At Accelerator, the team focused on identifying key stakeholders in the project and designing a business model to satisfy their needs. While the City of Charlotte and Duke Energy were the main entities directly involved in the project, the team recognized the primary importance of providing benefits to general ratepayers since Duke Energy is planning to own and operate the microgrid. The project is intended to be the first of many similar projects that will deploy battery storage across Duke Energy’s system to provide cost-effective grid services and enable greater integration of renewable energy.

As a result, the business model that the team created was focused on delivering maximum benefits to the grid as a whole, with local reliability benefits serving as a secondary focus. In addition to fleshing out a viable business model focused on ratepayer benefit, the team formulated a timeline for doing the necessary analysis and engaging the right decision makers to move the project forward. While there is still significant work to be done, the team developed a solid plan and common understanding of what needs to be accomplished to make the microgrid project a success.