A little more than a year ago, California’s Ventura and Santa Barbara counties suffered from a month-long fire that destroyed 1,000 structures. And a month later, in January 2018, heavy rains drenched the hillsides and caused mudslides, all in the same general area. Twenty-three lives were lost, not to mention the loss of 100 homes.
Altogether, the so-called Goleta Load Pocket spans 70 miles along the coastline and encompasses the jurisdictions of Goleta, Santa Barbara, Montecito and Carpinteria. That area is now grid-dependent, meaning that if harsh conditions cause the power to go out, the whole region feels the impact. Indeed, Southern California Edison (SCE) has said that the area’s transmission system could fail because of fire, earthquake and heavy rains. So what is being done about it?
The Clean Coalition and the World Business Academy are working to create a series of community microgrids, driven by renewables, initially for the city of Montecito. The first stop for the Montecito Community Microgrid Initiative is the city’s fire department, which will still be linked to the main electric grid but will also have a microgrid that can isolate from the grid and generate power for the fire department and participating businesses.
The microgrid is expected to be completed by the end of the year. After the fire department, the development team plans to connect the city’s water department followed by an elementary school that serves as a shelter during high-impact events. The community microgrid will serve a quarter of the energy consumed in that target area — no matter the day and no matter the weather conditions. In the summer, it could be a great as 40 percent.
“You want to make sure you can keep your critical loads even during the worst weather day,” says Craig Lewis, executive director of the Clean Coalition that is trying to accelerate the transition to renewable energy and a modern grid, in an interview. “The sites will be stand alone microgrids, with additional features that can tie into the existing distribution grid. But the first installations will operate in island mode at customer meters.”
Click Here to Read Full Article
Recent Comments