The Hottest Market for Microgrids? Commercial and Industrial, says Schneider Electric's Gerber

The commercial and industrial sector as a whole—not just data centers—are showing a lot of interest in microgrids as a way to better manage electricity demand, according to Jana Gerber, president, North America microgrids for Schneider Electric.

From grocery stores to wineries to public facilities, the microgrid equation is increasingly solving power challenges. Gerber met with Rod Walton, managing editor of Microgrid Knowledge, at the recent Microgrid Knowledge Conference in Dallas to discuss Schneider’s recent microgrid projects and share what’s next for the company.

Geber said microgrids are garnering attention among food and beverage and light industrial companies, as well as libraries, schools and state and local governments. She pointed to Schneider’s recently completed microgrid at Domaine Carneros, a winery located in California’s Napa Valley.

The solar and energy storage microgrid at the winery generated close to 740 MWh of electricity capacity in 2024.

“They are saving over $75,000 a year in energy costs with their microgrids,” Gerber said.

Meeting the needs of critical infrastructure

The growing demand from data centers was a hot topic at this year’s conference and Walton asked Gerber to share what Schnieder is seeing and doing in the space.

As the market grows, time to power becomes more of a concern for data center operators, she said, but microgrids are well-suited to delivering power to a site quickly.

“Schneider Electric's been focused on the data center market…for a very long time. We've created our own kind of platform around that, with a lot of different solutions,” Gerber said, including permanent off-grid installations backed by multiple distributed energy resources. Schneider also offers solutions that can serve as a bridge until the utility can provide power, she explained.

Schneider has also been active in developing airport microgrids, from large international hubs, like the start of construction for on-site power serving the new terminal at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York. Schneider is also advancing projects at smaller regional airports. 

During the interview, Gerber and Walton discussed the importance of partnerships in the microgrid space, modular and highly configurable microgrid technology and Schneider Electric’s new microgrid testing facility in Andover, Massachusetts. The lab “allows us to really test the interdependence and interconnectivity of [the distributed energy resources, generators, inverters, battery, energy storage technology] inside of a microgrid,” creating the underlying credibility around the microgrid solution, Gerber said.

You can watch the entire interview here.