The SMART POWER ³ microgrid is mobile and rapidly deployable, resilient, secure, modular and scaleable microgrid design that utilizes an integrated platform of PV-battery- diesel/natural gas generators along with its corresponding control platform based on FGPA and RT controllers. Components all consist of “off the shelf” modular power electronic building blocks, power distribution components, and a liquid and/or air cooled system. The entire microgrid will fit into a standard sized ISO shipping container.

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Resilient, Secure, Portable, Scaleable, Modular, Rapidly
Deployable Microgrid
(DERs) that can operate in both grid-connected and islanded modes. This highly integrated,
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Engineering, Development and Deployment
The SMART POWER ³ microgrid is mobile and rapidly deployable, resilient, secure, modular and
scaleable microgrid design that utilizes an integrated platform of PV-battery- diesel/natural gas
generators along with its corresponding control platform based on FGPA and RT controllers.
Components all consist of “off the shelf” modular power electronic building blocks, power
distribution components, and a liquid and/or air cooled system. The entire microgrid will fit into a
standard sized ISO shipping container.
The SMART POWER³ is a 60-kW system that accepts solar, generator, and battery power, then
combines and manages these sources for optimal efficiency and run time. The SMART POWER³
can mix and merge power supplied by solar, diesel-generator, and battery sources, functioning as
a microgrid up to 60 kW. The system is scaleable and capable of delivering up to 1 MW of
energy.
INNOVATION AND IMPACT
Severe weather events and manmade disasters can disrupt the grid, closing schools, shutting down
businesses, impeding emergency services, and leaving millions of customers without electricity
for weeks. Hurricanes Maria, Florence, Harvey and Irma are recent examples that resulted in
billions of dollars of economic losses. The SMART POWER³ is a resilient, secure, modular,
scaleable and rapidly deployable microgrid solution will provide Distributed Energy Resources

2. POWER³ is designed to meet military specifications, including from −40°C (-40°F) up to 60°C
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flexible, and efficient system will enable the utilization of clean energy sources while maintaining
reliability and security at an affordable cost.
The system has been developed because of the urgent need for a cost-effective design and
controller solutions for emergency power, temporary power, primary power and back-up power
using microgrids that promote integration of renewable DERs, while enhancing the grid
reliability, security and resiliency.
This microgrid system can switch between different energy sources (solar, batteries and
generators for example) for an uninterrupted power supply that has an efficiency of more than
45% over diesel based generator use alone. The software has the ability to draw power from many
different sources including the utility grid and convert it into usable power. Because this
microgrid system is designed to be adaptable, it can generate electricity in remote locations,
provide emergency power in the case of disaster or serve as backup power.
When multiple sources of power - solar, diesel generator, and batteries with variable, non-static
availability are used, a management-and-control problem is introduced. Deciding which one(s) to
use and to what extent must be done properly for maximum efficiency and performance. It is
possible to manually switch among the various sources but it is awkward, time consuming, carries
risk of misconnection, and is inefficient.
The SMART POWER³ was developed to solve just such a problem for the U.S. Army’s field
installations. Transporting conventional fuel is costly and risky, especially to forward operating
bases (FOB’s) associated with hostilities and combat zones. The US military is one application
where the SMART POWER³ could play a major role. The unit as designed now measures about
four feet wide, nine feet long, and six feet tall, converts power from different sources (solar
panels, batteries, and generators) into usable electricity, functioning as a microgrid. It quickly and
autonomously switches among the different sources to deliver uninterrupted power. The SMART

