Helping Customers and Hometowns: PG&E Lays Groundwork for Permanent, Multi-Customer Microgrids
April 13 2021 - 11:57AM
Business Wire
Community Microgrid Enablement Program to
Improve Local Energy Resilience, Will Prioritize Disadvantaged
Areas and Critical Facilities
Today, Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) launched its
Community Microgrid Enablement Program (CMEP) to help communities
identify, design and build permanent, multi-customer microgrids
serving critical facilities and vulnerable customer groups. A
microgrid is an electric system that can operate independently from
the central energy grid.
Through this new program approved by the California Public
Utilities Commission (CPUC), PG&E will provide technical and
financial support on a prioritized basis for qualifying projects in
areas with the greatest energy resilience needs. This includes
dedicated funding to help meet the resilience needs of
disadvantaged and vulnerable communities.
“We know how much our customers need reliable energy. Community
microgrids will play a key role in PG&E’s ongoing efforts to
harden our electrical system and enhance local grid resilience for
customers throughout our service area in Northern and Central
California. We look forward to partnering with our customers,
especially those in disadvantaged and vulnerable communities, to
build customized resilience solutions that address local electric
reliability needs for the long term,” said Fong Wan, PG&E’s
Senior Vice President, Energy Policy and Procurement.
In 2020, PG&E consulted with local governments, agencies and
communities interested in developing microgrid projects and worked
to refine the eligibility criteria and other program requirements.
The CPUC approved the final program details on March 18, 2021.
Prioritized projects will be those that serve disadvantaged
communities, critical facilities such as hospitals, and areas with
a higher likelihood of Public Safety Power Shutoffs or other
significant power outage events, as well as projects with higher
levels of renewable energy.
What’s a Community Microgrid?
A community microgrid is a group of customers and Distributed
Energy Resources (DERs)—such as solar generation and battery energy
storage systems—within clearly defined electrical boundaries with
the ability to disconnect from and reconnect to the grid.
These microgrids are typically designed to serve portions of
communities that include community resources, such as hospitals,
police and fire stations, gas stations and grocery stores.
Each community microgrid is uniquely designed by the community
to address its specific goals and needs. A range of factors
determine the size of the microgrid, what community services are
served and what elements are included in the design.
North Coast Project Underway
The first project under the program is the Redwood Coast Airport
Renewable Energy Microgrid, a collaboration among PG&E, the
Redwood Coast Energy Authority, Schatz Energy Research Center at
Humboldt State University, Humboldt County, and Schweitzer
Engineering Laboratories, among others.
This front-of-the-meter, multi-customer microgrid featuring
solar power generation paired with battery energy storage is under
construction and on schedule for full operation in December
2021.
The Redwood Coast Airport Microgrid will provide renewable
energy for 18 customer meters, including the Arcata-Eureka Airport
and a U.S. Coast Guard Air Station, and serve as a lifeline for
Humboldt County in a natural disaster or other emergency. The
microgrid will be capable of disconnecting from the broader grid
(island mode) and operating as an independent, PG&E-operated
grid segment during a planned or unplanned power outage.
PG&E has already heard from additional communities
interested in deploying multi-customer microgrids through CMEP,
including the Yurok Tribe, located along the Klamath River on
California’s North Coast. PG&E supports the Yurok Tribe’s goal
of building a multi-customer microgrid in Tulley Creek.
“The Tulley Creek microgrid is a key piece of infrastructure
that will dramatically increase the energy resilience and disaster
preparedness of the Yurok Tribe on the upper half of the
Reservation. We appreciate the critical technical support and
capital that CMEP offers to help make this project a reality," said
Michael Gerace, Planning Director for the Yurok Tribe Department of
Planning and Community Development.
Where to Learn More About Microgrids
For more information about CMEP or to begin exploring developing
a community microgrid, visit www.pge.com/cmep. The site includes
information on:
- How the program works and directions for getting started
- Project eligibility and prioritization
- Financial and enhanced technical support
- Tariff and agreements for the operation of community
microgrids
- Frequently asked questions
PG&E’s CMEP website also includes the Community Microgrid
Enablement Program - Resilience Planning Guide to help local and
tribal governments navigate the relevant processes for developing a
community resilience project; and the Community Microgrid Best
Practices Technical Guide to provide information to help
development teams understand the key technical concepts and
approved means and methods for deploying community microgrids on
PG&E’s system under the CMEP.
About PG&E
Pacific Gas and Electric Company, 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.
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