WASHINGTON - Feb. 19, 2018 - s4story -- There's a growing spotlight on the fragility of America's aging electrical infrastructure, while both energy production and electricity generation from distributed energy resources (DER) continue to increase. New grid technologies, such as microgrids, can now provide innovative hardware and software that solves for DER integration and provides the benefits of secure, reliable, resilient and efficient power infrastructure. However, costs have long been an obstacle for many organizations.

A session at the upcoming Microgrid Global Innovation Forum, March 14-15, 2018 in Washington, D.C. (www.microgridinnovation.com), will discuss how municipal, district, institutional, commercial and large buildings can benefit from innovative approaches such as a "Microgrids-as-Service" business model to stabilize long-term energy costs and upgrade critical energy infrastructure without upfront capital.

"Microgrids help solve for DER integration, offer grid independence without forfeiting benefits of the central grid and have the ability run autonomously in the event the grid unexpectedly fails or is damaged," said Mark Feasel, vice president of Schneider Electric's electric utility segment and smart grid business in the U.S. "As-a-service models remove the financial, engineering, and regulatory risks associated with deploying such technologies and enable them to become a reality."

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Specifically, the session will also showcase how these models can help solve specific energy challenges, the commissioning process undertaken to deploy a microgrid, and the possible resiliency and sustainability benefits achieved. It will feature perspectives from both Mark Feasel and Eric Coffman, chief of energy and sustainability for Montgomery County, which recently entered into a partnership with Schneider Electric and Duke Energy Renewables to construct microgrid systems in the region.

"This will be a great opportunity to examine some of the financial barriers facing microgrid deployment, and strategies for overcoming them," says Daniel Coran, editor at the Smart Grid Observer and program manager for the Forum. "The microgrid-as-a-service model is a very interesting approach."

The session is one of several that will look at key issues facing the microgrid industry in North America and worldwide. The 6^th edition of this Forum will bring together key thought leaders, utilities, energy providers, and other stakeholders to examine the latest technology developments and lessons learned in the design, implementation and operation of hybrid renewable energy microgrids.

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The global microgrid market size was valued at USD 3.76 billion in 2016, and is expected to reach USD 17.51 billion by 2025, growing at a CAGR of 17 percent.* The drivers behind this include the need for greater grid reliability and resiliency, the integration and control of distributed energy resources into the grid, as well as the desire by commercial and industrial end users to control energy costs and adopt more on-site renewable energy generation.

"This will be a tremendous opportunity to interact directly with companies at the cutting-edge of microgrid deployment," Coran adds. "Top utilities will be speaking who are pushing the envelope in terms of leveraging microgrids for grid resiliency, service flexibility and DER integration."

Presenting organizations include Duke Energy, Pepco Holdings, PECO, CMS Energy, Direct Energy, Southern Company, Lawrence Berkeley National Lab, Siemens, ABB, S&C Electric, Edison Electric Institute, and many others.

For full information on the Forum and to register, visit www.microgridinnovation.com