Review of Different Business Models Applicable for a Community Microgrid

Abstract

Over the past decade, the growth of energy demand and CO2 emission levels in the world has shown a rapid increase. In response to these challenges, microgrid systems provide promising solutions through the incorporation of technical aspects such as power generation from renewable energy, energy storage, and demand side management. In order to explore the existing business models with regard to the context of microgrids, a systematic literature review was conducted. This review covers a variety of business models associated with microgrids, from customer owned business models, utility-owned business models, third-party ownership business models, Energy service company business models, to Energy-as-a-Service models, Anchor Business models, Pay-as-You-Go business models utilized from literature papers sourced from electronic databases and journals such as IEEE, Research Gate, Science Direct and Google scholar. The main aim of this review is to offer a conceptual framework to identify a set of business model elements that can serve different stakeholders’ needs and inclinations. Results show that the flexibility of business models is identified as a key factor that helps to find a balance between sustainability and costs to ensure the successful implementation of community microgrids.