The McKinleyville Community Services District in northern California has selected Ameresco to build a $2 million microgrid at a wastewater treatment plant.
While California has seen a wave of microgrid projects in response to wildfire-related power outages, the McKinleyville project is driven by a desire to cut electricity costs.
The project includes a 580-kV solar array, a 500-kV battery energy storage system that can produce 1,340 KWh in a single discharge and an existing diesel generator.
“As part of our community’s broader sustainability efforts, this project creates a pathway for our local wastewater treatment facility to reach net-zero emissions,” said MCSD Manager Greg Orsini. “By bringing new, clean energy sources on-site and adding battery storage, the facility will produce as much energy as it consumes and be better prepared to withstand potential utility outages in the future.”
The McKinleyville Community Services District, which provides water, wastewater, parks and recreation services to the town’s 17,000 residents, issued a request for proposals in August for a microgrid that would lower power costs related to a recent upgrade at its Hiller Park wastewater treatment plant. The district also wanted to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions.
$65,000 in cost savings first year
The district received two offers: a $1.96 million bid from Ameresco, based in Framingham, Massachusetts, and a $4.64 million proposal from Stronghold Engineering in Perris, California, according to the district.
In its bid, Ameresco said the solar array would cost $937,000 to install, the battery system would cost $656,000 and the microgrid controller would cost $90,000.
The project will save the district about $65,000 in lower electricity costs in its first year of operations, according to Ameresco’s bid packet.
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