This Greenbelt Microgrid Analysis was facilitated by the University of Maryland (UMD) Partnership for Action Learning in Sustainability (PALS) program, which partnered with the Prince George’s County Department of the Environment to have students from the UMD Department of Environmental Science and Technology (ENST) develop the following report after a semester long research effort.

The effort identified two large, low- to moderate-income apartment complexes that could host enough rooftop area to generate meaningful power to support a neighborhood microgrid. Demographics were determined using the US EPA’s Environmental Justice Mapping Tool. The apartment complexes—Franklin Park Apartments and Greenbrier Condominiums—are both in Greenbelt and fall between the 33rd and 95th percentile for low income.

For the two apartment complexes, a combined 28.16 acres of usable rooftop area suitable for solar photovoltaic panels was calculated using the Google Earth Pro measuring tools which factor in regulatory buffers for rooftop access for fire and safety and eliminate tree-shaded rooftop areas. The power output for this area of solar panels totaled 9,025.61 megawatt hours (MWh) annually, which would make it one of the largest solar arrays in the state of Maryland. The total 2023 cost estimate for the installing commercially rated panels with an assumed efficiency of 20% was $21,048,135.

Two examples of implemented microgrid projects were analyzed, the EcoBlock in Oakland, California and the Brooklyn Microgrid in New York City, New York. The use of clustered and distributed battery storage applications external to the apartments are discussed as well as the use of the innovative “flywheel” physical energy storage system, which doesn’t use combustible and expensive battery componentry.

The establishment of the microgrids is also explored through the lens of community “resiliency hubs” in case of disaster as well as on for day-to-day potential energy cost savings to the apartment residents and building owners. Insights into local, state and federal regulations and financial incentives are also explored.

This effort supports the Prince George’s County Climate Action Plan Commitments including: Climate Leadership, Community Health, Transition to Renewable Energy, Residential Resilience, and Justice and Equity. The analysis also specifically supports the Climate Action Plan’s Priority Recommendation M-3, Accelerate Deployment of Resilient Energy Systems, including, “Lead community wide battery storage and microgrid development,” and “Provide residents and building owners with information, resources and technical assistance to facilitate community adoption of battery storage and microgrids.”