General Electric just announced that have signed a deal with the Department of Defense worth $2 million to transform a Marine base into a smart microgrid system.  Under the contract, GE will set up a smart microgrid system for the Twenty Nine Palms Marine Base in the Mojave Desert. The smart microgrid system will improve energy efficiency at the base using a GE microgrid controller that utilizes advanced algorithms and decision engines to ensure that power is used and distributed as efficiently as possible. This microgrid system will not only serve as a model for future microgrid installations, it will also enable the base to go off the California power grid with greater ease and effectiveness.

In an article posted on Reuters, John Kern, GE’s Smart Grid Research Lab manager, commented on the contract:

“The way to think about microgrid technology is that it’s another tool in the tool box when you look at the smart grid — it is designed to address specific challenges, but it is also an important piece of the overall smart grid strategy.”

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