Solar-Plus-Storage System Provides Energy
Resilience for Humboldt County, Serves As Blueprint for Advancing
Deployment of Clean, Multi-Customer Microgrids
California’s first 100% renewable energy, front-of-the-meter,
multi-customer microgrid is now fully operational, providing
enhanced energy resilience for the California Redwood
Coast-Humboldt County Airport and US Coast Guard Air Station.
The new microgrid was developed through a first-of-its-kind
partnership between the County of Humboldt, Pacific Gas and
Electric Company (PG&E), the Schatz Energy Research Center at
Cal Poly Humboldt, Schweitzer Engineering Labs, the Redwood Coast
Energy Authority, Tesla, Inc., The Energy Authority, and TRC.
The Redwood Coast Airport Microgrid (RCAM) features a
2.2-megawatt (MW) solar photovoltaic array that is DC-coupled to a
2-MW (9 megawatt-hour) battery energy storage system, comprised of
three Tesla Megapacks. It also includes a microgrid control system,
with protection and isolation devices that interfaces directly with
PG&E’s distribution control center.
A model for resilient, clean energy
The microgrid serves multiple functions and is managed in
collaboration between project partners. The Schatz Energy Research
Center is the prime contractor and technology integrator, leading
the design, testing and deployment of the clean energy
microgrid.
“The Redwood Coast Airport Microgrid has ushered in a new and
exciting era for the electric grid in California. With its
successful deployment and the development of new microgrid
agreements and tariffs, RCAM has become a role model and beacon to
communities across the state who are striving to green their energy
supply and bolster their resilience in the face of climate change,”
said Peter Lehman, Founding Director of the Schatz Center and
project lead.
Redwood Coast Energy Authority (RCEA), the Community Choice
Aggregator for the Humboldt Bay area, owns the two solar arrays and
the battery energy storage system.
During standard blue-sky operations, RCAM generates clean energy
for the North Coast and participates in the California Independent
System Operator (CAISO) wholesale energy markets, including the
day-ahead, real-time, and ancillary services markets.
By storing solar energy during the day and releasing it onto the
grid as needed in the evening and during peak demand, RCAM enables
greater utilization of solar, supports grid reliability, and
creates an economic model for future microgrids.
“RCEA’s goal is to provide our customers with 100% carbon-free
electricity by 2025, and 100% local carbon-free electricity by
2030. This project is a major milestone for our clean energy and
resilience efforts,” says Matthew Marshall, Executive Director of
RCEA. RCEA works closely with schools, fire departments, tribes,
and other local agencies to support community resilience across the
North Coast.
PG&E owns, operates, and maintains the microgrid circuit and
controls the microgrid during “islanded” operation. In the event of
a broader grid outage, the clean-energy microgrid provides
indefinite power for the 19 connected customers by disconnecting or
“islanding” from the broader grid when needed and becoming an
independent, PG&E-operated grid segment. This ensures that
airport flight service and rescue operations continue without
interruption.
“The Redwood Coast Airport Microgrid represents the culmination
of many years of research, innovation, and collaboration by the
world’s leading microgrid experts. Thanks to this team’s smart
work, microgrids now play a key role in PG&E’s ongoing efforts
to harden our electrical system and enhance local grid resilience
throughout Northern and Central California. We know how much our
customers and communities need reliable energy, and this system not
only increases local reliability, it also serves as the foundation
for a replicable and scalable model for widely deploying
multi-customer microgrids across PG&E’s service area. This
gives communities a new tool in securing their resilience and clean
energy goals,” said Jason Glickman, PG&E’s Executive Vice
President, Engineering, Planning and Strategy.
Meeting critical resilience goals
The regional California Redwood Coast-Humboldt County Airport
(ACV) is in McKinleyville, California, and serves the greater North
Coast community with over 50,000 flights per year, including
commercial airline, private, and emergency medical flights.
Adjacent to the airport, the US Coast Guard Air Station Humboldt
Bay provides search and rescue for 250 miles of rural coastline,
from the Mendocino-Sonoma county line to the California-Oregon
border.
