SCE’s First Microgrid Resiliency Pilot Participant is San Jacinto High School

The school’s facilities can open during extended outages and provide resiliency services to nearby communities.
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Stories : The Grid
Stories : The Grid

SCE’s First Microgrid Resiliency Pilot Participant is San Jacinto High School

The school’s facilities can open during extended outages and provide resiliency services to nearby communities.
Contributors
Photo Credit: Elisa Ferrari

Korey Lawson knows that San Jacinto High School plays a critical role in keeping the tight-knit town of San Jacinto safe when it comes to earthquakes and wildfires. So, when Southern California Edison approached the San Jacinto Unified School District board of trustees about participating in the utility’s microgrid pilot, Lawson and the district felt it was a good idea for this community.

“The microgrid allows a designated mass care and shelter location to maintain power in the event of an emergency,” said Lawson, assistant director of facilities and operations at San Jacinto High. “The gym will also be used as a shelter during emergencies. It will be a safe and comfortable place for anyone in need in the community and surrounding areas.”

A microgrid is ready to be used during an extended outage.
This microgrid is ready to be used during an extended outage.

Microgrids have a traditional grid connection and can function either connected or islanded (separated) from the grid. When they are islanded, they can operate autonomously to support specific load needs in unique situations. This microgrid also supports SCE’s Pathway 2045, which will require an additional 80 gigawatts of utility-scale generation from carbon-free sources, such as solar and wind, and 30 GW of utility-scale energy storage to meet California’s ambitious clean energy goals.

“The microgrid will power San Jacinto High School’s gymnasium and restroom facilities from solar and battery storage in the event of a power outage caused by weather, fire or other emergencies. People who live in the area can have access to electricity to charge phones and, if necessary, to take shelter,” said Jill Anderson, SCE senior vice president of Customer Service. “Southern California Edison is proud to have played a part in this critical project, which is now fully operational.”

Solar panels located at San Jacinto High School help power microgrid.
Solar panels located at San Jacinto High School help power microgrid.

SCE proposed expanding this pilot in its 2021 General Rate Case to additional participants willing to operate as a resiliency shelter for their communities. If approved by the California Public Utilities Commission, the program will provide an incentive to help pay down the cost of a microgrid control system, and customers will need to have their own solar and battery storage systems to provide power to a designated area.

The project at San Jacinto High includes a microgrid controller, which manages the interaction between the Tesla battery and the solar system and allows the system to enter microgrid mode. The system also uses a manual transfer switch to safely transfer the facility load from the grid to the microgrid.

“An important part of this project was the communication protocol between the microgrid controller and the solar and storage system,” said Juan Castaneda, SCE principal manager, Grid Technology Innovation. “This communication system was tested and commissioned to make sure the system is ready to go when it’s needed.”

San Jacinto High School’s gymnasium would open as a resiliency shelter for the community.
San Jacinto High School’s gymnasium would open as a resiliency shelter for the community.

Recently, SCE participated in a virtual opening ceremony with officials from the San Jacinto Unified School District board of trustees, the Riverside County Chapter of the Red Cross in addition to Tesla and Willdan Energy Solutions to celebrate the completion of the microgrid project. There were other improvements made to also designate San Jacinto High as a Red Cross shelter.

The Riverside County Emergency Management Department will determine when this facility should open. The high school’s gymnasium has a capacity of just over 2,000 and the city of San Jacinto also has two mass care and shelter trailers that can be deployed to the gymnasium, which contain 200 cots, blankets and towels.

“San Jacinto Unified School District is a leader in the school district community. We believe anytime a district can provide for their community’s well-being and safety, it directly translates to student success,” Lawson said.