Nirupama Prakash Kumar and Seth Myers Sustainable Microgrids Taskforce under the IEEE PES Sustainable Energy Systems Working Group Nirupama Prakash Kumar and Seth Myers June 27th 2015, IEEE PES GM 2015, Denver, CO

Background And Alignment with WG The Sustainable Microgrids group will focus on the Technical, Social and Economic challenges and opportunities that can present themselves in both AC and DC microgrids Because AC and DC microgrids are an urgent need and solution to energy poverty in developing countries, this task force’s objectives are very closely aligned with the objectives of the Sustainable Energy Systems Working group

Problem Statement (s) Sustainable Microgrids and Microutilities are a vital part of the solution to eradicate Energy Poverty from developing countries. Both AC and DC systems have a role to play in addressing such energy poverty However, there is no one forum within IEEE that is addressing the technical challenges and opportunities being presented by AC and DC microgrids in the developing world context, especially when addressing such need in the rural context Also, the social and economic impacts of such systems do not currently have a platform within IEEE

Objective(s) This group will consist of two subgroups which will have the following objectives Social and Economic Sustainability of Microgrids Task force - Help set up different models (both socio and economic) frameworks especially for countries in which the IEEE Smart Village partners operate Technical Sustainability of Microgrids Task Force - Help set up different technical frameworks (including vendor recommendation) especially for countries in which the IEEE Smart Village partners operate. This group will also give technical advice on feasibility and design of specific Microgrid projects

Objective(s) IEEE programs like the IEEE Smart Village (IEEESV) have a number of partners in developing countries who can benefit from the understanding of the technical, social and economic issues of microgrids. There is an already high level of interest and many examples of microgrids being deployed in developing countries. Nonetheless, many people, mainly rural and poor, still lack energy access and leading international organizations such as UN SE4ALL are projecting ever more deployment of microgrids.

Objective(s) The immediate need is to support IEEESV objectives like supporting the build and deployment of microgrids in IEEE SV partner countries. IEEE SV partners in countries like Cameroon, Zambia and India are already deploying microgrids while partners in other countries like South Sudan are beginning to think about it. IEEE SV partners would greatly benefit with the same level of technical and business model support for microgrids as has been for the SunBlazer