Ramona Adams
The Defense Department has chosen Eaton to provide engineering and power management services to a microgrid demonstration project at the Michigan Army National Guard’s Fort Custer Training Center.
Eaton said Tuesday it will collaborate with Electricore and Consumers Energy to demonstrate the capacity of microgrids to maintain power supply during outages as part of the Environmental Security Technology Certification Program.
The Electricore-led project team will also work to validate automated power quality management, real-time response to grid conditions and energy storage asset control, Eaton added.
The effort also seeks to explore the potential for actively shared resources between Ft. Custer and nearby federal facilities.
“The microgrid project at Ft. Custer will help [DoD]Â establish a replicable model for reducing the overall cost to implement energy surety goals in sites where bases are closely located,” said William Murch, director of service at Eaton’s microgrid energy system business.
Eaton will provide equipment upgrades; install additional energy storage and natural gas generation resources; and implement microgrid control and communication components for the project.
The project will employ Eaton’s Power Xpert Energy OptimizerTM controller, designed to support deployment of stand-alone power systems.
