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Brookhaven Microgrid Feasibility Study

Current status, energy mix, organizations, suppliers, equipment, controls, reported specifications, and project updates—with source-level citations.

CoverageDetailed public record
Named organizations7
System facts21
Sources reviewed3
Evidence reviewed2026-07-20

Brookhaven's Independence Hill Microgrid was a NY Prize Stage 1 feasibility design linking Brookhaven Town Hall and Sachem High School East on Long Island. The preferred concept combined two new natural-gas CHP plants, two existing 10 kW wind turbines, existing diesel backup, and a proposed battery over an underground interconnection. The study did not establish that the project was built.

Research status
Stage 1 feasibility study completed in 2016. The Independence Hill project is absent from NYSERDA's published complete list of Stage 2 awardees, indicating it did not advance in NY Prize; no construction or commissioning evidence was found through 2026.
Historical classification
Community
Reported capacity
See component specifications
Coordinates
40.80981, -73.07594
Evidence note: “Every company” cannot be proven from public material alone. This page lists every organization found in the recovered record and reviewed sources, preserves unknown roles, and explicitly marks undisclosed controller or equipment details.
Report missing evidenceResearch methodology

Project delivery

Who was involved in Brookhaven Microgrid Feasibility Study?

7 publicly identified organizations. Where a recovered source named a participant without explaining its work, the role remains explicitly unspecified.

Organization

Brookhaven National Laboratory

Provided DER-CAM optimization, economic modeling, and software support [2]

Organization

ERS

Project proposer and lead feasibility/design consultant [2]

Organization

New York State Energy Research and Development Authority

NY Prize Stage 1 funder and program administrator [2][3]

Organization

PSEG Long Island

Serving utility and prospective interconnection/ownership participant considered in the study [2]

Organization

Sachem Central School District

Host and critical-load customer at Sachem High School East; considered as a possible co-owner [2]

Organization

Schneider Electric

Developed the proposed microgrid control architecture and supporting cost estimates with ERS [2]

Organization

Town of Brookhaven

NY Prize applicant, Town Hall site host, and proposed microgrid owner/operator [2]

System evidence

Energy mix, capacity, and specifications

Values can describe different project phases, generation sources, storage systems, or other components. Source citations are attached to each figure so discrepancies remain visible.

Storage
NA [1]
Proposed Town Hall CHP
1,148 kW natural-gas combined heat and power [2]
Proposed Sachem High School CHP
383 kW natural-gas combined heat and power [2]
Existing wind generation
Two 10 kW turbines, one at each site (20 kW total) [2]
Existing diesel backup
300 kW at Town Hall; the report lists the school generator as 500 kW in the main resource table but 300 kW in a later DER table [2]
Proposed battery power
50-150 kW; energy capacity and final technology were not selected [2]
Proposed energy mix
Natural-gas CHP, existing wind, existing diesel for outages, battery storage, and utility supply; photovoltaic and wastewater-methane generation remained future options with capacity TBD [2]
Feasibility-stage capital estimate
$9,649,136 installed capital plus $611,000 planning/design, approximately $10.26 million total [2]

Controls and hardware

Equipment and controller details

Manufacturer and model are shown only when a source names them. Generic descriptions are not converted into guessed product assignments.

01

Proposed generation

Model not publicly disclosed

Two natural-gas CHP packages totaling 1,531 kW; manufacturer and model were not selected in Stage 1 [2]

02

Existing renewables

Model not publicly disclosed

One 10 kW wind turbine at Town Hall and one 10 kW wind turbine at Sachem High School East [2]

03

Proposed controls

Schneider Electric

Feasibility-level supervisory control architecture for grid-parallel, island, load-shed, and resynchronization functions; final product/model not selected [2]

Technical record

Architecture, performance, and project updates

Concise technical facts, milestones, operating results, and later developments. Dated notes distinguish historical design claims from current evidence.

  • General

    Technology would include solar panels and two existing 10 kW wind turbines, fuel cells, battery storage, and/or microturbines powered by the onsite wastewater treatment plant. [1]

  • Management

    The project would incorporate sophisticated monitoring software operated by Brookhaven National Laboratory that will maximize the cost-benefit of the electrical generation and storage capacity components of the microgrid. [1]

  • Generation

    Technology would include solar panels and two existing 10 kW wind turbines, fuel cells, battery storage, and/or microturbines powered by the onsite wastewater treatment plant. [1]

  • Architecture

    The two facilities would be joined by an underground distribution cable and normally operate grid-connected without exporting power. Controls were intended to detect outages, island automatically, prioritize renewable generation, shed noncritical loads, black-start, and reconnect after utility restoration. [2]

  • Modeled production

    The study modeled annual CHP output of 5,608 MWh at Town Hall and 3,350 MWh at the school, plus 22 MWh per year from each wind turbine. Diesel generation was reserved for outage operation. [2]

  • Modeled resilience

    The preferred design was modeled to cover 98% of annual electric needs and assumed seven days of natural-gas availability during a major outage; these were feasibility assumptions, not measured results. [2]

  • Modeled economics

    The study projected $810,352 in annual energy savings, approximately $140,000 annual operating and maintenance cost, and about a 15-year simple payback. [2]

  • Emissions tradeoff

    The feasibility model reduced annual carbon dioxide at both sites but increased NOx and particulate emissions under its uncontrolled natural-gas CHP assumptions, illustrating that the proposal was not an all-renewable design. [2]

  • Scope change

    Tecumseh Elementary School was evaluated initially and then removed because the district planned to close it; the final study covered Town Hall and Sachem High School East only. [2]

  • Outcome evidence

    NYSERDA describes its published Stage 2 list as complete, and Independence Hill is not present. The conclusion that it stopped after Stage 1 is therefore a program-record inference rather than an explicit cancellation notice. [3]

Provenance

3 sources

Primary owner, government, university, supplier, and engineering sources are preferred. Archived references preserve claims whose original pages moved or disappeared.

  1. [1]
    Recovered Microgrid Projects record

    Internet Archive · Archived source · captured 2021-04-20

  2. [2]
    NY Prize Stage 1 Feasibility Assessment: Independence Hill Microgrid

    Town of Brookhaven, ERS, and NYSERDA · Primary source

  3. [3]
    Complete List of NY Prize Stage 2 Awarded Projects

    New York State Energy Research and Development Authority · Primary source

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