ENGIE extends microgrid development in California with 4.2 MW of solar, 3.8 MW hours of storage

Citing increased power outages and safety shutoffs in California as an incentive, ENGIE North America recently announced a new microgrid installation to the region, bringing 4.2 MW of solar and 3.8 MW hours of battery energy storage to the Santa Barbara Unified School District.

These grids, which can act as isolated islands during times of larger grid trouble, offer resiliency through backups and peak demand charge reductions. For Santa Barbara specifically, ENGIE stated the microgrid should offset around 90 percent of the solar array sites’ energy use with renewable energy and save the district almost $8 million over the project’s lifespan, even before the resilience benefits were factored.

“The SBUSD solar microgrids will serve as a model for school districts and other entities anywhere, including how to finance them in a straightforward manner that minimizes upfront costs and risks to the District while also reducing the District’s electricity expenditure,” Stefaan Sercu, managing director Energy Solutions Americas at ENGIE, said. “It’s also important to note that communities can now benefit from state and federal funding for projects like these.”

For Santa Barbara, such options became increasingly attractive following a 2017/2018 fire that threatened its more than 15,000 students, faculty, and staff. Responding to in-house research on the subject, the district’s Board of Directors approved microgrid usage in December 2020, which would ultimately be owned, operated, and maintained by ENGIE.

ENGIE noted that this has become an increasingly common story in the state. In August 2022, an extreme heat wave caused numerous public safety shutoffs throughout California, while between October 2017 and October 2019, California communities reportedly underwent 4,547 outage days caused by such shutoffs.

“The scope for this program is one of the first for a school district in California,” Dr. Hilda Maldonado, Santa Barbara Unified School District superintendent, said. “This is a community that has been continually impacted by wildfires and subsequent power shutoffs, mudslides, and other natural disasters. This project will be critical in the district’s efforts to preserve power where it can, as well as provide a fiscally responsible power insurance policy that will ultimately aid the entire community.”

New funding opportunities through the Inflation Reduction Act have also made microgrids more affordable, including an up to 30 percent tax credit on the cost of solar, storage, and microgrid controller equipment.