Development

The Development Process section provides a high level overview of all the steps in the process of developing, building and operating a community microgrid. The goal is to provide local government and other stakeholders with a solid grounding in the overall microgrid development process. The key steps discussed in this section are:

• Planning: Identifies promising sites and determines which ones should be in the microgrid, why they are good candidates, what power they need, and how long they need it.
    Outcome: A Preliminary Microgrid Development Plan
• Technical Feasibility Study: Hard lines and significantly extends the information collected and assembled during Planning.
    Outcome: A Final Microgrid Development Plan, including: detailed design; cost/benefit analyses; potential ownership structures; and a financial plan.
• Financing and Procurement: Includes a final engineered design with detailed maps, the final energy mix, and outlines security and interconnectivity requirements.
    Outcome: Final Bid Documents – to finance and procure the microgrid.
• Construction: Includes awarding and managing contracts to procure equipment, construct the distribution infrastructure, and interconnect the microgrid and the grid.
    Outcome: Operational Microgrid
• Operation: Includes owning, operating and maintaining the microgrid.
    Outcome: A High Performance Microgrid that improves power reliability, reduces energy costs and provides increased resilience to the community.