Load and growth
Use measured load profiles or build them up from each building or process, and change them over the life of the project as the site grows or electrifies.
Project types
Microgrid modelling
A microgrid is a smaller electrical grid operated as a single system, sometimes able to run grid-connected or islanded, and traditionally dependent on thermal generation for firm capacity. Gridcog models a microgrid's solar, wind, batteries and gensets against its load and grid connection, so you can size them for cost and compare designs on reliability and emissions.
For a hypothetical 100 MW data centre in Slough, a microgrid-style mix of solar, wind, storage, grid import and a genset cut 15-year costs to £795m, against £1.9bn fully grid-supplied.
In a Gridcog model of a 10 MW industrial site in New South Wales on a 5 MW connection, raising diesel from A$1.60 to A$3.00 a litre shifted the optimal design to more solar and storage, and cut the generator's share of supply from 3% to 1%.
AMPERES and Amboranj Power are using Gridcog to plan community-owned solar and battery systems for remote First Nations communities in Western Australia that rely on ageing diesel power stations.
What is a microgrid?
A microgrid is a smaller electrical grid operated as a single system, with its own generation, storage and loads. Some run off-grid all the time; others connect to the main grid, and some of those can island when they need to. Microgrids have traditionally relied on diesel or gas generation for firm capacity, and solar, wind and batteries are now taking on more of that role.
| Off-grid microgrid | Grid-connected microgrid | |
|---|---|---|
| Typical sites | Remote communities, mines and islands | Campuses, data centres, industrial sites and developments with a constrained connection |
| What sets the design | Meeting every hour of demand, including long periods of low solar and wind | Cost of supply against the grid connection's limits and tariffs |
| Role of generators | Firm capacity to cover whatever renewables and storage can't | Backup, peak shaving, or firm supply where the connection falls short |
| In Gridcog | A zero import limit, with a genset in Unserved Load mode | Import and export limits, with assets co-optimised against prices and tariffs |
How does Gridcog model a microgrid?
As one site with its own loads, generation and storage, bounded by its grid connection or by none at all. Gridcog dispatches every asset interval by interval and shows whether supply meets demand, what it costs and what it emits.
Generation and storage
Model solar, wind, batteries and generators together, and use autosizing to find the solar, wind and battery sizes with the highest net cashflow. Compare generator sizes in alternative scenarios.
Firm capacity and reliability
Set each generator's size and a Must Run minimum output, for example to hold spinning reserve or provide fault current. Gridcog reports any unserved load, the worst shortfall in kW and the total in kWh.
Grid connection
Model a fully off-grid site, or a constrained connection with import and export limits, including flexible or dynamic connections that change over time.
Several customers on one microgrid
Give each customer its own submeter and tariff, and add the network, retailer, landlord and tenants as participants, so each one's costs and income show separately.
Fuel, costs and emissions
Add fuel costs and heat rates for each generator, capex and opex for every asset, and emissions intensities, then compare designs on whole-life cost and emissions.
Modelled in Gridcog
Can a microgrid power a data centre more cheaply than the grid?
In Gridcog Chief Product Officer Pete Tickler's model, yes, by a wide margin. He compared three ways to supply a hypothetical 100 MW hyperscale data centre in Slough, where grid connections can take years to secure.
| Option | Supply | 15-year cost |
|---|---|---|
| Fully grid-supplied | A connection large enough for the full load | £1.9bn |
| Hybrid | A smaller grid connection with a 50 MW gas genset | £1.79bn |
| Microgrid-style | A smaller grid connection with 124 MW of solar, 259 MW of wind, 70 MW of storage and genset capacity | £795m |
The microgrid option's asset sizes are large, and it won't suit every site. But it shows how diversified on-site generation can cut costs and reduce reliance on slow, expensive grid upgrades.
Pete Tickler
Chief Product Officer
Read Pete's analysis: optimising energy for UK data centres, grid, hybrid and microgrid approaches
Planning a microgrid or an off-grid site?
Model your microgrid in GridcogHow do fuel prices change a microgrid's design?
Scott Bosman
Senior Energy Analyst
They shift the mix towards solar and storage. Gridcog Senior Energy Analyst Scott Bosman sized solar, diesel and a 4-hour battery for a 10 MW industrial site in New South Wales with a 5 MW grid connection, at two diesel prices.
At A$3.00 a litre rather than A$1.60, the optimal design had 1 MW less diesel capacity, about 9% more solar and 21% more battery. The generator stopped running to avoid network peak charges and ran only when nothing else could meet the load, and its share of the site's energy fell from 3% to 1%. The site still kept diesel for reliability in low-renewable periods.
Read Scott's analysis: rising fuel costs and the shift to energy resilience
Who plans microgrids with Gridcog?
Community microgrids, Western Australia
AMPERES and Amboranj Power
With ageing diesel power stations in remote First Nations communities nearing the end of their lives, AMPERES and Amboranj Power are using Gridcog to build the case for community-owned solar farms and battery storage.
‘We needed robust, yet quick-to-construct and easy-to-refine modelling.’
Net zero consultancy, UK
Net Zero Advisory
Works with UK universities, including one that has adopted a private high-voltage ring around its campus, opening up options for on-site generation and storage. Gridcog has helped the university model the business case for a standalone battery.
Who models microgrids in Gridcog?
Data centre developers, large energy users, communities and developers of remote and off-grid sites, and the consultants who advise them.
Frequently asked questions
Yes. Set the site's import limit to zero, add its load and its generation and storage, and run a genset in Unserved Load mode to meet whatever the solar, wind and batteries can't. Gridcog reports any demand still left unmet, so you can see how much firm capacity the microgrid needs.
A microgrid is operated as a single system, often with its own firm generation, and some can run islanded from the main grid. An embedded network is a private network connected to the public distribution network, often selling electricity to several customers. A site can be both. See embedded networks and private wire.
Model the load first, then let Gridcog's autosizing find the solar, wind and battery sizes with the highest net cashflow for the site's costs, prices and connection. Test generator sizes in alternative scenarios alongside them, and check that each design meets demand in every interval, including long low-renewable periods.
Some can, but many still need firm generation for reliability. In Scott Bosman's New South Wales model, higher diesel prices cut the generator's share of supply from 3% to 1%, but the site kept diesel for reliability in low-renewable periods. Gridcog shows how much generator capacity a site still needs once renewables and storage are sized.
It can reduce how much grid capacity the data centre needs. Connection approvals in hubs such as Slough and Dublin can take up to 13 years, and in Australia a proposed 400 MW data centre was offered only 300 MW of firm capacity. On-site generation and storage can cover the gap. See data centre power modelling.
Request a live demo
Model your microgrid in Gridcog
Request a demo and we'll show you how Gridcog sizes and dispatches the assets in your microgrid.
The team behind Gridcog
Fabian Le Gay Brereton
Chief Executive Officer & Co-Founder
Previously co-founded Greensense, acquired by ERM Power (now Shell Energy).
Pete Tickler
Chief Product Officer & Co-Founder
Co-founded Greensense and led digital innovation at ERM Power (now Shell Energy).
Genna Boyle
Chief Commercial Officer & Head of EMEA
More than 10 years in energy strategy, trading and renewables, with senior roles at Battery Optimiser and Limejump.
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