that can store Gigawatts to ensure a 24/7 energy supply. This is not possible at this time.
Storage for small-scale plants is also available. Microgrids make it easier to switch from RE to microgrids.
3. Accessible
A localized energy system can provide a reliable energy supply in remote areas without grid infrastructure.
Businesses in urban areas can opt to use microgrids for their power needs.
What are they?
Solar panels can be mounted on a solar farm or installed on buildings within the territory.
The panels transfer the energy to a central controller. This intelligent device can manage the distribution process and switch between different input sources.
The excess power is stored in the battery and discharged during power outages or at night. Solar Micro-Grids: Benefits and Uses
1. Cost-Effective
Renewable energy systems are much easier to install than grid infrastructure, and solar technology has become more affordable in recent years.
Microgrids offer a cost-effective alternative to conventional electricity.
2. Reliable
Microgrid is a system that can include solar panels, windmills, biogas, and diesel generators. If solar energy is not sufficient to meet demand, the controller can use other sources of energy to compensate.
It ensures a reliable and consistent power supply.
3. Rural Communities are Reached
Many rural communities lack reliable grid electricity. However, they do have localized resources like solar and wind that can be converted into energy. A microgrid allows villages to harness their local resources to provide cleaner, more reliable, and cheaper power for all community members.
4. Grid stability is improved
Microgrids are able to meet the demand for small geographic areas at peak times, reducing the load on the national grid.
5. Scalable Structure
Due to space and resource limitations, it is not easy to expand solar power systems individually. Microgrids are scalable to meet the growing power demand.
6. Reduced power costs
Solar energy is cost-effective, and it eliminates the requirement for extensive transmission and delivery infrastructure. Customers can, therefore, enjoy lower prices for electricity compared with conventional energy sources.
Micro Grids In India
In India, the concept of decentralized systems has a huge scope both in urban and rural settings. The electricity tariffs are increasing, and grid power is becoming more unstable. Last year, the country experienced a shortage of coal.
Microgrids that enhance energy access in rural areas and that complement grid power in cities are viable solutions.
In addition, the different Indian states have their policies for expanding the microgrid network.
According to a new study, IIndia’s microgrid industry will reach $2500 million in IIndia’ before 2028. This projected growth is largely due to the Indian government’s efforts to promote renewable energy.
There are governments in India for expanding the Microgrid network.
Umang Solar Inverters For Solar Micro-Grids
Businesses and residential communities can use Umang Off-Grid and Hybrid solar inverters to set up solar microgrids.
The transformer-less devices are small and quiet and use pure sinewave technology for the best performance.
The intelligent inverter is made in India and has the highest efficiency available in the industry. (Up to 96%) This results in minimal power loss and longer backup.