City of Madison Microgrid Feasibility Analysis: Engineering Operations and Streets West

Slipstream recently completed feasibility studies on existing sites in two Wisconsin cities, Madison and Sun Prairie. Each city had its own reasons for exploring how a microgrid might help it meet its climate and resiliency goals.

Madison: A microgrid to support critical city services

Wisconsin's capital wants to run its city operations on 100% renewable energy by 2030. The city plans to convert two of its adjacent facilities into an interconnected microgrid. Each location houses critical city functions—including snow removal, road maintenance, and sewer maintenance—plus office support for medical, firefighting, and GIS services.

The site already has several distributed energy resources (DERs), giving it a head start on its conversion to a microgrid. The city also plans to convert its fleet of over 230 vehicles to 100% electric within the next 15 years, so the microgrid will have to account for the added EV charging capacity.