New York — Citing an increase in power outages, Silicon Valley manufacturing firm JSR Micro 

said Thursday it will install a microgrid system that can power its operations if the power grid 

fails, a solution that could proliferate in the coming years. 

"The quality of our manufacturing, and therefore the reliability of our electricity supply, are 

fundamental to the success of our, and our customers', operations," Eric Johnson, president 

of JSR, said in a statement. "We're taking a major step in ensuring continuity of our electricity 

supply with the Bloom Energy microgrid," he said. 

The  Bloom  Energy  microgrid will supply 1.1 MW of power as part of a system designed to 

provide 99.99% availability and enable JSR Micro to continue operations during grid outages, 

according to the release. The microgrid is expected to be operational by the end of 2018. 

Based in Sunnyvale, California, Bloom provides grid-independent power for critical loads in 

data centers and manufacturing facilities with the use of natural gas-powered fuel cell 

systems. California ranks highest among US states by number of power outages, according 

to Bloom's statement. 

MICROGRID PROLIFERATION 
As microgrid technology advances, with some systems incorporating energy storage 

components, private companies, universities and the military are increasingly looking to 

microgrids as a way to increase reliability. 

"From what I see, we have yet to round the corner on deployment of microgrids, but that 

should happen in the next few years," Professor Greg Mowry, director of Minnesota's 

University of St Thomas Renewable Energy and Alternatives Laboratory, said in a phone 

call Friday. 

"First, storage significantly helps microgrids by making them more stable and the ability to 

store energy pairs well with renewables," he said. "Second, new inverter standards from the 

Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers are really important for helping microgrids 

proliferate. By 2020, these standards will help microgrids interact with the main grid," Mowry 

said.