(1) Apparently Princeton University has a mini power grid that which worked well after Hurricane Sandy.  An excerpt:

***Princeton’s “microgrid,” an efficient on-campus power generation and delivery network that draws electricity from a gas-turbine generator and solar panel field southeast of campus in West Windsor Township, NJ. Capable of producing 15 megawatts *** of electricity, the University’s microgrid enjoys a give-and-take relationship with the main grid available to the general public and maintained by the utility company PSE&G. When campus power use is high or utility power is inexpensive, the microgrid draws from the PSE&G grid, and when campus demand is low, Princeton’s microgrid can contribute power to the main grid.

(2) From reader James Fossett:

Your readers may be interested in a piece a couple of colleagues and I have just released on the use of solar power as a power source for the microgrids discussed in a recent posting. It will be remembered that the New York City area experienced widespread shortages of fuel after Hurricane Sandy when the power was out for over a week. Solar “supply” seems to be more reliable—power outages are generally caused by transient weather events that are generally followed by clear weather.

With the right kind of batteries and “smart” grid configuration, solar emergency systems could operate almost indefinitely. The military is investing heavily in solar powered microgrids. The paper is on the website of the Rockefeller Institute of Government.