Industrial Microgrids

islanding · BESS · DC bus · transformers

A plant that can island rides through grid outages and can sell flexibility when the grid is tight. The controls are mature; transformers and interconnection are what set the schedule.

Diagram of a DC-bus industrial microgrid. A utility medium-voltage AC feed passes through a point-of-common-coupling switch that islands and resynchronizes the site, then a conversion stage using a grain-oriented electrical steel transformer or a solid-state transformer, onto a DC bus at low or medium voltage. A controller handles energy management and islanding. Hanging off the DC bus: solar PV and battery storage through DC-DC converters, a hydrogen electrolyzer, fleet DC chargers and variable-speed motor drives. DC sources and loads share one bus, removing AC-DC conversion stages between them. A DC-BUS INDUSTRIAL MICROGRID Utility MV AC feed PCC switch island, resync Conversion GOES or SST Controller EMS, islanding DC bus (LVDC or MVDC) Solar PV DC-DC BESS DC-DC H2 electrolyzer Chargers fleet DC Drives VFD motors DC sources and loads share one bus, removing AC-DC conversion stages between them.
Interconnection
IEEE 1547
Controller standard
IEEE 2030.7
Large transformer lead time
~128 weeks
Companies tracked
12, 3 Chinese
Hub
Industry

Finding

Industrial microgrids are now standard engineering for fabs, battery plants and data centers, and the bottleneck has moved from controls to transformers, switchgear and interconnection queues

A microgrid controller built to IEEE 2030.7 decides when to island, which loads to shed and how to dispatch batteries, solar and generators; protection and a point-of-common-coupling switch make the transition safe. Batteries now do the work diesel gensets used to do, and on-site gas engines or turbines cover long outages where fuel is available.

DC is the newer layer. Solar arrays, batteries, electrolyzers, DC fast chargers and variable-speed drives are all DC inside, so a shared DC bus removes conversion stages; published studies put the gain at roughly 5-10% for SST-fed MVDC campuses. Medium-voltage DC and solid-state transformers built on silicon carbide are in pilots, but MVDC standards and design experience are thin.

Supply is the hard limit. Every microgrid still needs at least one step-down or isolation transformer, and their cores use grain-oriented electrical steel (GOES), made at about 10 mills worldwide; Cleveland-Cliffs' Butler Works in Pennsylvania is the only US producer at scale. Large power transformers wait about 128 weeks and the US imports about 80%. Chinese suppliers (Huawei Digital Power, Sungrow, NARI) dominate inverters and storage in their home market; in Texas, behind-the-meter generation for plants and data centers is covered on AustinIO.

Components

Microgrid components

From the utility tie to the loads, with the standard each layer follows.

Industrial microgrid components
LayerEquipmentRoleStandards and notes
Utility tie and protectionMV switchgear, relays, PCC breakerIslands and resynchronizes the siteIEEE 1547-2018, utility interconnection rules
TransformersGOES-core distribution and power transformersSteps voltage down; isolatesLong lead times; GOES supply limited
Solid-state transformers (SST)SiC converters, medium-frequency transformersCompact AC-DC conversion, controllablePilots; few domestic makers
GenerationSolar PV, gas engines and turbines, CHP, fuel cellsSupplies energy on and off gridUL 1741 SB for inverters
StorageLithium-ion BESS, LFPRide-through, peak shaving, grid servicesUL 9540, NFPA 855
Controller and EMSMicrogrid controller, SCADADispatch, islanding, load priorityIEEE 2030.7 and 2030.8; IEC 62443 cybersecurity
DC bus (LVDC or MVDC)DC breakers, convertersLinks DC sources and loadsStandards still maturing

Suppliers

Controllers, switchgear and integrators

Equipment makers and integrators for factory microgrids. The wider list of microgrid OEMs and integrators is on Microgrid OEMs and Integrators. Active companies first, then pilots, research groups and companies that exited.

Controllers, switchgear and power conversion
CompanyProductsHQTechnologyStatus
ABBSwitchgear, controls, power conversionSwitzerlandSwitchgear and convertersactive
EatonSwitchgear, microgrid controls, UPSUSSwitchgear and controlsactive
GE VernovaSwitchgear, grid controls, power conversionUSControls and power conversionactive
Hitachi EnergyTransformers, grid automation, e-mesh controlsSwitzerlandTransformers and controlsactive
Huawei Digital PowerInverters, storage and DC systemsChinaInverters, BESSactive
NARI TechnologyProtection, controls and grid automationChinaControls and protectionactive: State Grid subsidiary
Schneider ElectricEcoStruxure microgrid controls, switchgearFranceMicrogrid controller, MV and LV switchgearactive
Schweitzer Engineering LaboratoriesProtection relays and microgrid controllersUSProtection and islanding controlactive
SiemensMicrogrid controllers, switchgear, SICAMGermanyMicrogrid controller, switchgearactive
SungrowInverters and storageChinaInverters, BESSactive
Integrators and operators
CompanyProductsHQTechnologyStatus
Enchanted RockNatural gas resiliency microgridsUSGas gensets with grid servicesactive
PowerSecureMicrogrid integration and distributed generationUSGensets, solar and BESS integrationactive: Southern Company subsidiary

Sources

Sources and scope

Scope
Industrial Microgrids
Sources
IEEE 1547, 2030.7 and 2030.8; US DOE transformer and GOES assessments; Wood Mackenzie lead-time data; supplier disclosures
Updated
October 2026