Siemens Installs One of North Carolina's Largest Solar and Storage Microgrids Connected to Duke Energy
June 30, 2026
News
In Wendell, North Carolina, Siemens revealed its advanced on-site microgrid with a “power on” ceremony. The microgrid is stationed at the Siemens U.S. Electrification and Automation headquarters where the 1.25-megawatt microgrid combines a solar photovoltaic carport array paired with a 3.9-megawatt-hour battery energy storage system.
The addition of the microgrid along with other energy saving programs has allowed the site to achieve full carbon-neutral operations while reducing the overall grid energy consumption by 2.07 GWh annually. Siemens is committed to having a net-zero carbon footprint by 2030. The micro-grid signifies a meaningful progress for sustainable manufacturing in the United States.
“Given the strong growth we’re experiencing across the regions we serve, protecting customer reliability in a cost-effective manner is a core focus of Duke Energy’s grid modernization efforts,” said Venu Ghanta, Duke Energy’s vice president of North Carolina regulatory affairs and policy. “We’ve had a tremendous partnership for decades with Siemens, and we appreciate their focus on delivering solutions that improve grid resiliency.”
Being one of the largest solar and storage microgrids connected to Duke Energy’s distribution network in the Carolinas, the system can play a part in net energy metering, delivering surplus electricity back to the grid for other customers.
“The microgrid that we’ve integrated here at our Wendell campus is one of the more advanced microgrids installed in the market today,” said Brian Dula, Siemens USA’s President of Electrification and Automation. “It’s a true showcase of Siemens’ end-to-end portfolio of products, from generation to consumption and demonstrates not only how we’re making our own operations more efficient but also displays what we can do for our customers.”
Main Siemens’ Hardware Utilized:
- SICAM A8000 Microgrid Controller
- Fire Protection Solutions
- Low-Voltage Switchboards
- Low-Voltage Bolted Pressure Switches
- KACO String Inverters
- SIPROTEC Universal Relays
As for software, Siemens uses its Desigo building management system and Electrification X cloud analytics to enable seamless communication between the microgrid and the facility’s building management systems.
Siemens VersiCharge electric vehicle chargers are on-site and connected to the microgrid, permitting EVs to be charged via self-generated solar energy. It showcases real-time charging conditions and dynamic load management, all part of Wendell’s Customer Experience Center.
For more information, visit siemens.com/en-us/products/microgrids/.
Chad Cox is the Production Editor at Embedded Computing Design. His responsibilities are centered around content creation, writing and editing, and article research and development. Chad covers industry news and events and is known to interact with various industrial leaders via on-premise visits and online interviews. He is responsible for the digital footprint and dissemination of news via social media posts, advertising creation and the production of newsletters including the Embedded Computing Design’s Daily.
He is well versed in many facets of industrial computing including Edge AI, IoT, Processing, Security, Open Source, and more.
Chad graduated from the University of Cincinnati with a B.A. in Cultural and Analytical Literature and holds a master’s in education.
