Campus microgrids
Coordinate generation, thermal systems, storage, and flexible loads across universities, hospitals, corporate sites, or military campuses.
Browse related recordsPlain-language guide
Types of microgrids
Microgrids are classified by the customers they serve, the reason they exist, their grid relationship, and the technologies inside them.
THE SHORT ANSWER
The major microgrid types are campus, community, island, remote, military, industrial, DC, and utility systems. Categories overlap: a military island base can be both a campus and a remote microgrid.
This guide modernizes the original Microgrid Projects taxonomy while preserving its central idea: microgrids are best understood by the job they are designed to do.
Community microgrids
Serve multiple homes, businesses, and public facilities with shared local generation and resilience goals.
Browse related recordsIsland microgrids
Balance isolated grids where imported fuel is expensive and wind, solar, storage, and dispatchable power must work together.
Browse related recordsRemote microgrids
Deliver reliable power beyond the reach of a strong utility grid, often reducing diesel use with renewables and batteries.
Browse related recordsMilitary microgrids
Prioritize mission assurance, secure islanding, fuel resilience, and continuity for critical defense loads.
Browse related recordsIndustrial microgrids
Protect process loads and manage energy cost at mines, manufacturing sites, data centers, and commercial facilities.
Browse related recordsDC microgrids
Connect inherently direct-current resources and loads—solar, batteries, EVs, LEDs, and electronics—with fewer conversion steps.
Browse related recordsUtility microgrids
Use distribution-grid assets and local controls to improve reliability for a defined feeder, district, or community.
Browse related recordsSide-by-side
Microgrid type comparison
Compare the boundary, operating priority, and typical grid relationship first. Generation technology alone does not define the type.
| Type | Typical boundary | Primary design priority | Grid relationship |
|---|---|---|---|
| Campus | One institution or multi-building site | Resilience, cost, and thermal/electric coordination | Usually grid-connected with islanding |
| Community | Multiple customers or public facilities | Shared resilience and local energy value | Grid-connected or intentionally islandable |
| Island | A geographically isolated electric system | Fuel displacement, stability, and resource balancing | Normally isolated from a larger grid |
| Remote | A site or settlement beyond a strong utility grid | Reliable access and lower delivered-fuel use | Often isolated; sometimes weak-grid connected |
| Military | A defense installation or mission-critical loads | Mission assurance, cybersecurity, and fuel resilience | Commonly grid-connected with secure islanding |
| Industrial | A plant, mine, data center, or commercial complex | Process continuity, power quality, and energy cost | Grid-connected, weak-grid, or remote |
| DC | A defined direct-current bus and connected assets | Efficient integration of native DC sources, storage, and loads | Can be grid-connected or isolated |
| Utility | A feeder, district, or utility-defined service area | Distribution reliability and system flexibility | Part of a larger grid with an islandable boundary |
Quick answers
Questions people ask about microgrid types
What are the main types of microgrids?
Common types include campus, community, island, remote, military, industrial, direct-current, and utility microgrids. A single project can fit more than one category.
What is the difference between an island microgrid and islanding?
An island microgrid serves a geographically isolated place. Islanding is an operating mode in which any grid-connected microgrid disconnects from the wider power system and runs independently.
Do all microgrids use renewable energy?
No. A microgrid is defined by coordinated local control and the ability to serve a bounded set of loads. Its resources may include solar, wind, batteries, CHP, fuel cells, diesel, or the utility grid.
How should I compare microgrid types?
Start with the electrical boundary, the loads that must be served, the operating objective, and the grid relationship. Then compare resource options, controls, reliability targets, ownership, and economics.