Semi-autonomous DC power supply
https://peter.turczak.de/en/content/projects/home_dc/

Lawrence Orsini understands the value of a resilient electric grid. When 2.2 million New Yorkers lost power during Hurricane Sandy, the founder of LO3 Energy knew that a decentralized energy network capable of separating from the larger grid would have averted much of the power loss.

“The problem was, you couldn’t just pay people producing renewable energy in the community and buy it from them,” said Orsini.

A few years later, LO3 began development of the Brooklyn Microgrid, among the first of its kind. It enables an energy distribution model that combines locally-sourced renewable energy with a peer-to-peer economy.

Unlike traditional power grids where users depend on the electric utility, microgrids function like islands, allowing users to independently manage and distribute their energy sources while remaining connected to the utility. Participants can buy or sell energy generated from solar panels on rooftops to decrease reliance on traditional utility companies and promote sustainable electricity.

“The physical microgrid runs 10 square blocks in neighborhoods of Gowanus and Park Slope,” Brooklyn Microgrid founder Orsini told EE Times. Buildings participating in the grid “have switch gear underground that can separate a section of the grid if there is another blackout or brownout, as has happened here during Hurricane Sandy so that this segment of the grid can run on its own power,” he said.

At the physical layer, the Brooklyn Microgrid is made up homes, schools, offices and retail buildings outfitted with solar panels, smart meters and electric switches using off-the shelf gear from Siemens. Participants remain physically connected to the utility.

“All the stuff exists, it’s only a matter of throwing in some switch gear and a control system on top of it,” said Orsini. “We’re working with Siemens because they’re behind the system widely recognized as the best in the world,” he said.