Climate change is making the electrical grid vulnerable to extreme weather events. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has noted that weather patterns are shifting, particularly with Tornado Alley extending further east and winter storms happening more frequently in places like California and Texas. 

One of the side effects of this shift is significant power outages, which can negatively affect communities and cost businesses revenue. For most jurisdictions, resiliency is about ensuring that businesses have access to backup power so that they can continue to operate without losing money or compromising data integrity. 

Microgrids have been touted as one of the most promising solutions to help businesses, local authorities, and utilities achieve this goal. 

How to Maximize Your Microgrid Installation

Microgrids are small, localized grids that provide power generation separate from the larger grid infrastructure. Because they operate independently of the main grid, they are perfect for providing backup power to mission-critical data centers and communities during power outages. When microgrids aren’t in use during disruptions, they can even contribute capacity to the main grid.

Still, simply buying equipment to set up a microgrid isn’t the way forward for most projects. You must still ensure that your microgrid will deliver the results you expect in light of power demands, resources in the surrounding environment, and other critical factors. 

To do this, you will need to be able to access and assess high-quality historical performance data and monitor those metrics over time, using the results to continually improve it. So how do you access this data? The team at Enchanted Rock, one of the nation’s premier providers of microgrid infrastructure and services, obtains it from real-time monitoring of their assets.

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The Enchanted Rock team’s microgrid network operations center works around the clock to identify issues early before they become major problems for customers. With 1,300 units at 300 locations successfully implemented, they can use the data they have to improve system performance in the future.

Why Data-Driven Insights Are Key to Microgrid Success

Having a microgrid provider that relies on data-driven insights is key to making sure that these systems provide the resiliency promised. Whether in business or out in the community, following through on these promises is critical to maintaining trust and ensuring that businesses and people have access to power when they need it most. 

This same monitoring also allows customers to increase the power capacity they can provide back to the grid. This is important for maximizing the system’s potential benefits, but it can also offset the cost of the system and help the equipment pay for itself over time. Additionally, it allows customers to contribute to the community and fulfill their needs for stable power sources.

Winning the Power Battle as You Face the New Normal

Natural disasters are an unfortunate reality. As weather patterns worsen, resilient power systems will become even more important to business and personal continuity. 

However, customers must make sure those systems have the capacity to meet their needs. With the right solution and access to essential data, businesses and individuals can have peace of mind that they’ll have what they need to keep going in any circumstances.

To learn more, read the original article by Allan Schurr.