Microgrids

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A localized network of electricity generation and distribution that can operate independently of the traditional grid
2. A system of interconnected energy sources and loads that can function autonomously or in conjunction with a larger grid
3. A decentralized energy system designed to provide reliability and sustainability for community or site-specific energy needs

Etymology: "Microgrids" is the plural of "microgrid", a compound of "micro-", from Greek "mikros" meaning "small", and "grid", a word whose earlier sense was a grating or latticed framework before it came to mean a network of power lines. Joined together, the parts describe a small, self-contained power network: a cluster of generators, batteries and loads that can run on its own or connect to the main grid. The "micro-" element has been productive in English since the 19th century, when scientists used it to build terms for things measured in millionths, and the "micro" in this compound follows that pattern of marking smallness in scale. The "grid" half carries the electrical sense it acquired in the late 19th century, when power networks began to be laid out in gridlike patterns of lines.