Microgrids

EDF Renewables starts up solar-storage microgrid at San Diego HQ

EDF Renewables starts up solar-storage microgrid at San Diego HQ
(Photo courtesy EDF Renewables.)

Solar and wind developer EDF Renewables North America has put its new San Diego headquarters microgrid into operation.

The Innovation Drive Microgrid, as EDF calls it, includes a 209-kW solar carport, 182-kW solar rooftop, 280-kW (538 kWh) battery storage system and 43 electric vehicle charging stations. EDF Renewables, which leases the property to office nearly 500 employees, worked with the building owner and its property management team on developing the project.

“By combining EV infrastructure with solar and storage, we are able to offer the lowest cost of charging for both capital and operating expenses,” Patrick Kelly, director of EV operations for EDF Renewables, said in a statement. “The system made financial sense particularly when San Diego Gas & Electric time-of-use (TOU) rates changed in 2019.”

The solar and battery storage system is managed by EDF Store & Forecast’s Energy Management System (EMS). It will enable onsite coordination of energy production and site consumption with the flexible sources and forecast services combined.

The EV charging system was installed by PowerFlex, an EDF Renewables Company, using its Adaptive Load Management technology. This patented technology, developed out of Caltech, enables hosts to maximize delivery of electricity to electric vehicles while reducing or eliminating the need for costly utility upgrades by managing charging dependent upon driver’s demand, building load, onsite generation, and other variables.

“We are very proud of our onsite project that allows integration of more renewable energy onto the grid that will save millions of dollars over the lifetime of the project,” Raphael Declercq, Executive Vice President, Distributed Solutions at EDF Renewables, said. “Our goal is to help businesses reduce their electricity bills, while increasing the share of clean power and clean vehicles, in particular in our home-state of California.”

The solar and battery storage portions of the project qualify for Federal Investment Tax Credit, if the storage battery is charged only by solar power during the first 5 years. In addition, the battery storage also qualifies for the Self-Generation Incentive Program which provides rebates for qualifying distributed energy systems installed on the customer’s side of the utility meter.

EDF Renewables Distributed Solutions offers on-site clean energy for office buildings, load serving entities, corporates and industrials. The company delivers solar, storage and electric vehicle charging stations as an individual offering or as a full microgrid offering.

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