G&W Electric adding solar power at headquarters

BOLINGBROOK — G&W Electric recently began construction of solar-powered microgrid at its headquarters. In the event of a power outage, the microgrid will automatically isolate, or “island,” itself from the central grid to allow the company's operations to continue to run seamlessly.

G&W Electric is a global supplier of electric power equipment. It will install nearly 6,000 solar panels across the company's roof.

The microgrid will also contain a large flywheel to provide ride-through power and a two-megawatt flow battery that can operate at 150% of its nominal load. This system will provide the facility with three megawatts of electricity for nearly two hours.

“After an outage completely shut down our operations for several hours a little over two years ago, G&W Electric recognized the financial benefits of installing a microgrid to deliver uninterrupted premium power to support our critical operations as well as our customers,” said John Mueller, chairman and owner of G&W Electric. “Ultimately, this G&W Electric custom-designed, turnkey microgrid solution will serve as an example of how G&W Electric can provide support to other businesses, communities and government entities to produce their own reliable source of power and prevent the costly effects of downtime during a catastrophic outage.”

Construction of the microgrid is expected to be completed in early 2022.