OREANDA-NEWS. October 30, 2012.  GE (NYSE: GE) announces the release of its Multilin™ Microgrid Control System (MCS) designed to help permanently islanded or grid-connected microgrid operators integrate renewable energy resources and fossil fuel-based resources to optimize microgrid operation and minimize energy costs.

“The demand for microgrid technology is increasing with off-the-grid remote communities, military installations, institutions and mining communities all looking at options to reliably maximize their energy use,” said Juan Macias, general manager—Grid Automation for GE’s Digital Energy business. “Using the Multilin Microgrid Control System, microgrid operators can potentially gain up to a 15 percent reduction in fuel costs by intelligently managing their generation assets.”

Installing GE’s MCS helps microgrid operators manage the storage and dispatching of energy resources so that the appropriate resources can be used when it’s most economical. MCS also can help microgrid operators improve their asset utilization by integrating existing power system assets into the microgrid infrastructure improving their return on investment.

The U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) already has seen the benefits of using GE’s Multilin™ Microgrid Control System at Twentynine Palms Marine Base in California (the largest marine base in the country). When the base’s microgrid is fully operational, it will be capable of islanding roughly one third of the base’s total load, while simultaneously meeting the DOD’s criteria for cybersecurity.