Approved by the Illinois Commerce Commission in 2018, the Regional Electric Utility Company’s (REUC) Bronzeville Microgrid is one of the first utility-scale microgrid clusters in the nation. The microgrid will tie into the existing microgrid at the Illinois Institute of Technology (IIT), and the interconnection will allow the two microgrids to work in conjunction and share resources thus forming a cluster of microgrids. With more than $5 million in grant funding from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), the project enables a study of how microgrids support the integration of clean energy onto the grid and increase grid security to keep power flowing even during extreme weather or a catastrophic event.

Phase I of the project includes 2.5 MW of load and requires reconfiguration of an existing feeder, and installation of battery storage and solar PV. It will directly serve approximately 490 customers. Phase II of the project will add approximately 570 customers and an additional 4.5 MW of load and 7 MW of DERs, enough to meet the peak electricity demand of customers within the microgrid footprint and maintain service when the microgrid is islanded from REUC’s grid. The completed project will serve approximately 1,060 residential, commercial, and small industrial customers.

As a subconsultant to Burns & McDonnell, Cotter serves on the System Integrator Project Management Team providing project controls services.