Real-World Performance of a CERTS Microgrid in Manhattan

The Consortium for Electric Reliability Technology Solutions (CERTS) microgrid technology enabled the Brevoort, a 1950’s era luxury co-op tower in Greenwich Village, NY, USA, to maintain power, water, and heat during the week of wide spread utility outages left in the wake of Hurricane Sandy in late 2012. The microgrid system, anchored by four 100-kW hybrid combined heat and power (CHP), uniquely able to seamlessly transition between grid tie and island-mode operation, powered the entire building including the central boilers, domestic water pumps, elevators, and all apartments, while most buildings in the lower third of Manhattan were without power, heat, and, in many cases, water. The Brevoort co-op board was elected to convert the 20-story building from oil heat to the natural gas CHP system as part of an energy-efficiency green initiative that was fully implemented in 2010. In New York City, these hybrid cogeneration systems can operate in parallel with Con Edison utilities during periods of regularly available power. During a power grid failure, the units, with their permanent magnet generators and inverters with built-in CERTS microgrid technology, will autonomously transition to island mode and continue powering the residences.