Microgrids as a Resiliency Measure to California Wildfires

Abstract

As a result of the rapid increase in wildfire activity within the state of California, and the interaction between these fires and electrical infrastructure, the state is experiencing a lack of electrical reliability. This project offers an end-to-end review of the key factors impacting the integration of resilient residential microgrids to mitigate this loss of reliability. An in-depth review of wildfire trends, microgrid and DER technology, and their economic and environmental impacts was conducted to understand the interaction between these factors and electrical reliability. Several community scenarios were modelled using NREL’s REopt Lite software to determine the specific impacts of microgrid integration in Napa County. Findings suggest that Napa presents an ideal location for microgrid investments, and projects have the potential to provide reliable revenue streams for investors depending on how operations are modelled.