Interoperable, Inverter - Based Distributed Energy Resources Enable 100% Renewable and Resilient Utility Microgrids
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As microgrids transition away from use of conventional generating resources and increasingly rely on renewable resources towards decarbonization goals, it is crucial to evaluate the capability inverter-based resources to provide microgrid stability and resilience. Particularly, microgrids with a high contribution of intermittent solar photo voltaic generation and higher load variability present unique challenges requiring fast voltage and frequency support. At the San Diego Gas and Electric Company(R) (SDGandE(R)) Borrego Springs Microgrid, a battery inverter was upgraded with grid-forming (GFM) capability to serve as island leader, transitioning responsibility away from diesel generators. An interoperable microgrid control scheme was developed, coordinating GFM and grid-following (GFL) inverters. Hardware-in-the-loop (HIL) simulations using relevant power and controller HIL interfaces between real-time simulators and field equipment are being conducted to de-risk field deployment.
Citation Formats
TY - DATA
AB - As microgrids transition away from use of conventional generating resources and increasingly rely on renewable resources towards decarbonization goals, it is crucial to evaluate the capability inverter-based resources to provide microgrid stability and resilience. Particularly, microgrids with a high contribution of intermittent solar photo voltaic generation and higher load variability present unique challenges requiring fast voltage and frequency support. At the San Diego Gas and Electric Company(R) (SDGandE(R)) Borrego Springs Microgrid, a battery inverter was upgraded with grid-forming (GFM) capability to serve as island leader, transitioning responsibility away from diesel generators. An interoperable microgrid control scheme was developed, coordinating GFM and grid-following (GFL) inverters. Hardware-in-the-loop (HIL) simulations using relevant power and controller HIL interfaces between real-time simulators and field equipment are being conducted to de-risk field deployment.
AU - Abcede, Laurence
A2 - Blankenship, Alie
A3 - Moradpour, Andrew
A4 - Aragon, Mary
A5 - Cardenas, Jose
A6 - Shamukh, Nagadev
A7 - McGrath, Kimberly
A8 - Pratt, Annabelle
A9 - Prabakar, Kumaraguru
A10 - Symko-Davies, Martha
DB - C-MIX - Community Microgrid Information Exchange
DP - Open EI | National Laboratory of the Rockies
DO - 10.1109/GridEdge61154.2025.10887429
KW - Battery energy storage
KW - Power electronics and inverters
KW - Power electronics
KW - Inverters
KW - Solar
KW - Photovoltaics
KW - PV
KW - Diesel generators
KW - Other liquid-fuel generators
KW - Maintenance and operations
KW - Operations
KW - Maintenance
KW - Commissioning
KW - Power plant controls
KW - SCADA
KW - Case studies
KW - Performance
KW - Resilience
KW - Extreme weather
LA - English
DA - 2025/01/01
PY - 2025
PB - San Diego Electric and Gas
T1 - Interoperable, Inverter - Based Distributed Energy Resources Enable 100% Renewable and Resilient Utility Microgrids
UR - https://doi.org/10.1109/GridEdge61154.2025.10887429
ER -
Abcede, Laurence, et al. Interoperable, Inverter - Based Distributed Energy Resources Enable 100% Renewable and Resilient Utility Microgrids. San Diego Electric and Gas, 1 January, 2025, C-MIX - Community Microgrid Information Exchange. https://doi.org/10.1109/GridEdge61154.2025.10887429.
Abcede, L., Blankenship, A., Moradpour, A., Aragon, M., Cardenas, J., Shamukh, N., McGrath, K., Pratt, A., Prabakar, K., & Symko-Davies, M. (2025). Interoperable, Inverter - Based Distributed Energy Resources Enable 100% Renewable and Resilient Utility Microgrids. [Data set]. C-MIX - Community Microgrid Information Exchange. San Diego Electric and Gas. https://doi.org/10.1109/GridEdge61154.2025.10887429
Abcede, Laurence, Alie Blankenship, Andrew Moradpour, Mary Aragon, Jose Cardenas, Nagadev Shamukh, Kimberly McGrath, Annabelle Pratt, Kumaraguru Prabakar, and Martha Symko-Davies. Interoperable, Inverter - Based Distributed Energy Resources Enable 100% Renewable and Resilient Utility Microgrids. San Diego Electric and Gas, January, 1, 2025. Distributed by C-MIX - Community Microgrid Information Exchange. https://doi.org/10.1109/GridEdge61154.2025.10887429
@misc{CMIX_Dataset_102,
title = {Interoperable, Inverter - Based Distributed Energy Resources Enable 100\% Renewable and Resilient Utility Microgrids},
author = {Abcede, Laurence and Blankenship, Alie and Moradpour, Andrew and Aragon, Mary and Cardenas, Jose and Shamukh, Nagadev and McGrath, Kimberly and Pratt, Annabelle and Prabakar, Kumaraguru and Symko-Davies, Martha},
abstractNote = {As microgrids transition away from use of conventional generating resources and increasingly rely on renewable resources towards decarbonization goals, it is crucial to evaluate the capability inverter-based resources to provide microgrid stability and resilience. Particularly, microgrids with a high contribution of intermittent solar photo voltaic generation and higher load variability present unique challenges requiring fast voltage and frequency support. At the San Diego Gas and Electric Company(R) (SDGandE(R)) Borrego Springs Microgrid, a battery inverter was upgraded with grid-forming (GFM) capability to serve as island leader, transitioning responsibility away from diesel generators. An interoperable microgrid control scheme was developed, coordinating GFM and grid-following (GFL) inverters. Hardware-in-the-loop (HIL) simulations using relevant power and controller HIL interfaces between real-time simulators and field equipment are being conducted to de-risk field deployment.},
url = {https://cmix.openei.org/submissions/102},
year = {2025},
howpublished = {C-MIX - Community Microgrid Information Exchange, San Diego Electric and Gas, https://doi.org/10.1109/GridEdge61154.2025.10887429},
note = {Accessed: 2026-08-06},
doi = {10.1109/GridEdge61154.2025.10887429}
}
https://dx.doi.org/10.1109/GridEdge61154.2025.10887429
Details
Data from Jan 1, 2025
Last updated Mar 30, 2026
Submitted Jun 2, 2026
Organization
San Diego Electric and Gas
Contact
Annabelle, Pratt
Authors
Keywords
Battery energy storage, Power electronics and inverters, Power electronics, Inverters, Solar, Photovoltaics, PV, Diesel generators, Other liquid-fuel generators, Maintenance and operations, Operations, Maintenance, Commissioning, Power plant controls, SCADA, Case studies, Performance, Resilience, Extreme weather