Many remote locations are forced to rely on power from diesel generators which come with significant cost, maintenance requirements, noise, and negative environmental impact. Microgrids can help communities become energy independent and in many cases more environmentally friendly. Renewables plus energy storage can act as the baseload power source of a microgrid and reduce the use of costly fuel generators.

​

A rapidly emerging and increasingly applied technology, ultracapacitors are capable of storing and discharging energy very quickly and effectively. Flexible, long-duration storage can serve a constantly fluctuating load, with generators called upon only when needed to recharge the batteries. Pumped hydroelectric storage offers a way to store energy at the grid’s transmission stage, by storing excess generation for later use.