Microgrids: Americas to lead to 2030, where the UK fits

What GlobalData forecasts

Source: GlobalData, 15 September 2026; UK context from DESNZ and Ofgem.

GlobalData expects the Americas to lead global microgrid market growth through 2030. The forecast was published in a press release dated 15 September 2026. The United States is named as the leading market, supported by federal funding, resilience programmes and clean energy policy. Canada is named as a contributor through remote and off-grid communities that are reducing their dependence on diesel. The report is titled Microgrids Market Size, Share and Trends Analysis by Technology, Installed Capacity, Generation, Key Players and Forecast to 2030. It covers the US, Canada, China, India, Japan, Australia, Germany, the UK and Saudi Arabia. The UK is therefore one of nine countries in the study.

For Asia Pacific, GlobalData expects steady expansion, with Japan, China and India named. For Europe, the Middle East and Africa, the release describes gradual growth. Within that, Europe is linked to decarbonisation and energy security, while the Middle East and Africa are linked to electrification and reliability. The drivers named in the release are grid reliability concerns, extreme weather, renewable integration and the need for secure supply. The technology mix described is hybrid systems combining solar PV, battery storage, dispatchable generation and advanced controls. Bhavana Sri Pullagura, Senior Power Analyst at GlobalData, said: "Microgrids are becoming an important part of modern power system planning as utilities, businesses, and communities look for more reliable, flexible, and low-carbon energy solutions." She also said: "Microgrid adoption will increasingly depend on the integration of distributed energy resources, storage, and advanced energy management systems."

Two points about the evidence base matter for anyone reading the forecast. First, the release contains no market value, no growth rate and no country level figures. It sets out direction and drivers rather than numbers. Second, GlobalData Plc is listed on the London Stock Exchange under the ticker LSE:DATA and states that its solutions are used by over 5,000 organisations. Those are the only company facts given in the release. Any figure for the size of the UK microgrid market, or for the share of global growth that the Americas will take, is not in the release and is not stated here. The forecast is a directional statement about which regions are expected to lead, and why, through 2030.

What a microgrid is and who runs them in the UK

A microgrid is a local network that combines generation, storage, sometimes dispatchable generation, and controls, and that can run either connected to the main grid or islanded from it. The generation is usually solar PV. The storage is usually a battery. The controls decide when the site draws from the grid, when it uses its own generation, when it charges or discharges the battery, and when it disconnects. The islanding capability is what separates a microgrid from a plain on-site generator. A site that can keep operating when the wider network is down is running in island mode. A site that always follows the grid is not.

In the UK, the examples that fit this description in principle are hospital and university campuses, industrial estates, island and remote communities, and community energy groups. A hospital campus with rooftop solar, a battery and a standby generator is a microgrid in all but name. A university with a district energy centre and private wires between buildings is similar. An industrial estate where several tenants share generation and storage behind a single connection point is another. Island and remote communities, particularly in Scotland, have run local generation for decades because the alternative is a long and expensive connection. Community energy groups pool local investment to build generation that serves a defined area.

The regulatory position depends on the arrangement. Behind-the-meter systems, where generation and storage sit on the customer side of the meter, are the simplest case. Private wire arrangements, where electricity is sold or supplied to another party across private land, are licensed or exempt under Ofgem rules. Small private electricity networks in Great Britain operate under Ofgem licences or class licence exemptions. That means the question for any UK project is not only technical but also about which licence or exemption applies, who the supplier of last resort is, and how the network charges are treated. Those questions are settled with the local distribution network operator and with Ofgem, not with the technology vendor.

The UK policy backdrop

The main UK policy document in this area is the Clean Power 2030 Action Plan, published by the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero in December 2024. It sets a target of at least 95 percent of Great Britain's electricity generation coming from clean sources by 2030. That target is about the generation mix, not about microgrids directly, but it shapes the case for local generation and storage. A system with a very high share of variable renewable generation needs flexibility at every level, including at the distribution level where microgrids sit. The plan therefore provides the strategic context in which local generation, storage and controls are assessed.

Ofgem regulates electricity distribution networks in Great Britain. Distribution network operators procure local flexibility services. That means a network operator can pay a provider, including a site with generation or storage, to change its import or export at a given time and place. For a site with a battery, this can be a revenue stream alongside avoided costs. The flexibility market is also the mechanism through which the network operator manages constraints without building new wires. For a microgrid, the practical questions are whether the site can register to provide flexibility, what the baseline is, and how the payments are settled. Those are commercial and regulatory questions as much as engineering ones.

