Carnegie Mellon University
February 16, 2018

Pileggi comments on benefits of microgrids in ChooseEnergy

In an article for ChooseEnergy, Larry Pileggi talks about the benefits and importance of microgrids. Although the country's powergrid provides us with a safe and reliable source of energy, smaller microgrids can often provide more efficient and evironmentally friendly energy while also decreasing the risk of widespread power outages. This is important when unexpected natural disasters occur around the globe. “Backup microgrids can come up online during natural disasters such as during the hurricane in Puerto Rico and the tsunami in Japan (in 2011),” says Pileggi. “A great example of this kind of microgrid is the Sendai Microgrid that was able to come on as a backup grid following the Japan earthquake and was able to supply electricity and heat to a teaching hospital for two days of the blackout.” Read the article.