Pike: Microgrids most reliable form of DR

Microgrids have been around for decades and they have come a long way. The earliest systems relied on manual controls and were fueled by diesel generators. Today, microgrids rely more on renewable distributed energy generation and employ sophisticated technology.

Today's technology offers utilities new ways to increase reliability and manage variable, bidirectional resources, allowing for the reduction of demand during peak times – making it what could be the most reliable form of demand response (DR) on the market today, according to Pike Research.

"Microgrids are the ultimate example of energy democracy, because they diversify the ownership of supply infrastructure," said Pike Research Senior Analyst Peter Asmus. "Microgrids can offer a quality and diversity of services that incumbent utilities have not been able to offer up to this point in time. What's more, the distributed resources on which these systems rely can work together whether they are connected to the larger utility grid or operate in island mode, at the campus or community level."

Pike projects the worldwide microgrid market represents 4.7 GW by 2017 or $17.3 billion in revenue globally.

Microgrid capacity worldwide will reach 4.7 gigawatts by 2017, representing $17.3 billion in annual worldwide revenue, the cleantech market intelligence firm forecasts.

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