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.
The MDT software is available for download on the MDT webpage alongside six step-by-step tutorials that guide new users through the software system.
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.
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
View the new MDT webpage to download the software and view the tutorial videos.
