Ecocity Upon a Hill: Microgrids and the Future of the European City

Smart grids are fundamentally important for transforming today?s electricity grids in order to address growing demand; renewable, intermittent, and distributed generation; and environmental pressures. Microgrids are an integral part of this transformation. But as in all transformations, there are challenges as well as opportunities. The purpose of this article is to present several European microgrids, focusing on their relative roles with respect to each other and to the overall energy ecosystem. We hope this will provide insights into how microgrids may evolve in the years to come.