PUBLISHER: Guidehouse Insights | PRODUCT CODE: 1640747
PUBLISHER: Guidehouse Insights | PRODUCT CODE: 1640747
The Effects of Regulation, Ownership, and Financing on Microgrid Adoption
Microgrids have long been used to provide energy resilience to off-grid and remote communities where regular grid access is unreliable or nonexistent, as well as to supply critical infrastructure with reliable energy in case of emergencies.
The growth of renewable distributed energy resources (DER) in the form of solar PV, storage, and other technologies has increased the popularity of microgrids for on-grid customers who want to increase resilience, sustainability and, increasingly, those struggling to connect loads to the grid.
However, because individual projects are unique and use cases are novel, individual microgrids do not fit neatly into regulatory regimes, which affects their economic viability.
This strategy insight examines the relationship between microgrid regulation and DER, illustrated with use cases and applicable business cases. It then explores how regulators, developers, and financiers in different countries have addressed regulatory and financing questions.
Table of Contents
Context
This report covers the following:
- Cost reduction and grid resilience drive microgrid adoption
- Regulation, ownership, and financing are key barriers to microgrid adoption
- Microgrid business models are closely tied to use cases and ownership models
Recommendations
Guidehouse Insights recommends the following:
- Energy as a service (EaaS) contracts benefit both the developer and the customer
- Regulators and developers must standardize microgrids
- Regulators should ensure a microgrid developers' investments are protected
- Private financiers should increase their knowledge of and exposure to microgrids
