Microgrid to seamlessly integrate renewable
energy, battery energy storage into the grid, providing enhanced
power resiliency to approximately 1,000 area customers
ComEd today joined leaders from the U.S. Department of Energy
(DOE), the City of Chicago and the community of Bronzeville to mark
the completion of the Bronzeville Community Microgrid (BCM) – one
of the nation’s first neighborhood scale community microgrids. The
new technology was ceremonially switched on at the Chicago Housing
Authority’s (CHA’s) Dearborn Homes property, which supports the
project with energy generated by rooftop and ground-mounted solar
systems. The BCM was funded, in part, through DOE grants.
“The electric grid plays a key role in powering lives for our
customers and communities, rain or shine, and we’re committed to
deploying cutting edge technologies that will harden the system
against storms, severe weather and cyber threats,” said Gil
Quiniones, ComEd President and CEO. “The Bronzeville
microgrid plays an essential role in preparing communities for an
equitable clean energy transition and will deliver important
benefits to boost power resiliency for over 1,000 customers on the
City of Chicago’s south side. Thanks to the DOE and countless
community partners who have given feedback through the design and
testing process, we are thrilled to switch on the Bronzeville
microgrid and to leverage new and emerging tech to enhance the
experience of our customers here in Chicago and across northern
Illinois.”
In addition to approximately 1,000 area customers, Bronzeville
houses a high concentration of critical infrastructure, including
the Chicago Police headquarters, making grid resiliency a high
priority. In 2025, the BCM will be connected to the microgrid at
the nearby Illinois Institute of Technology (IIT) to create one of
the nation’s first utility operated microgrid clusters, enabling a
sharing of resources and enhanced resilience to grid
disturbances.
“This project is the culmination of nearly a decade of work with
the Department of Energy, ComEd, and Bronzeville investing to make
this a reality,” U.S. Senator Dick Durbin said. “Researchers
from Argonne National Lab and the Illinois Institute of Technology
were tasked with bringing the technology for this microgrid to
life, and we now have a more resilient, self-sufficient, and
cleaner grid. I’m happy to celebrate this achievement with the
community and all the dedicated people who worked hard to make this
microgrid a reality.”
Defined as a small power grid with electrical boundaries, a
microgrid can operate when connected to the larger electric grid
and as an “island” when there’s an interruption on the main grid.
It draws on distributed energy resources (DERs) to serve customers
within the microgrid footprint. The BCM is powered by 750 kilowatts
(kW) of solar photovoltaic from the rooftop and ground-mounted
solar installations at Dearborn Homes plus 500kW/2 MWh of battery
energy storage.
“As Illinois moves towards a cleaner, more sustainable energy
future, we must always be conscious of if that progress includes
communities that have historically faced disinvestment—and this
ComEd project exemplifies the joint prioritization of those two
goals,” said Governor JB Pritzker. “The Bronzeville
microgrid will add stability to the power infrastructure of the
Bronzeville neighborhood and sets a model for future projects that
serve local communities in innovative ways.”
“We are proud to see the Bronzeville Community Microgrid come to
fruition, setting a new standard for energy resiliency and
sustainability in our neighborhoods,” said Chicago Mayor Brandon
Johnson. “This project not only strengthens our infrastructure
but also ensures that communities like Bronzeville are at the
forefront of Chicago's equitable clean energy future.”
“The Bronzeville Community Microgrid is an innovative,
forward-thinking sustainable solar project. It has a tangible
effect on the Chicago Housing Authority’s operations budget for
Dearborn Homes, where these rooftop and ground-mounted arrays are
generating about 10 percent of the annual electrical usage across
17 buildings, which are home to 660 families,” said CHA CEO
Tracey Scott. “It is just one piece of CHA’s sustainability
goals. We are committed to reducing greenhouse gas emissions across
our portfolio and transitioning to clean energy. This all amounts
to great news for CHA, its residents and the environment.”
As part of a DOE grant, ComEd partnered with Siemens USA to
provide the software used to operate the microgrid management
system that integrates DERs and manages the islanding process. The
software will also be used to cluster the BCM with the microgrid at
IIT.
“This will be the first opportunity to study the interaction
between a utility-scale microgrid and a customer microgrid working
together in a community serving more than 1,000 residential,
commercial and public institutions, leveraging solar and storage,
so there is lots to learn about how to maximize the value of the
interaction,” said Dr. Mohammad Shahidehpour, professor of
Electrical and Computer Engineering at IIT.
In recent weeks, ComEd has conducted live field tests to
demonstrate how DERs can be used to support microgrid operations
and enhance the resilience of the grid during disruptive events.
The BCM successfully completed the live tests, disconnecting and
then reconnecting to the main power grid without any interruptions
in service to customers.
The BCM supports an area bounded from 33rd Street to the North,
38th Street to the South, State Street to the West, and South Dr.
Martin L. King Jr. Drive to the East. Bronzeville was selected
following a comprehensive study to evaluate locations where a
microgrid could be located. The study developed an overall
resiliency metric for small sections of ComEd’s northern Illinois
service territory and identified locations where a microgrid could
best address security and resiliency and supporting the public
good. The microgrid footprint includes 10 facilities providing
critical services, including the Chicago Public Safety
Headquarters, the De La Salle Institute and the Math & Science
Academy, a library, public works buildings, restaurants, health
clinics, public transportation, educational facilities, and places
of worship.
“Our vision for our historic community is centered on
sustainability and accelerating the adoption of smart technology
and infrastructure,” said Chicago Alderman Pat Dowell. “Grid
security and support for renewable energy sources are essential to
realizing this vision and that’s what the microgrid will bring. The
Bronzeville community looks forward to continuing a robust civic
engagement process on this and other sustainable energy
solutions.”
The BCM is the backbone of ComEd’s Community of the Future
Program, which leverages smart grid technology to enhance quality
of life, supporting lab testing and field deployment of emerging
technologies to support Bronzeville’s sustainability and clean
energy goals. Pilot projects include off-grid wind and solar LED
streetlights, multi-unit dwelling public EV chargers, and an indoor
Agriculture Pod with advanced sensors. The microgrid has also
inspired educational opportunities for area youth, such as the
“Create a Spark” STEM Program in which students collaborate with
ComEd mentors to explore engineering and energy concepts.
ComEd is a unit of Chicago-based Exelon Corporation (NASDAQ:
EXC), a Fortune 250 energy company with approximately 10 million
electricity and natural gas customers – the largest number of
customers in the U.S. ComEd powers the lives of more
than 4 million customers across northern Illinois, or 70 percent of
the state's population. For more information visit
ComEd.com, and connect with the company on
Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn,
X, and YouTube.
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