Microgrids are, in a nutshell, local electricity grids that serve small populations, often powered by renewable resources and able to function independently from a larger network. Constructing a microgrid allows rural communities to harness natural resources in their area – such as running water, solar power, or wind — to create a self-sustaining, independent power network. The community as a whole can then use the resultant energy as a springboard for progress.

Microgrids could and should be an important part of our energy landscape. And, with some planning, microgrids could be generating clean energy. The case for microgrids is clear, but companies that try to develop the projects have run into a discouraging array of obstacles, as shown in a recent report from Think Microgrid, a trade group for companies involved with these technologies.

In the emerging system, technological and business model innovations are transforming the way electricity is produced, stored, used and marketed. There is a shift in value creation toward the consumer’s end of the business, and the grid itself is evolving to support the two-way flow of energy and information between producers, consumers and prosumers (those who consume and produce).

In addition to helping power cleaner, more reliable energy for communities, microgrids can be essential investments against natural disasters. Built to withstand major storms, microgrid systems can be reliable in any rural area, whether it’s a desert or rainforest, open plains or mountainous area.

Microgrids are increasingly becoming part of a new, modern electrical energy system as communities, businesses and government institutions see them as unique solutions to meet the demand for clean, resilient and efficient energy.

Microgrids have proven themselves time and time again in disasters. And yet the technology faces a list of headwinds - often because of outdated regulations - that hinder its wider use. It is time to chart a new course. Microgrids provide unique solutions for the pressing challenges of our time.

With the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) now signed into law, renewable microgrids will usher in a new era of American resiliency. Think Microgrid, the Civil Society Institute, RMI and Millennial Action Project are releasing Microgrids Now, a short video explaining microgrids and how they are a game changer for the US energy grid.

Poudre Valley REA, a member-owned electric cooperative which serves the town located high in the Rocky Mountains, unveiled its first-ever microgrid – an interconnected system of loads and energy resources. The microgrid aims to better enable energy management and integrate various generation sources in Red Feather Lakes to increase resiliency for the members.