3. integration and optimization capabilities that will substantially reduce fuel and energy costs. It is
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(+140°F), and features a liquid-cooled system similar to a truck's radiator.
Applications for SMART POWER³ go beyond military situations. It could be used in other remote
or urban locations, to provide emergency power management after natural or manmade disasters.
Other applications include construction, water, telecom, public safety, transportation, emerging
markets and urban “green” development communities.
The SMART POWER³ does not store energy, instead the unit manages its sourcing and flow, it
has the potential to cut diesel fuel use by as much as 40% on average. In a series of demonstration
tests using two diesel generators, a lithium-ion battery, and simulated solar panels, the SMART
POWER³ achieved the savings in fuel use compared to the diesel generators operating alone.
SCALEABLE, RAPIDLY DEPLOYABLE, CYBER SECURE ENERGY
The SMART POWER³ System is a new type of microgrid design, that resilient, secure, modular,
scaleable and rapidly deployable. The modular microgrid utilizes an integrated platform of PV-
battery- diesel/natural gas generators along with its corresponding control platform based on
FGPA and RT controllers. Components all consist of “off the shelf” modular power electronic
building blocks, power distribution components, and a liquid and/or air cooled system.
Nearly all of the hardware is standard, off-the-shelf components and modules. The control
platform is based on National Instruments CompactRIO modules , each of which includes an
FPGA backplane and a real-time processor, while the power-electronic converters use Semikron
SKAI modules . These modules include insulated-gate bipolar transistor (IGBT) power
semiconductors; DC link capacitors; gate drivers with low-level protection; and voltage, current,
and temperature sensors.
Unlike any other microgrid, the SMART POWER³ is rapidly deployable and the entire microgrid
system will fit into a standard sized shipping container. It is essentially a microgrid in a box.
The microgrid controller is an energy planning platform with multiple concurrent technology

4. savings. It is resilient and cyber secure.
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open source and offers a flexible and robust development and implementation environment
utilizing the NI code base that can be integrated with different supervisor controllers. The
microgrid and controller design is scaleable for different geographic areas, load sizes, distributed
generation source number and types that utilizes technologically advanced software that has been
tested and deployed successfully.
The control platform was designed to allow the SMART POWER³ to operate across (18)
combination-source modes, transitioning smoothly from one mode to another. This hybrid power
system integrates four 5- to 10-kW photovoltaic (PV) arrays, one 30-kW battery pack, and two
30-kW diesel generator sets to support a 60-kW peak load. The onboard power electronics include
PV maximum power point tracking (MPPT) converters, battery charge/discharge converters, and a
three-phase inverter delivering 120/240 Vac. It operates as the grid-forming unit and operates in
parallel with the diesel generators.
The SMART POWER³ provides three key functions: power conversion, power distribution, and
power protection (extremely critical in field installations). The hierarchal SMART POWER³
control architecture has three software-driven functional levels (local control, mode handling, and
component dispatch), and two hardware levels (a local controller for each power-electronic
interface, and a supervisory controller). The software manages the critical tasks of load
assessment, source availability, and controls system operation, including functions such as
measuring flow of diesel fuel. The high-level block diagram as shown in the SMART POWER³
“conceptual drawings” of the SMART POWER³ system shows its basic power input and output
connections and some of the internal complexity; not shown is its extensive power-protection
features.
The microgrid concept is not new, however the portable, scaleable, modular, rapidly deployable
approach is new. The controls software has demonstrated dramatically improved results in fuel

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The SMART POWER³ System does not store energy, instead the SMART³ manages its sourcing
and flow. The SMART POWER³ is designed to meet both civilian and military specifications,
including from −40°C (-40°F) up to 60°C (+140°F).
The entire SMART POWER³ System includes:
 Four 5- to 10-kW photovoltaic (PV) arrays
 One 30-kW Lithium Ion battery pack
 Two 30-kW or One 60-kW diesel generator sets to support a 60-kW peak load
 The onboard power electronics include:
 PV maximum power point tracking (MPPT) converters
 Battery charge/discharge converters
 Three-phase inverter delivering 120/240 Vac.
The SMART POWER³ System operates as the grid-forming unit and it operates in parallel with
the diesel generators.
The entire SMART POWER³ System is packed in a standard 40 foot container that houses
everything that will be needed to deploy the microgrid. *Except fuel for the generators.