Public power utility East Bay Community Energy (EBCE) has selected Gridscape Solutions to build microgrids for nearly 30 mission-critical municipal and public facilities across Fremont, Hayward, Berkeley and San Leandro in California.
The project is part of EBCE's Resilient Municipal Critical Facilities Program aimed at bundling small community projects into a larger portfolio to achieve economies of scale and viability.
Under the agreement, Gridscape will install 3.1 MW of solar PV systems and 6.2 MWh of battery storage systems at 30 sites to offer energy resilience during power outages and lower utility bills during normal operations.
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Gridscape will manage all aspects of the project, which is expected to take about 18 months to complete. The company notes that the project represents its biggest microgrid deployment under a single third-party financed PPA agreement.
The program received a $2 million grant from Congress to bring energy resilience to critical service sites in Hayward and Fremont.
“With their strong commitment to clean energy and successful track record, exemplified by their work on the Fremont fire station microgrid, Gridscape is the perfect partner for this project,” said JP Ross, Vice President of Local Development, Electrification & Innovation at EBCE. “Together, we’ll address the challenges of the rapidly changing energy landscape and bring sustainable and affordable energy solutions to our communities.”
Microgrids, specifically, are on-site power resources which can be islanded, or disconnected from the main grid, to supply electricity to a site even during a public outage. They are guided by control technology to balance the system and can include such resources as solar, battery storage and natural gas, diesel or biofuel-fired generators.
