Designed by the Schatz Energy Research Center at Humboldt State University, the microgrid will generate green electricity, create jobs for local contractors and technicians, and provide an energy lifeline in the event of a natural disaster. Last week, the California Energy Commission announced a $5 million grant award through its EPIC program that will support $6 million in matching funding from the Redwood Coast Energy Authority (RCEA), for development of this solar plus storage microgrid system.
“The Redwood Coast Energy Authority is excited to be partnering with the Schatz Center, PG&E, and the County,” said Matthew Marshall, Executive Director of the RCEA. “This project will allow us to provide enhanced resiliency and emergency-response capabilities for the airport and Coast Guard and deliver the environmental and economic benefits of developing our local renewable resources.”
Composed of a 2.3 megawatt photovoltaic array covering 9 acres—the largest in Humboldt County—and an 8 megawatt-hour battery storage system, equivalent to the batteries in 100 Tesla Model S cars, the microgrid will support 18 electric accounts including the airport and the U.S. Coast Guard Air Station.
The California Redwood Coast-Humboldt County Airport serves 50,000 flights a year and 140,000 customers, including commercial, private, and emergency medical flights. The Coast Guard Air Station Humboldt Bay provides search and rescue for 250 miles of rugged rural coastline, from the Mendocino-Sonoma County line to the California-Oregon border. Since roads into and out of Humboldt County are often closed by fires and slides, energy stability at the regional airport is crucial.
“This is a wonderful project for Humboldt County and we have a great team eager to get started,” said Peter Lehman, founding director of the Schatz Center and principal investigator for the project. “The airport microgrid will make us a safer and more resilient community and plow new ground in developing the electric grid of the future.”
As the first multi-customer microgrid in Pacific Gas and Electric’s service territory, the project will provide a test bed for the policies, tariff structures, and operating procedures necessary to integrate microgrids into California’s electric grid. Lessons learned will help the state strengthen its power grid by creating a roadmap for microgrid integration across the state.
A microgrid combines energy generation–often solar or wind power–with energy storage and smart controls to allow it to run both connected to and disconnected from the larger power grid. Under normal conditions, microgrids add power to the grid and smooth out power fluctuations, adding stability. In an outage, microgrids can “island” and supply electricity indefinitely. As extreme weather events and fires driven by climate change continue to cause regional outages, the ability to maintain independent power generation is key to local resiliency. Microgrids provide life-saving power to transportation hubs and other critical facilities like shelters, hospitals, and fire stations.
The airport microgrid is the second designed by the Schatz Center for the Humboldt Bay region. The Center’s renewable energy microgrid at the Blue Lake Rancheria (BLR) went live in 2017, providing clean energy to the BLR campus and enabling the Rancheria to operate as a Red Cross Shelter. Last fall, the Rancheria was recognized by the Federal Emergency Management Agency for its contributions to community safety.
Schatz Energy Research Center
For almost three decades, the Schatz Energy Research Center at Humboldt State University has developed clean and renewable energy technologies and implemented them worldwide. Current projects and expertise include smart-grid design, bioenergy assessment, off-grid energy access, and clean transportation. The Center also plays a leading role in the World Bank Group’s Lighting Africa and Lighting Asia initiatives, which support high quality, affordable energy solutions for people in off-grid and marginal-grid communities.
Redwood Coast Energy Authority
Formed in 2003, the Redwood Coast Energy Authority (RCEA) is a local-government joint powers agency of the County of Humboldt, the Cities of Eureka, Arcata, Fortuna, Rio Dell, Ferndale, Blue Lake, and Trinidad, and the Humboldt Bay Municipal Water District. The purpose of RCEA is to develop and implement sustainable energy initiatives that reduce energy demand, increase energy efficiency, and advance the use of renewable resources available in the region. RCEA is the primary provider of electricity generation service for Humboldt County through its Community Choice Energy program.