Two further schemes matter for smaller participants. The Smart Export Guarantee is administered by Ofgem. Electricity suppliers with 150,000 or more domestic customers must offer an export tariff to small-scale generators. That is the route by which a household or small business with solar PV gets paid for electricity it exports. The Community Energy Fund is 10 million pounds for England, announced by the UK government in 2023, to help community groups develop local energy projects. It is aimed at the development stage, which is often the hardest stage to fund. Together with the Clean Power 2030 target and the flexibility markets, these schemes form the UK backdrop against which any microgrid proposal is assessed. None of them is a microgrid subsidy as such, and none of them is mentioned in the GlobalData release.

What it means for UK households and small businesses

Most UK households will not build a microgrid. They will sit at its edge. The most common arrangement is rooftop solar with a battery, exporting under the Smart Export Guarantee. Because the scheme is Ofgem administered and applies to suppliers with 150,000 or more domestic customers, the export tariff is available from the larger suppliers. A household with solar and a battery can also use its own generation in the evening rather than exporting at a low price and importing at a high one. That is a form of self-consumption, not islanding, but it uses the same components as a microgrid. A household can also join a community energy scheme, where the generation is owned collectively and the benefits are shared. The Community Energy Fund of 10 million pounds for England, announced in 2023, is aimed at the groups that develop those schemes.

For small businesses, the calculation is different. On-site generation plus storage reduces exposure to peak network charges and to outages. A site that can island, even for a few hours, avoids the cost of a lost production run or a spoiled cold chain. The practical steps are to check connection queue times with the local network operator, because a new or upgraded connection can take a long time, and to check whether a private wire arrangement needs a licence exemption. Small private electricity networks in Great Britain operate under Ofgem licences or class licence exemptions, so the answer depends on the specific arrangement. A business that wants to sell electricity to a neighbouring site is in a different position from one that only serves its own load.

The GlobalData forecast does not change any of these UK specifics. It says that the Americas are expected to lead global microgrid market growth through 2030, with the US in front and Canada contributing through remote and off-grid communities. It says that Asia Pacific is expected to see steady expansion and that Europe, the Middle East and Africa are expected to see gradual growth. The UK is one of nine countries covered. The release gives no market value, no growth rate and no country level figures, so it does not say how large the UK market is or how fast it will grow. For a UK household or small business, the useful content is the direction of travel and the drivers, not a number. The decisions that matter are local: the connection, the tariff, the licence position and the payback period.

Source: Clean Power 2030 Action Plan, GOV.UK.

Related coverage on Kael Tripton: School Solar Panels UK 2026: How the Government's PPA Pilot Works and Which Companies Deliver It, Solar Panels Cost UK 2026 - Prices, Savings, Grants and Payback Period, Solar Panel Output UK: How Much Electricity Panels Generate, What Affects Performance and Smart Export Guarantee, Energy Price Cap Rises to £1,723 From October 2026, Energy Price Cap Explained: Current Rates and Next Change.

Frequently asked questions

What does GlobalData expect for the microgrid market through 2030?

GlobalData expects the Americas to lead global microgrid market growth through 2030, led by the US, with Canada contributing through remote and off-grid communities reducing diesel dependence. Asia Pacific is expected to see steady expansion, and Europe, the Middle East and Africa are expected to see gradual growth.

Does the GlobalData release give a market value or growth rate?

No. The release gives no market value, no growth rate and no country level figures. It sets out which regions are expected to lead and the drivers behind that expectation.

Is the UK covered in the GlobalData microgrids report?

Yes. The report covers the US, Canada, China, India, Japan, Australia, Germany, the UK and Saudi Arabia. The UK is one of nine countries covered.

What is a microgrid?

A microgrid is a local network combining generation, usually solar PV, battery storage, sometimes dispatchable generation, and controls, able to run connected to or islanded from the main grid.

What UK schemes are relevant to microgrids and local generation?

The Clean Power 2030 Action Plan, published by DESNZ in December 2024, targets at least 95 percent clean electricity generation in Great Britain by 2030. Ofgem regulates distribution networks and distribution network operators procure local flexibility. The Smart Export Guarantee requires suppliers with 150,000 or more domestic customers to offer an export tariff. The Community Energy Fund is 10 million pounds for England, announced in 2023.