Sandia National Laboratories developed the Microgrid Design Toolkit (MDT), a decision support software for microgrid designers that is publicly available for download. Intended for use in the early stages of the design process, MDT uses powerful search algorithms to identify and characterize alternative microgrid designs in terms of user-defined inputs and objectives such as cost, performance, and reliability.
Using the MDT, a designer can:
- Customize inputs and site-specific considerations, case-by-case
- Search effectively through large design spaces for efficient alternatives
- Investigate the simultaneous impacts of several design options
- Gain a quantitative understanding of the relationships between design objectives and the tradeoffs associated with alternate technologies
- Derive defensible, quantitative evidence for design decisions
The MDT and its underlying technologies have been used by several projects and agencies including the Smart Power Infrastructure Demonstration and Energy Reliability and Security (SPIDERS) project and DOE’s Energy Transitions Initiative Partnership Project (ETIPP). It was also used for the backup power system for the City of Hoboken, NJ; the U.S. Marine Corps for Expeditionary Units & Brigades; a backup power system assessment and microgrid design for New Orleans, LA; and many resilience improvements in Puerto Rico after Hurricane Maria.
MDT Video Tutorials
The video tutorials below are intended to help users navigate and use the MDT tool. The videos can be used as an alternative to the MDT User’s Manual or as a supplement guide. The videos were ordered to complement the suggested logical progression through an MDT analysis, separated by major steps in the process.
Tutorial 1
Navigating the Interface and Basic Functionality
Tutorial 2
Equipment Specifications
Tutorial 3
Site Definition
Tutorial 4
Creating a Microgrid
Tutorial 5
Optimization Solver Setup
Tutorial 6
Results Analysis
Contact
John Eddy
Principal Developer, Sandia National Laboratories
jpeddy@sandia.gov
Jimmy E. Quiroz
Technical Support, Sandia National Laboratories
jequiro@sandia.gov
The Microgrid Design Toolkit was developed with funding from the Department of Energy, the U.S. Marine Corps, and the Federal Emergency Management Agency.