Community microgrids

Secure energy resilience for your community and its critical facilities

Overview

If your community is seeking energy resilience for extreme weather, Public Safety Power Shutoff events or other outages, PG&E’s community microgrid programs can help. Through financial and technical support, the Community Microgrid Enablement Program (CMEP) and Microgrid Incentive Program (MIP) can help you take your community’s energy resilience ideas from concept to reality.

 

What is a community microgrid?

 

Community Microgrid Enablement Program Infographic.

 



A community microgrid is a group of customers and Distributed Energy Resources (DERs) within clearly defined electrical boundaries with the ability to disconnect from and reconnect to the grid.

 

These microgrids are typically designed to provide energy resilience to important community facilities, such as:

 

  • Hospitals
  • Police and fire stations
  • Gas stations and markets

 

The microgrid provides a source of localized power for when the larger grid is down. Those sources of localized power, such as a solar photovoltaic (PV) system and battery, can be owned by third parties. And, they can participate in wholesale markets for energy and related services. PG&E will continue to own and operate the distribution system on which the microgrid capability is built.

 

A range of factors determines the size of the microgrid footprint, what community facilities to serve and what elements to include in the design. PG&E Resilience Coordinators will assist in determining if a community microgrid is the right solution for your needs and will describe the process to develop one.

 

Planning for a community microgrid 

 

A community microgrid involves deep technical and contractual collaboration with the utility and can take 3-5 years or more to develop. Key players that you will eventually need to assemble as part of your team include:

 

  • Local government or tribal government leadership
  • Community-based organization(s)
  • Technical / engineering firms

Contact us

Email us at communitymicrogrids@pge.com to begin the conversation and learn more.

Process for creation of a community microgrid

Understand the five stages

Stage Approximate time*

Stage 1: Consultation

  • Program introduction
  • Technical consultation
  • Application preparation

6 months

Stage 2: Application and scoring

  • Application submittal
  • Eligibility screen, score and award decision

2-3 months

Stage 3: Studies

  • Interconnection studies
  • Microgrid island studies

 

1-1.5 years

Stage 4: Development

  • Project implementation plan
  • Microgrid operating agreement
  • Project Development

1.5 – 3 years

Stage 5: Operation

  • Performance obligations

10+ years

*Each project is unique and will follow its own timeframe. These estimates are provided as guidelines only.

Download Microgrid Incentive Program Handbook.

Financial incentives and allowances

PG&E offers two programs, CMEP and MIP, that work together to fund all aspects of a community microgrid. They support the development of clean community microgrids in disadvantaged and vulnerable communities (DVCs). You can apply for either one individually, or for both programs together.

Microgrid Incentive Program (MIP) Overview

Learn how a community microgrid can provide a layer of energy resilience, and how the Microgrid Incentive Program (MIP) can assist with project development and help your community pay for it.

MIP 5 Stages

Take a deeper dive into the 5 program stages to create a community microgrid, from initial consultation through to operation.

Program Description

Community Microgrid Enablement Program (CMEP) 

Ongoing, no deadline

Microgrid special facilities allowance: Up to $3M per project.

 

Provides funding for PG&E equipment and services to enable the safe islanding of a community microgrid, such as:

 

  • Microgrid Island Study
  • Equipment to enable safe transition and operation in Island Mode, which may include:
    • Isolation devices
    • PG&E microgrid controller
    • Fault protection devices
    • System hardening

Microgrid Incentive Program (MIP)

PG&E is currently completing our first MIP application tranche. Check for updates in coming months as we will post information on the inaugural grant awardees plus will provide exact dates for the kick-off of our second tranche in 2025. Please reach out to our team in the meantime to discuss your prospective projects and learn more about MIP by emailing, communitymicrogrids@pge.com.

Application incentive request: Up to $14M per project

 

For eligible project engineering and development costs, such as:

 

  • In-front-of-the-meter batteries and generation resources
  • Engineering and project management costs
  • Property purchase or lease costs

 

MIP interconnection allowance: Up to $1M per project

 

For eligible interconnection studies and equipment:

 

  • Interconnection study costs for eligible in-front-of-meter Project Resources
  • Interconnection Facilities and Distribution Upgrades identified in the Interconnection Study

Ready to learn more?

 

We welcome you to view one of our webinars to learn more about the Microgrid Incentive Program.

MIP Informational Webinar - October 17, 2023

MIP Technical Webinar - October 24, 2023

View the Q&A from these webinars (PDF)

Identify Potential Partners

See PG&E’s Leap into MIP Resources webinar, recorded February 29, 2024, intended to help you identify potential technical partners.

Eligibility

Is my project eligible for Community Microgrid Enablement Program (CMEP) and Microgrid Incentive Program (MIP) funding?

 

MIP uses a competitive application process, and therefore eligibility for MIP does not guarantee MIP funding. MIP applications will be scored on community, resilience and environmental benefits, as described in the MIP Handbook. CMEP funding, on the other hand, is available to any eligible project which proceeds through the necessary steps.

 

To be eligible for CMEP and/or MIP, a proposed project must:

 

  • Meet at least one requirement in section A
  • Meet at least one requirement in section B
  • Meet all technical requirements in section C

Section A: Vulnerable to outages

Project must be in one of the following areas:

 

  • Tier 2 or 3 High-Fire Threat District
  • Area that experienced prior PSPS outage(s)
  • Elevated earthquake risk zone
  • Locations with lower historical reliability

 

The local or tribal government leadership may be able to justify other forms of vulnerability.

Section B: Disadvantaged and vulnerable community

Project must be in a DVC (one of 4 criteria below), or power a critical community facility that primarily serves a DVC:

 

  • Census tracts with median household incomes less than 60% of state median
  • California Native American Tribal Community
  • Community with highest risk per CalEnviroScreen
  • A rural area

Section C: Technical eligibility

Project must:

 

 

Project resources must:

  • Interconnect on a distribution line that is at 50kV or below.
  • Comply with the emissions standards adopted by the State Air Resources Board pursuant to the distributed generation certification program requirements of Section 94203 of Title 17 of the California Code of Regulations, or any successor regulation.
  • Have aggregate emissions, along with non-Project Resources, no greater than equivalent grid power when operating in Island Mode. Energy storage that is charged with grid power will be deemed to have the emissions equivalent of the average system emissions for the Utility

Frequently asked questions

Additional resources

Contact us

For additional information or to get started with a community microgrid, email communitymicrogrids@pge.com.