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Fairfield CT microgrid

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

CoverageDetailed public record
Named organizations5
System facts17
Sources reviewed8
Evidence reviewed2026-07-20

Fairfield's public-safety microgrid links the town's police headquarters/emergency communications center, fire headquarters, Operation Hope shelter, and a cell site. Installed in 2015, it combines a 300 kW natural-gas standby generator, a 60 kW natural-gas CHP unit, and 47 kW of solar with Schneider Electric controls so the facilities can separate from the United Illuminating grid during an outage.

Research status
Operational municipal microgrid, installed in 2015 and still cited as an operating regional resilience case in 2025. No public post-commissioning outage log or independently measured availability record was found through July 2026.
Historical classification
Building
Reported capacity
350 kW
Coordinates
41.13899, -73.25667
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 Fairfield CT microgrid?

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

Organization

Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection

State Microgrid Grant and Loan Pilot Program funder [5]

Organization

Operation Hope of Fairfield

Emergency-shelter load served by the microgrid [3][4]

Organization

Schneider Electric

General contractor responsible for design, construction, installation, training, support, and microgrid controls [3]

Organization

Town of Fairfield, Connecticut

Owner and operator of the municipal public-safety microgrid and its critical facilities [3][5][6]

Organization

United Illuminating

Serving electric utility from whose distribution system the microgrid can island [4]

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.

KW Solar
47 [1]
KW Gas/Diesel
300 [1]
Natural-gas standby generation
300 kW [4]
Natural-gas CHP
60 kW reciprocating-engine CHP; Schneider says controls/engine optimization increased the unit from 50 kW to 60 kW [3][4]
Solar photovoltaic capacity
47 kW total: 20 kW at the shelter and 27 kW at fire headquarters [3][4]
Energy mix
Utility electricity in normal service plus on-site solar and natural-gas reciprocating generation/CHP; no battery storage was documented [3][4]
Critical-load margin
Regional and trade case studies describe available generation as approximately 120% of the connected critical peak, providing operating margin rather than a new nameplate rating [6][8]
State grant
$1,167,659 [5]

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

Microgrid controls and switchgear integration

Schneider Electric

Controller and islanding package linking public-safety loads and coordinating utility, solar, CHP, and standby generation. The reviewed source does not identify a controller product model. [3]

02

CHP generator

Model not publicly disclosed

60 kW natural-gas reciprocating engine with recovered heat; manufacturer and model were not disclosed in the reviewed public sources. [3][4]

03

Standby generator

Model not publicly disclosed

300 kW natural-gas unit serving the public-safety cluster; manufacturer and model were not disclosed. [4]

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.

  • Architecture

    New electrical links connected the shelter, police/emergency communications facility, and fire headquarters. Controls permit grid-connected operation and intentional islanding while CHP heat is recovered for useful building service. [3][6]

  • Critical services

    The islanded system supports police, fire, emergency communications, an emergency shelter, and a cellular communications site. [4][5]

  • Timeline

    Connecticut awarded pilot funding in the first state microgrid round, and regional planning records identify the public-safety system as installed in 2015. [5][6]

  • Current evidence

    A 2025 Southwest Connecticut climate plan continues to use the project as an installed microgrid case, and Sustainable Fairfield separately lists completed microgrids at the Police Station and wastewater plant. [6][7]

  • Project disambiguation

    This record is the police/fire/shelter public-safety microgrid. Fairfield also developed a distinct wastewater-treatment-plant microgrid; capacities and equipment from that project should not be merged into this one. [7][3]

  • Public evidence gap

    No reviewed source publishes controller model, generator makes/models, CHP thermal output, measured fuel use, emissions, islanding-event history, reliability, or battery capacity; no battery was identified. [3][4][6]

Provenance

8 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]
    http://se-enable.com/wp-content/uploads/MG_Fairfield-Case-Study_Digital.pdf

    se-enable.com · Archived source · captured 2021-04-20

  3. [3]
    Fairfield, Connecticut: Microgrid Development

    Schneider Electric · Primary source

  4. [4]
  5. [5]
    Connecticut Microgrid Grant and Loan Pilot Program

    Connecticut General Assembly, Office of Legislative Research · Primary source

  6. [6]
    Southwest Connecticut Climate Action Plan

    Connecticut Metropolitan Council of Governments · Primary source

  7. [7]
    Renewable Energy

    Sustainable Fairfield Task Force · Primary source

  8. [8]

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