With the advent of new digital capabilities and reduced costs of renewable power, smart micro- or mini-grids have recently generated considerable interest. By and large, intelligent microgrids will serve as building blocks to integrate distributed generation and dispersed loads into a future smart grid. Hybrid microgrids combine power from both traditional and renewable sources and can be a part of the larger centralised networks or operate in the “islanded” mode. Remote microgrids never connect to the main grid and ensure the energy independence of isolated communities. In some cases, geography and economics may never permit access to the grid and connecting a remote community to the conventional power grid is expensive and can take more than a decade. Now, building hybrid microgrids is cheaper and faster than extending the grid to the areas where most of the people without electricity live.

In the Asia Pacifi c, there is growing understanding that microgrid is capable to bring essential energy services to off-grid communities and offset some notorious failures of the large-scale centralised generation. Some countries show signifi cant progress in technology development, testing activities and have already established a sizable energy sub-sector driven by microgridbased solutions. Others are gradually catching on and employing foreign expertise to run pilot projects. Even in Russia with its large, centralised power plants and abundant energy resource, high fuel cost led enthusiasts in the far eastern regions to explore renewable power. Pilot projects of local hybrid power have therefore taken off in a few remote townships.

Building on APEC efforts in creating enabling environments for smart grid and smart energy communities, the Ministry of Energy of the Russian Federation proposed an APEC project in 2011 under the title “Piloting Smart/Micro Grid Projects for Insular and Remote Localities in APEC Economies” (No. EWG 15/11A). This was an APEC New and Renewable Energy Technologies Expert Group (EGNRET) project proposal which was approved by the APEC Energy Working Group (EWG) and was co-sponsored by Canada, Japan, Korea, Singapore, Chinese Taipei, Thailand and the USA. A project team of experts and enthusiasts from Russia led the implementation of the project throughout 2012.

This volume brings together most essential contributions from the workshop on Microgrids for Local Energy Supply to Remote Areas and Islands in APEC Region that was held on October 15-17, 2012 as the core activity of the project. The objective that guided the project team in preparation for this release was to provide the reader with basic insights on microgrid technology development and, more importantly, outline a menu of options for microgrid pilot project development with references to some success stories.

The report is organised in fi ve chapters. In the fi rst, introductory chapter, Mark Sardella offers an overview of the evolution of the power industry — from bulk macro-generation, to smart, micro-generation — and explains the essential properties of microgrid and related self-reliance and self-organisation principles. Beom-Shik Shin further provides an insight from a political scientist, elaborating on the social signifi cance of microgrid deployment.

Chapter 2 focuses on the opportunities for a transition to a localised hybrid power generation in case of Russia’s Far East. As a starting point, Irina Ivanova and her co-authors from the Energy Systems Institute, Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences analyse the prerequisites and priorities for local power development while Alexander Solonitsyn and Elena Pipko review the move towards “local energy systems” and the renewable potential in the Primorsky Region of Russia. Dariya Eremeeva and Anatoly Chomchoev discuss the experience and opportunities for hybrid power in the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia), the largest Russian region, including from unconventional sources like small-scale nuclear plants.

In chapter 3, authors discuss economics and technology testing of hybrid smart micro systems. Economics of hybrid renewable microgrid is briefl y reviewed by Peter Lilienthal. A summary outcome of a study of hybrid microgrid development in a typical eastern Russian township may be found in the paper by Irina Volkova (coauthored with Viktor Kolesnik). Larry Adams and his co-authors from Energinet.dk review the results of the Cell Controller Pilot Project in Denmark.

Chapter 4 includes a few papers on community- driven business models for rural off-grid energy sector. Karen Ubilla summarises the research of the Energy Centre at the University of Chile on self-management foundations for successful microgrid projects. Brad Reeve shares a success story of an energy cooperative in Alaska, US that embarked on hybrid renewable power development. Further, Steven Pullins presents a “Village Renewable-Enabled Microgrid” concept, intended for implementation in India and other BRICs. Fedor Lukovtsev concludes with the observations on the social benefi ts of microgrid solutions for remote ethnic communities.

Finally, in the concluding chapter, Kirill Muradov recalls APEC activities related to rural, offgrid energy and puts these into a current regional and global context.

This brief introduction would not be complete without mentioning those who made this project viable and largely successful. Kirill Muradov (International Projects and Research Coordinator, International Institute for Training in Statistics, National Research University Higher School of Economics) and Pavel Korovko (Deputy Head of Laboratory, All-Russian Thermal Engineering Institute) were the core project team members, having provided a lot of ideas and also made lots of paperwork. Talyat Aliev (Deputy Director, International Cooperation Department, Ministry of Energy of the Russian Federation) provided important guidance as the project overseer with essential support from Svetlana Beznasyuk and Maria Bunina (International Cooperation Department, Ministry of Energy of the Russian Federation).

On behalf of the project team, I thank Konstantin Ilkovsky (Member of the State Duma of the Russian Federation, Chairman of the State Duma Sub-Committee for Regional Energy Policy) for effectively leading the preparation of the workshop and substantial contribution to the workshop agenda. Besides, Dmitry Timofeev (Deputy Director for Investment, Far Eastern Energy Management Company), Fedor Lukovtsev (Director, Institute of Northern Asia and the Integration Processes) provided many useful comments on the workshop agenda while Anastasia Vasilchenko (student, National Research University Higher School of Economics) also helped developing the agenda, engaging speakers and provided technical support.

The photos on the book cover showing various components of microgrid systems are used by courtesy of Brad Reeve, General Manager of Kotzebue Electric Association and Larry Adams, Senior Controls and Power Systems Engineer at Spirae, Inc.

The project team expects that the readers will benefi t from this compilation. We tried to make it accessible for a non-technical reader. APEC is known as a fl exible platform that brings together public and private sector interested in low-carbon, green energy supply. APEC Energy Working Group and APEC Expert Group on New and Renewable Energy Technologies address renewable and smart energy in a wider economic context, beyond just technology solutions. We do hope that the project triggers wider adoption of microgrid for effi cient and clean energy supply to remote and isolated communities across APEC member economies.