Optimally sited microgrids for energy resilience in Mount Desert Island, ME
Mount Desert Island (MDI) (≈110 sq mi; ≈10,000 year‑round residents) is located on the eastern coast of Maine. Acadia National Park is located on the island, protecting 47,000+ acres of land which draws millions of visitors annually. The island is divided into four towns (Tremont, Southwest Harbor, Mount Desert, Bar Harbor). The island’s distribution system is supplied by a single 35‑kV mainland feeder and a mix of aging distribution components; outage exposure is not uniform across the island. Residents fear that outage events are starting to exceed resilience expectations. MDI community leaders asked Sandia National Laboratories to characterize energy system vulnerability and to develop conceptual microgrid solutions that improve community resilience while also producing co‑benefits for reliability, access, and sustainable development.