Northern Power Systems (NPS, Waitsfield, VT) announced that it will engineer, build and operate a custom-designed, utility-connected, energy generation, storage and distribution network within the area known as Mad River Park in Waitsfield, VT. The MicroGrid® power network will operate in parallel with the bulk utility generation and distribution system, and will provide increased power quality and reliability to residences and businesses (including Northern's newly constructed headquarters facility) located in the park.
The MicroGrid® next-generation, power network architecture is a natural evolution of Northern's ongoing work in on-site power systems that incorporate combined heat and power and deliver critical load support for individual customers. MicroGrid® power networks represent a practical new strategy to ensure continuous power, providing security and protection regardless of utility outages and other electrical grid anomalies. As a fundamental power architecture, MicroGrid® power networks have wide application at many levels in the energy market, from commercial and industrial complexes and residential developments, to universities and medical campuses and even substation scale systems.
"This first-of-its-kind project will highlight, in a real-world setting, the vast potential for networked, distributed generation to cut energy costs and accelerate the use of clean, renewable energy," noted Dan Reicher, executive vice president of Northern Power Systems and former US Assistant Secretary of Energy. "In a larger sense, the MicroGrid® concept represents a tangible distributed generation solution to the serious effects of widespread power outages and recurring reliability problems in the US electric grid."
