Schneider Electric, Scale Microgrid Solutions agree to co-create microgrid for Bowery Farming

Schneider Electric and Scale Microgrid Solutions recently announced that they entered a cooperative agreement to build a new microgrid for modern farming company, Bowery Farming.

The new hybrid microgrid system will be built for the farm’s newly commissioned facility in New Jersey, which will be designed to support indoor vertical farming. That microgrid will involve a rooftop solar array and natural gas generator, coupled with a lithium-ion battery storage system. A cloud-connected system behind the meter will connect the microgrid.

Scale Microgrid Solutions, which develops sustainable on-site energy solutions for agriculture facilities, will build, own and operate the proprietary hybrid microgrid system. Schneider Electric, a specialist in energy management and automation, will supply its EcoStruxure technology, the cloud-connected software platform, to the effort that will optimize system performance by learning from production and consumption patterns.

“Bowery has created a facility wherein crop production is already 100 times more efficient than traditional farmland, creating a greater need for reliable, efficient power,” Ryan Goodman, CEO of Scale Microgrid Solutions, said. “Microgrids offer a compelling value proposition, but they’re inherently complex machines, and not many companies have the in-house expertise needed to make the investment. We’re excited to deploy an affordable microgrid solution in conjunction with Schneider Electric that will further reduce Bowery’s carbon footprint and provide critical resilience.”

Work on the microgrid is scheduled to begin early next year.