Roads into Humboldt County are frequently closed by fires and
mudslides, making air services a critical factor in regional
emergency response.
“The California Redwood Coast-Humboldt County Airport (ACV) is a
lifeline to our community every day by keeping Humboldt County
connected to the world alongside our partners at United Airlines,
Avelo Airlines, American Airlines, REACH/Cal-Ore Life Flights, US
Coast Guard-Sector Humboldt Bay, and many others. RCAM ensures that
we can continue to keep that lifeline open through energy
resilience, no matter what happens to the power grid,” said Cody
Roggatz, Humboldt County’s Director of Aviation.
Research and development for the microgrid was supported through
California’s Electric Program Investment Charge (EPIC)—a statewide,
customer-funded program that enables PG&E, other California
investor-owned utilities and the California Energy Commission to
execute emerging technology demonstration and deployment projects
that address important grid needs. EPIC plays a vital role in
helping drive the innovation needed to meet California’s policy and
clean energy goals while also ensuring the safe, reliable, and
affordable operation of the grid.
Part of a growing trend
The unique collaboration between RCAM project partners has
informed meaningful technical and policy innovations including the
development of the Community Microgrid Enablement Tariff and
PG&E’s Community Microgrid Enablement Program (CMEP).
To date, PG&E has engaged with more than three dozen
communities and customers to explore potential financial and
infrastructure support options for developing microgrids and
resilience solutions through the CMEP.
Additionally, PG&E along with Southern California Edison and
San Diego Gas and Electric, are developing the Microgrid Incentive
Program (MIP), leveraging a $200 million statewide fund dedicated
to the development of clean energy microgrids supporting the
critical needs of vulnerable populations and disadvantaged
communities. The companies anticipate launching this program in
late 2022.
Together, the MIP and PG&E’s CMEP provide comprehensive
financial support for both the distributed energy resources and
other costs necessary to develop and energize a microgrid, as well
as the distribution upgrades necessary to enable the safe islanding
of the microgrid.
The Schatz Center is partnering with several tribes in Northern
California to support their clean energy, resilience, and climate
response efforts. Cal Poly Humboldt also recently began design of a
renewable energy microgrid to support campus resilience through
clean generation. This microgrid will be part of the university’s
sustainability framework, and will enable students in engineering,
environmental sciences, and other programs to gain hands-on
experience with innovative climate-friendly technologies.
More information
For more information about CMEP or to get started in exploring a
community-developed microgrid visit PG&E’s Community Resilience
Guide.
Learn more about RCAM and other microgrids being developed by
the Schatz Center: http://schatzcenter.org/microgrids.
Explore RCEA’s programs and request an RCAM site tour:
https://redwoodenergy.org/rcam/.
About PG&E
PG&E, a subsidiary of PG&E Corporation (NYSE:PCG), is a
combined natural gas and electric utility serving more than 16
million people across 70,000 square miles in Northern and Central
California. For more information, visit pge.com and
pge.com/news.
About the Schatz Center
Since 1989, the Schatz Center has produced groundbreaking,
renewable energy solutions that reduce climate change and pollution
while increasing energy access and resilience. Located on the
campus of Cal Poly Humboldt, the Schatz Center’s research efforts
include microgrids, offshore wind, off-grid energy access, carbon
life cycles, clean transportation, and more. The Center works
closely with state agencies, local government, and Tribal nations
in California, as well as with the World Bank Group, CLASP, IKEA
Foundation, and others to support international energy access and
resilience. Learn more at http://schatzcenter.org.
About RCEA
Established in 2003, the Redwood Coast Energy Authority is a
local government joint powers agency whose members include the
County of Humboldt, the seven cities within the county, and the
Humboldt Bay Municipal Water District. The Energy Authority's
purpose is to develop and implement sustainable energy initiatives
that reduce energy demand, increase energy efficiency, and advance
the use of clean, efficient, and renewable resources available in
the region. For more info, visit https://redwoodenergy.org.
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