Marine Corp microgrid set for expansion - Smart Energy Decisions

Distributed Energy Resources, Energy Storage, Microgrids  -  February 11, 2019

Marine Corp microgrid set for expansion

A microgrid project at Marine Corps Air Station (MCAS) Miramar will be expanded to boost resilience by adding energy storage to the microgrid and integrating demand side management. Upon completion, the project will incorporate a total of five distributed energy resources (DER), including renewable generation and energy storage, in order to maintain all critical facilities during grid outages and facilitate higher renewable penetration from landfill gas generators

"The microgrid is critical in allowing operations to continue if the utility power grid is compromised and this expansion will enable enhanced capability to enable financial benefit and power assurance," said Mick Wasco, Installation Energy Manager, Marine Corps Air Station Miramar, in a statement. The $3.9 million project expansion is being funded by a California Energy Commission (CEC) Electric Program Investment Charge (EPIC) grant.

According to the statement, Miramar microgrid was originally announced to be built in partnership by Schneider Electric and Black & Veatch in July 2016. The expansion of the project will allow the facility to integrate landfill gas energy storage for additional resilience and sustainability. The microgrid, which is scheduled to be completed in 2019, is leveraging DER including 1.3 megawatts (MW) solar photovoltaic (PV), 3.2 MW of converted landfill methane gas, and 6.45 MW of diesel and natural gas generation. The microgrid will also deploy a microgrid control system and operations center that enables autonomy of grid operations and DER switching when the grid is islanding for resilience.

Upon completion of the project, redundant sources of power are expected to provide 100 percent capability – even in the event of power outages – across the Marine Corps Air Station Miramar's more than 100 mission critical buildings, including its entire flight line.


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