DOWNTOWN MELROSE MICROGRID
MELROSE, MASSACHUSETTS
CHALLENGE AND OPPORTUNITY
B2Q engaged in MassCEC's Community Microgrids Program to perform a comprehensive feasibility study of a public-private, multi-facility microgrid in Downtown Melrose. The microgrid seeks to foster community resiliency while lowering greenhouse gas emissions and energy costs through clean energy resources at three critical municipal facilities - City Hall, Memorial Hall, and Central Fire Station - and Shaw's Supermarket. The purpose of this project was to understand how a public-private microgrid partnership can be developed, owned, operated, managed, and maintained such that the needs of all stakeholders are met.
B2Q developed and analyzed a multi-user community microgrid concept serving the four facilities that incorporates rooftop solar PV arrays, a canopy carport solar PV array, a battery energy storage system, electric vehicle charging stations, and a combined heat and power system. B2Q evaluated the following key components that relate to the feasibility of this mircogrid application and how the concept could scale to other communities with similar needs.
Investigate non-energy benefits for improving resiliency at the four critical facilities
Quantify the value of being resilient and the costs of not being resilient
Study the technical feasibility of implementing a host of clean energy, resiliency, and energy efficiency technologies to form a public-private community microgrid
Identify the electrical infrastructure upgrades necessary to implement the microgrid
Determine existing infrastructure which can be leveraged to support the microgrid
Identify technical and regulatory cost hurdles to implement the microgrid concept
Investigate and quantify how investments could leverage energy cost-savings, utility incentives, and grant funding to provide economic benefits and project payback
Outline how the critical success factors and hurdles translate to the scalability of the microgrid concept
Market:
Public Sector
Services:
Energy Efficiency and Analysis
Building Systems
Resiliency and Distributed Generation
