If you have a functioning microgrid on your site, you’re already ahead of the game. Your investment may have been driven by goals such as increasing resiliency, improving sustainability, or gaining the ability to operate independently of the utility grid. But have you ever considered that your microgrid could do even more? Imagine not only keeping your operations running, but also generating additional income.

Are you familiar with Moneygrid? 

Moneygrid refers to a concept designed to maximize the financial gains from microgrid operations. By understanding its principles, you can increase revenue, enhance resilience, and reduce carbon emissions.

There are several practical methods to generate revenue from your microgrid while preserving its core benefits. You can:

1. Sell excess energy back to the main grid.
2. Participate in demand response programs that pay you for adjusting your energy use during peak times.
3. Provide ancillary services, such as frequency regulation, to support grid stability.

To achieve this, an advanced Energy Management System (EMS) powered by artificial intelligence must be added to the microgrid. An AI-driven EMS can intelligently monitor, forecast, and optimize microgrid operations, ensuring you capture every available financial opportunity without sacrificing reliability.

An EMS is the digital brain of a microgrid. This software monitors and controls distributed energy resources (DERs), such as Solar PV, battery energy storage systems (BESS), generators, loads, and EV chargers.

Traditionally, EMS platforms rely on preprogrammed setpoints that must be configured manually to achieve savings. For example, a system might be programmed to charge the BESS when solar production exceeds building loads or to discharge the BESS during specific peak-demand hours. However, because everything was preprogrammed and required the user to input variables manually, this approach was often impractical and delivered less savings than owners expected.

While effective for reliability, these static rules rarely optimize financial outcomes in complex energy markets. This is where an AI-based EMS changes the game. AI enables microgrids to operate predictively rather than reactively. Instead of responding to conditions after they occur, AI models forecast future conditions and optimize operations in advance.

7 ways to turn your Microgrid into Moneygrids

1. Minimize energy usage during peak hours: Use forecasts of your site’s demand and solar or renewable generation to ensure your batteries are fully charged right before peak hours begin, or even spin up a generator just in time to avoid expensive utility charges. Instead of waiting to see what happens, you’re already a step ahead, preparing your resources to cover those costly peaks and lowering your electric bill.
2. Use solar as much as possible: Using your own solar power is like tapping into free energy. If you can charge your batteries when surplus solar power is available and schedule when to use that stored energy based on expected weather conditions, you can shift loads and charge batteries more efficiently. The better your forecasts are, the more value you can capture from renewables —boosting both performance and savings.
3. Buy less from the utility when it is most expensive: Cut back on usage when rates are high, charge your batteries when electricity is cheaper, or shift flexible activities to times with better tariffs. Utility rate structures can feel like a maze, but having a smart system that adapts as tariffs change helps your microgrid make optimal decisions and can dramatically reduce your utility bills.
4. Avoid demand charges: Did you know that for many commercial utility bills, 30–70% of total costs can come from demand charges alone? By automatically discharging the BESS during high-demand periods, trimming controllable loads, and managing the output of your on-site energy resources, you can significantly reduce those hefty monthly and annual demand charges down to a much more manageable level. 
5. Reduce generator runtime: If your generator is operating below its optimal capacity, you can shut it off and rely on your on-site assets to lower fuel expenses. If keeping the generator online is necessary, consider increasing its output to charge your batteries, ensuring efficient fuel use and storing energy for when it’s needed most. 
6. Sell power back to the utility: Can you export power back to the utility? If so, you can take advantage of the opportunity by ramping up production from your on-site energy resources and exporting that extra energy when rates are in your favor. You can even make sure your batteries are fully charged using solar power so you’re ready to export stored energy right when export rates peak, aligned with the tariff structure you signed up for. It’s about being strategic and making every kilowatt work for you. If your utility restricts how much power you can import, it’s crucial to stay within those limits. That means you’ll need to either reduce your energy usage or ramp up your on-site generation to avoid going over the threshold. 
7. Participate in utility incentive programs: Utility demand response programs are becoming more common and easier to participate in.  When your utility sends a demand response signal, you can automate how your distributed energy resources respond—adjusting their output and reducing lower-priority loads—so you’re not just saving money, but also actively participating in incentive programs. 

What is next? The future is Autonomous Energy Systems (AES)

The next generation of microgrids will use energy management systems that are fully autonomous, able to make decisions and operate on their own without human intervention.

AI will constantly learn from new data, getting better at predicting energy needs and optimizing how systems run. In the future, these systems might be able to have or enable:

• Self-learning optimization algorithms
• Peer-to-peer energy trading between microgrids
• Real-time carbon optimization
• Integration with electric vehicle fleets

How does AI EMS improve microgrid operation? 

AI EMS improves microgrid operation by optimizing on-site assets and DERs in advance based on the predicted conditions. Instead of reacting to events after they occur, it forecasts and prepares for those events ahead of time.

How accurate are AI EMS forecasts?

New AI EMS technologies can achieve 90 to 95% accuracy for short term predictions, with high accuracy in load forecasting by learning from previous data and comparing it against past predictions to continuously improve performance while taking all variables into account.

Can AI EMS integrate with existing microgrid systems?

Yes, most new AI EMS technologies are designed to integrate with existing microgrid systems. This allows owners to enhance performance and add advanced capabilities without needing to replace their current hardware.

About the author

Mohamed Soltan
Microgrid Solution Architect

Mohamed Soltan is a Microgrid Solution Architect at Schneider Electric, where he specializes in designing advanced microgrid and distributed energy resource systems across North America. With a strong focus on reliability, sustainability, and cost optimization, he develops data-driven energy solutions tailored to commercial, industrial, and municipal applications.

Mohamed brings hands-on experience across the full lifecycle of microgrid projects—from feasibility studies, ROM pricing and proposal development to commissioning and project execution. He has contributed to a diverse portfolio of projects, including electric vehicle infrastructure, industrial microgrids, and mission-critical energy systems.

Prior to Schneider Electric, Mohamed served as an Application Engineer at DEIF and a Field Service Engineer at Eaton, where he led commissioning efforts, integrated microgrid control systems, and supported high-impact energy deployments in the field.
 
Mohamed holds a Bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering from Penn State University and is passionate about advancing the role of intelligent energy systems in the transition to a more resilient and sustainable grid.