First utility-scale microgrid in Iowa will make small city more resilient, sustainable

The U.S. Department of Energy awarded the Iowa State University Electric Power Research Center a $9.5 million grant to build a microgrid in central Iowa.

The microgrid in Montezuma will be Iowa’s first utility-scale microgrid.

Microgrids are scaled-down versions of the larger power grids that weave across North America. The smaller projects are connected to the surrounding grid as well as local energy generation. If the big macrogrid fails in extreme weather or other emergency situations, microgrids can power themselves and be self-sustaining.

The new project will be built in Montezuma, the county seat of Poweshiek County with 1,460 residents. It was one of 17 project proposals awarded $366 million in total funding from the Department of Energy in 20 states and 30 tribal nations and communities.

Microgrids supplied less than 0.3 percent of U.S. electricity in 2023, according to the Center for Climate and Energy Solutions. Some military bases, universities and companies have integrated microgrids into their campuses.

Iowa State helping

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The Montezuma project is one of a handful of “microgrid towns” starting to emerge across the country, said Zhaoyu Wang, project co-lead and ISU electrical and computer engineering associate professor.

“This microgrid is directly benefiting people's daily life,” he said. “You don't have to go to a campus to enjoy the benefits, right? You're using this microgrid every day.”

The microgrid is to include a 2.5 megawatt solar array and 1.5 megawatt-hours of battery storage — sustainable alternatives to non-renewable power generation.

Existing diesel generators will stay connected as backup power sources. Two electric vehicle chargers would be integrated into the system, along with advanced metering that allows two-way communication between utilities and customers.

The project also includes refurbishing the existing energy infrastructure in the city.

ISU will work with engineering consultants to design and build the microgrid.

Montezuma Municipal Light and Power, the city’s community-owned utility, will ultimately own and operate the project. Upon completion, the microgrid will service 706 residential homes, 201 commercial buildings and two industries.

Education part

More than 40 community members and groups, including labor unions and community colleges, endorsed the project through partnership letters.

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“I think people could see that vision of strengthening small towns this way,” said Anne Kimber, project co-lead and director of the ISU Electric Power Research Center. “We're going to be providing a system that, because it's renewable energy, is going to stabilize their electricity costs. … I think people could see that.”

The project also comes with an educational element.

The ISU Electric Power Research Center will develop new curriculum about renewable microgrids for the next generation of the clean energy workforce. The team will build a “digital twin” of the Montezuma microgrid so students can visualize the system, watch it operate in real time and learn how to design and operate one themselves.

The researchers hope the classes will end up in community colleges and skilled trades apprenticeship programs across the state, including the nearby Meskwaki Nation Apprenticeship Program.

“We can use this microgrid as a replicable model,” Wang said. “It’s not just a project only for Montezuma. It shows other communities and other utilities in Iowa that this microgrid might be a good solution to some challenges, and it does have good economic returns and does benefit their customers.”

Project design and engineering should start toward the end of this year. Construction is estimated to begin next summer and take four years to complete.

Brittney J. Miller is the Energy & Environment Reporter for The Gazette and a corps member with Report for America, a national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on under-covered issues.

Comments: (319) 398-8370; brittney.miller@thegazette.com