Improving Safety and Reliability: PG&E Developing Several New Remote Grid Systems to Replace Overhead Powerlines and Promote More Wireless Power in High Fire Threat Areas
11 Agosto 2022 - 03:00PM
Business Wire
Today, Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) announced an
expansion of its remote grid program, including progressing four
new Standalone Power Systems in 2022 and deploying a standardized
monitoring and control platform that will help it scale the program
to more than 30 systems by 2026.
A Standalone Power System (or remote grid) is expected to
provide the same or better levels of electric reliability using
locally sited solar, batteries, and back-up generators as a
permanent alternative to traditional energy infrastructure such as
poles and powerlines. Remote grids meet customer needs with a
significantly lower risk of fire at lower lifetime costs.
Collectively, the following four new Standalone Power Systems
allow PG&E to remove 4.5 miles of overhead distribution
electric lines while enabling five customers to continue receiving
safe, reliable, affordable, low-carbon, and wireless energy:
- Two wireless systems near Paskenta, Calif., in Tehama County,
allowing PG&E to remove 2 miles of overhead power lines, each
serving one customer meter;
- One wireless system near Mariposa, Calif., in Mariposa County,
allowing PG&E to remove 1 mile of overhead power lines, serving
two customer meters; and
- One wireless system near Ahwahnee, Calif., in Mariposa County,
allowing PG&E to remove 1.5 miles of overhead power lines,
serving two customer meters
PG&E is working with Potelco, a Quanta West, LLC Company to
build and construct the four new systems, which are expected to
begin operations by early 2023 following construction and
successful testing and commissioning.
PG&E also recently selected Richmond, Calif.-based New Sun
Road’s Stellar Microgrid OS™ as the remote monitoring and control
platform for its growing fleet of hybrid renewable Standalone Power
Systems.
The Stellar platform enables PG&E to monitor and control
remote grids via satellite and cellular connectivity, with
capabilities for remote performance management, safety diagnostics,
alarms, reporting, and automated refueling notifications. A
Standalone Power System also features an integrated fire
suppression system to protect the hardware and facility.
“PG&E has identified many locations where remote grids may
be the most effective way of reducing wildfire risk and improving
electric reliability in the communities we're privileged to serve.
As we expand the use of Standalone Power Systems, we now have a
standardized platform for our operations, engineering, and asset
management teams that will help us understand and manage real-time
and historic system performance,” said Jason Glickman, PG&E's
Executive Vice President, Engineering, Planning and Strategy.
The four new systems under development this year will generally
be modeled on the successful deployment of PG&E’s first
operational remote grid in Briceburg, Calif. (Mariposa County),
which was commissioned in June 2021 and is also managed by New Sun
Road’s Stellar monitoring and control platform.
“New Sun Road’s Stellar platform will manage PG&E’s fleet of
standalone systems, ensuring maximized solar usage and high
reliability,” said Jalel Sager, New Sun Road CEO and co-founder.
“Stellar remotely operates systems in over 23 countries, and we’re
proud that our technology will now enable more resilient clean
energy in California.”
Remote Systems Offer a New Grid Architecture
Throughout PG&E's 70,000-square-mile service area, pockets
of remote customers are served via long electric distribution lines
that in many cases traverse through high fire-risk areas. Replacing
these distribution lines with a reliable and low-carbon local
energy source is an innovative option that has now become a
feasible and, in many cases, preferred option for serving customers
at the edges of the grid.
PG&E is one of the first energy companies in North America
to deploy Standalone Power Systems as an alternative customer
service offering to electricity provided through traditional grid
infrastructure. Remote grids operate independently from the larger
electric grid that delivers energy throughout the state, and they
allow PG&E to remove overhead powerlines, significantly
reducing wildfire risk and service interruptions in high
fire-threat areas.
In Briceburg, for example, PG&E opted not to rebuild
approximately 1.4 miles of distribution line that was destroyed in
the 2019 Briceburg fire, and instead deployed the localized
stand-alone power system. This hybrid renewable option reliably
powers five customers without the need to rebuild the overhead
line, and the system remained operational throughout the recent Oak
Fire even as powerlines serving customers near the fire were
de-energized for safety.
Potelco and New Sun Road join a growing ecosystem of microgrid
vendors, including Grass Valley, Calif.-based BoxPower—which
engineered the Briceburg remote grid—working alongside PG&E to
design, deploy and scale standalone power systems as a service
offering.
PG&E has identified multiple potential locations for
additional remote grids, with sites currently being assessed in
high fire-threat areas of Lake, Sonoma, and Tulare counties, all of
which would be managed on New Sun Road’s Stellar platform.
For more information and to watch a video about PG&E’s
Remote Grid program, visit pge.com/remotegrids.
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 New Sun Road
New Sun Road is on a mission to accelerate the deployment of
renewable energy systems with its technology and seeks to enable
energy and Internet access for underserved and remote populations.
Our cloud-based “Stellar” suite offers robust remote monitoring and
control for over 700 microgrids in over 23 countries. We use IoT
and machine learning to reduce operating costs, increase control
and visibility, and improve performance.
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