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Many new microgrid projects are still under the radar, and many local projects originate organically, without official designations or titles, making them very hard to track.  As a sector, however, microgrids are beginning to move into the mainstream, with a greater focus being placed on viable business models.  The result is a much more robust microgrid market than just a few years ago.  According to a new tracker report from Navigant Research, more than 480 microgrid projects are proposed, planned, under construction, or operating worldwide, representing nearly 3,800 megawatts (MW) of capacity

North America is currently the leading microgrid market and will remain the leader through 2020.  Total microgrid capacity in North America will reach 5.9 gigawatts in 2020, representing 64 percent of worldwide capacity, the study concludes.

Dramatic change is occurring in the microgrid market, as a greater emphasis is being placed on the economic value that these systems bring to the overall power grid.  At the same time, new business models, designed to support full commercial deployment of microgrid systems, are being investigated and implemented.

Survey conclusions, which are highlighted in a report titled “Power Systems of the Future: The Case for Energy Storage, Distributed Generation, and Microgrids” created by Zpryme Research & Consulting, include:

the total worldwide capacity of distributed generation (DG) contained in microgrids will more than quintuple over the next 6 years, growing from 764 megawatts (MW) in 2012 to nearly 4,000 MW in 2018. “Distributed generation assets are the foundation of any microgrid,” says senior research analyst Peter Asmus.  “Although the majority of DG today is in the form of fossil fuel-based systems, primarily diesel generators, recent growth rates confirm that the fastest-growing distributed power generation technologies are combined heat and power and solar photovoltaic systems, thanks to steep drops in prices for natural gas and solar PV panels.”

“Rapid expansion of the microgrid market over the next 10 years will drive increased demand for energy storage associated with these systems,”

In early July, US President Barack Obama announced a series of programs to improve electrification in four countries in sub-Saharan Africa. The package includes $7 billion in government funding plus an additional $9 billion in private sector commitments. The stated goal is to double the number of people with access to electricity. Currently, less than a third of the region's residents have access.

Not surprisingly, the largest number of remote microgrids is being deployed in the developing world, although activity is also increasing in Europe and North America.”

In the future, investments in power transmission infrastructure will reduce while that on ESS and distributed power generation such as microgrids will grow by leaps and bounds.