Distributed energy resources (DERs)—including renewable energy technologies, storage (such as batteries), and combined heat and power (CHP)—can provide a variety of benefits for federal sites. DERs can help agencies meet goals and mandates, deliver cost and energy savings, and provide environmental benefits. An emerging application for distributed renewable energy, storage, and CHP is resilience—providing power in the event that a site loses grid electricity.
Renewable energy, storage, and CHP can provide revenue streams while grid-connected, and these energy and cost savings may lower the overall cost of a microgrid and allow for the incorporation of additional microgrid components. When integrated into a microgrid, distributed energy technologies can also increase survival time during a grid outage when fuel supplies are limited.
Distributed energy technologies can address specific resilience challenges but are only a part of the picture. The Federal Energy Management Program (FEMP) is developing a comprehensive framework for resilience planning and implementation that addresses the continuity of key operations. Learn more about Portfolio Resilience Planning and Implementation.
