Saft Go Electric microgrid helps Northern California college on journey to carbon neutral future
Santa Rosa Junior College, a 100-year-old institution in Sonoma County, CA, turned to Saft to help reach 100% of demand from renewable energies by 2030.
Santa Rosa Junior College needed an energy storage solution that would achieve energy savings, carbon neutral operation, and meet 100% demand from renewable energies by 2030.
Saft has supplied a Go Electric microgrid solution to provide power resilience and energy savings worth $500k annually. With final commissioning completed at the end of 2021, the microgrid is providing a model for other college campuses, schools and large commercial operations to go carbon neutral and achieve energy resilience.
The behind-the-meter microgrid integrates 2.5 MW solar photovoltaic (PV) power with a 2 MW / 2 MWh lithium-ion (Li-ion) energy storage system (ESS) and a Go Electric Lync™ Secure power conversion system. The installation will ensure that the college has energy resilience for critical services to continue operating through Public Safety Power Shutoffs (PSPS) during wildfire season. The microgrid will also provide power continuity so that the college can provide emergency services for students and members of the community during longer outages and natural emergencies.
Saft delivered the project through its US-based Go Electric microgrid product line. The scope included design, procurement, manufacturing and commissioning of a microgrid control system to oversee power generation and control from multiple sources, as well as four 500 kW power converters and an energy storage system capable of delivering 2 MW power with 2 MWh energy storage capacity. The system is covered by a 10-year warranty.
The controller prioritizes power for facilities that will provide critical services in emergency situations such as public safety, student support and financial aid spaces.
Key Benefits
Installing the technology solution also makes economic sense as the school can now meet 40 percent of its energy needs from emission-free solar PV power, as well as earning extra income by providing power support services to the grid.
In the long term, SRJC will be able to scale up the system to integrate more renewable energy to further reduce its reliance on diesel backup generators. This will help the school achieve carbon neutral operation by 2030 and meet 100 percent of demand from renewable energies.
Our mission is to be a sustainable learning community that provides affordable, accessible education to a diverse and growing student body and the renewable energy microgrid will help us to demonstrate environmental responsibility to students. It will also ensure that we have power resilience for emergencies and can provide shelter and essential community services if homes are lost to wildfire or other natural disasters.
David Liebman Energy & Sustainability Manager at SRJCSaft Go-E
Saft’s Go Electric product line is located in Anderson, Indiana at the Saft/TotalEnergies Microgrid Center of Excellence and provides customer-side-of-the-meter battery energy storage microgrid solutions that deliver uninterruptible power to mission-critical sites, while lowering energy costs, integrating renewables and providing grid-stabilizing energy services to utilities. www.goelectricinc.com