New York City is one of the most energy-intensive urban environments in the world. As loads grow over time, different networks become constrained. The Marcus Garvey Village microgrid developed by DEN – Demand Energy (Enel Group) is a perfect example of how a major city can build an intelligently controlled distributed digital power grid, provide local resiliency and other grid-supporting capabilities. The owners of the 625-apartment Marcus Garvey Village are deploying a first-of-its-kind microgrid integrating solar PV, storage and a fuel cell with Demand Energy Network’s intelligent software to manage these distributed energy resources.
A key aspect of the project is the ability of DEN.OS to ensure that the Village self-consumes all the energy it generates, without exporting to the grid. In particular, the Garvey Village Apartments Microgrid includes 400 kW of solar PV, a 400 kW fuel cell and 300 kW/1.2 MWh of energy storage (fully managed by DEN.OS). Furthermore, the project has won the prestigious ESNA Innovation Award for distributed storage.