Solar Microgrid Methodology (SMM)

A Solar Microgrid delivers a trifecta of economic, environmental, and resilience benefits. 

1. 1. Economic
      • A Solar Microgrid can significantly reduce electricity costs compared to traditional utility purchases, while also providing increased long-term savings as utility rates continue to rise. In addition, they offer Value-of-Resilience (VOR) by maintaining critical operations during outages—often at a lower lifecycle cost than fossil-fueled generators.
   2. Environmental
      • A Solar Microgrid generates clean, renewable electricity on-site, reducing reliance on fossil fuels and cutting greenhouse gas emissions. It enhances grid stewardship by decreasing demand during California’s 4–9 p.m. peak period, when both grid stress and emissions are at their highest. By producing and consuming energy locally, a Solar Microgrid eliminates transmission and distribution losses and lowers the environmental impact of centralized power plants and the large-scale infrastructure they require.
   3. Resilience
      • A Solar Microgrid provides an unparalleled level of resilience compared to traditional fossil fuel generators. According to the Clean Coalition, resilience is defined as the ability to keep critical loads online indefinitely in the face of extreme or damaging conditions. This goes far beyond conventional reliability, which is typically measured after just five minutes of grid outage. A Solar Microgrid delivers 100% ride-through for short-duration outages, with costs scaling based on desired backup duration. It also offers the flexibility to design for indefinite resilience for selected critical loads, depending on the proportion of load served. 

This manual follows a structured, step-by-step approach based on the Clean Coalition’s SMM. It is designed to be adaptable for a variety of educational settings. Instructors may integrate individual modules into existing courses or deliver the material as a focused, standalone training.

Educators and training providers have flexibility in how they implement assessments, supplemental materials, and hands-on activities. The methodology supports both theoretical instruction and applied learning, allowing instructors to customize the depth and delivery to match student needs, course objectives, or institutional requirements.

Recommended Tools

1. 1. UtilityAPI: A secure platform that automates the collection, standardization, and sharing of utility customer data, including electric and gas usage, billing information, and interval data. 
   2. HelioScope: A web-based solar design and sales platform developed by Aurora Solar. HelioScope streamlines the process of designing photovoltaic (PV) systems by integrating site layout and energy yield simulations, enabling rapid creation of accurate solar array designs. 
   3. Energy Toolbase (ETB) Developer: A comprehensive software platform designed for the financial analysis and modeling of solar and energy storage projects. The platform calculates the economic impacts of various system configurations, providing precise assessments of utility costs, energy savings, and overall project economics.
   4. Clean Coalition’s Solar Microgrid Analysis Processor (SMAP): A specialized tool used to clean and analyze electrical meter data, size the BESS, and evaluate resilience outcomes and their associated value.