If I understand this article, a microgrid is a set of power generators dedicated to supplying a set of power consumers. When the generators are a combination of solar and natural gas and the consumers are "vertical farms" there might be a workable and economic combination. Vertical farms use lots of energy (the old dream of using sunlight which I laughed at years ago seems now defunct).
The big advantage of a microgrid is that it can be installed along with the vertical farm, so you don't rely on the power company to have the capacity to support your farm. The microgrid operator can guarantee a price, making it easier to figure out your business plan.
Seems to me in the long run the microgrid is not the best solution. Vertical farms need a lot of energy and for many hours in the day (apparently if you blast a seeding with light for 18 hours a day instead of 6 you get more growth--that's my impression). But it strikes me that plants are relatively forgiving, which means if you're operating a smart transmission system, vertical farms could easily be cut off when the system gets overloaded for some reason. See this.
I assume it's also true that there are economies of scale in power generation. Such economies should mean a power company could undercut a microgrid in many cases.
The article notes it's not clear what price for electricity would enable vertical farms to make a profit.
We'll see.
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