In the case of a power outage, the coast guard station and airport of the Humboldt county redwood are set to adopt microgrid backup tech.
This is more like adopting a new renewable energy microgrid in order to sustain operations just in the case of a power outage. This microgrid also will be the first of its kind in the state.
Coast Guard Station and Airports to Adopt Microgrid Backup Tech
Just coming in, the Humboldt county airport and coast guard station now have a renewable energy microgrid. This renewable energy microgrid will be the first of its kind in the state. This is a 100% renewable energy, front-of-the-meter multi-customer microgrid that energizes the circuits for the coast guard air station Humboldt county airport and the other two downstream facilities.
In a press release, Humboldt county’s director of aviation, Cody Roggats said ‘The California Redwood Coast-Humboldt County Airport (ACV) is a lifeline to our community every day by keeping Humboldt County connected to the world alongside our partners at United Airlines, Avelo Airlines, American Airlines, REACH/Cal-Ore Life Flight, U.S. Coast Guard-Sector Humboldt Bay, and many others.’ He added ‘RCAM ensures that we can continue to keep that lifeline open through energy resilience, no matter what happens to the power grid.’
Features of the Microgrid
Generally, the microgrid contains a 2.2-megawatt solar photovoltaic array that is coupled to three Telsa megapacks by DC that makes up a 2.2-megawatt battery energy storage system and in the event of a power outage, can easily go into an ‘islanding mode which will allow the system to maintain power to the coast guard and airport and in the process allow operations to continue as if nothing happened.
Why the Project Was Developed
The project was developed as a partnership program among the redwood coast energy authority (RCEA), PG&E, TRC, the energy authority, Schweitzer engineering labs, Telsa, and the Schatz energy research center at Cal poly Humboldt.
What the Director of Infrastructure Planning And Operations Has To Say About the New Project
The director of infrastructure planning and operations of RCEA, Dana Boudreau, said ‘the microgrid contains two parallel sets of controllers.’ She also added that ‘PG&E uses one set of control systems to ensure safe connection and operation of the microgrid with their electric distribution grid. RCEA uses the other control system to autonomously deliver the locally produced power and related services to the grid during normal and emergency operation.’
