Methodology for Evaluating Energy Resiliency of Grid-Tied Military Bases

Novel methods are required to properly evaluate energy resiliency of military bases. Previous approaches have investigated either quantitative monetary metrics or subjective metrics based on qualitative observations. This research looks to bridge the gap and combine the two by developing a quantitative resiliency metric that can be applied to various types of non-commercial installations. The resiliency metric in this work involves a three-tiered load priority scheme and a quantitative cost to value of lost load suitable for military installations. The approach was applied to a Vermont Air National Guard (VTANG) base. The base demand and energy generation was modeled, a collection of resiliency solutions proposed and simulated, and the resiliency metrics evaluated for each solution. Initial results on a today power grid outage showed that diesel generation is the most resilient. However, a battery energy storage system coupled with the existing photovoltaic infrastructure can achieve comparable resiliency for shorter outages.