Category: Research and program updates

The Solar+ project at the Blue Lake Rancheria (BLR) hit high gear this summer, with activity across our research and design areas — from engineering to market assessment. Our project is at the halfway point, with construction underway and plans afoot for experiments to run once we are operational next year. It has been rewarding to see progress towards a standardized package for microgrids at the building scale.

Over the summer, our engineering designs came into form as the PV array was installed at the Rancheria’s “Playstation 777” fueling station and convenience store. Our partners at BLR have been working closely with us to coordinate the construction and installation of a 60 kW array of high efficiency SunPower modules on the fueling area canopy. Later this year we will install control devices, switchgear, and other microgrid components.

In parallel to our work designing and installing the microgrid hardware, project partners at Lawrence Berkeley National Lab have been developing the control software that will eventually manage the microgrid. Building off the open source XBOS (“Extensible Building Operating System”) framework, the LBNL team has been adding model-predictive control and communications features needed to optimize the operation of our energy systems. We are in the testing phase for this software now, and look forward to its installation and operation in 2019.

Along with our progress on the prototype installation for our Solar+ microgrid design, we have been synthesizing our overall experience in microgrid design and development. Our cross-site analysis is helping us to model the current costs and benefits of microgrids based on the characteristics of a site — and we are looking ahead to future prices for PV, storage, and integration technology to understand possible deployment pathways for microgrids at scale.

We made a lot of progress this summer, thanks in great part to a crew of excellent summer research assistants. René DeWees and Ellen Thompson joined our market and data analysis team, and helped model the costs of microgrids (along with big contributions from Jo Caminiti and Thalia Quinn). Craig Mitchell joined the hardware design and construction team, and provided important on-site research observation and engineering support as we worked on building the PV array.

HSU’s first electric vehicle station has already provided 60 “charge ups” in the month since fall semester began. Vehicles charged for an average of 2 hours, obtaining an average of 8 kWh of energy, up to a maximum of 31 kWh — and there were 16 times where the primary EV and the ADA parking spot were charging simultaneously.

Since the EV station was installed in early May, it has provided 126 charge ups, that powered 3,600 miles of travel, and avoided the combustion of 117 gallons of gasoline and the emission of 800 kg of CO2e.*

On October 11 at 5:30 pm in Siemens Hall 108, the Sustainable Futures Speaker Series will host a panel discussion on “Achieving 5 million zero-emission vehicles in California by 2030.” Experts from local planning, state regulation, mass transit, and advanced fuel infrastructure development will share strategies for achieving a zero-emission vehicle rollout on the north coast.

HSU’s EV charging station is located to the south of the Schatz Energy Research Center (across from the BSS building on the south side of campus). This station can provide charging for either of two adjacent parking spaces. One parking space is EV-only; parking here is limited to four hours, and the vehicle must be charging while parked. The second space is ADA parking (EV not required). HSU parking permits are required for both spaces.

*We assume a vehicle efficiency of 0.325 kWh/mi for EVs, and 31 mpg for gasoline vehicles. Carbon emissions are calculated using the gasoline carbon intensity of 8,815 g CO2e/gallon from EPA emission estimates, and HSU’s 2016 electricity carbon intensity of 192 g CO2e/kWh. (The electricity carbon intensity is the emissions rate associated with the power currently being purchased or generated by a particular source.)

On May 4, we had the pleasure of hosting the Schatz Center Advisory Board for our annual meeting. In addition to our customary discussion of Center activities and strategy, we were happy to be able to include the Advisory Board members in a dedication ceremony for our new building addition, which we have been calling the “West Wing.”

During the meeting, we reported our progress toward the Center’s strategic goals—which are derived from our mission to promote clean and renewable energy—and discussed our portfolio of projects, budget, staffing, and space within this context. We were able to report good news to the Advisory Board in multiple spheres.

We noted that our two most active project areas are those related to (i) renewable energy microgrids, grid integration of renewable energy, and associated demand-side management strategies and (ii) improved access to energy in off-grid and marginal grid communities in Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia. Together with our partners, we have received recognition for our efforts in both areas: in January alone, the Blue Lake Rancheria renewable energy microgrid was awarded the Project of the Year for Distributed Energy Resources at the annual DistribuTECH conference in San Antonio, Texas, while our energy access team simultaneously played a key role at the premier international conference for the off-grid solar sector, the Global Off-Grid Solar Forum and Expo in Hong Kong. We also have current projects and activities in bioenergy, clean transportation, off-shore wind, energy efficiency, hydrogen energy, clean energy policy, and education/outreach. Our staff expertise continues to deepen, and we have ample opportunities for continued work in pursuit of our mission.

Regarding staffing, we have a motivated, skilled, and professional team, and their strengths provide the foundation for our success. Recent additions to the Schatz Center include Dr. Nicholas Lam (research scientist), Kaileigh Vincent-Welling (engineering technician), Richard Williams (engineering technician), and Jessica Ramirez (administrative assistant). We are pleased to welcome them to our team. During the advisory board meeting, we discussed two strategic foci in relation to personnel. We began by noting the importance of expanding our team’s project management capacity to meet the needs of our growing work portfolio. We then discussed our commitment to increasing staff diversity and ensuring a broadly welcoming work environment. We appreciate our board’s thoughtful advice, and we look forward to a continued focus on these key issues.

And, of course, we celebrated our new building and the opportunities that it enables. Importantly, the increase in space—along with a commitment to student mentorship by faculty and staff on our team—has allowed us to hire nine summer student interns. They join seven continuing student employees, for a total of 16 students working with us this summer. This is the largest number of students working at Schatz Center at one time in the history of our organization. We are grateful for the contributions that each student is making to our work, and I thank my colleagues for all that they have done to create hands-on learning opportunities.

Happy summer solstice, and goodbye until next time. ~ Arne Jacobson

On Friday, May 4, we formally dedicated our new West Wing addition. Congressional Representative Jared Huffman was joined by HSU President Lisa Rossbacher, Blue Lake Rancheria Tribal Council Member Jason Ramos, and Schatz Advisory Board members Jack West and Andrea Tuttle to celebrate the Center’s expansion.

The 1900 square foot addition is located immediately west of the main building, and includes two faculty offices, a conference room, and fourteen staff and student workstations. This increase in space has enabled us to hire nine additional student research assistants for summer 2018 to work on projects in wind energy, smart grids, biomass assessment, and off-grid energy access.

The dedication ceremony was followed by an open house with demonstrations in solar product testing, biomass energy, and microgrid management systems, an unveiling of interpretive photo galleries newly installed throughout both buildings, and the official deployment of the first electric vehicle charging station on the HSU campus.

The West Wing addition was designed by Suarez Kuehne Architecture of San Francisco and built by a team led by Adams Commercial General Contracting of Eureka. Humboldt State University Facilities Management coordinated the design and construction process. The project was fully funded by donor contributions, including major support from the estate of Louis W. Schatz, additional gifts from Anne and David Katz, Peter and Carolyn Lehman, Christina and Jack West, Jamie Everett, and Joel Lehman, and grant funding from the California Energy Commission.

A cutting-edge clean energy microgrid is coming to Humboldt County’s regional airport. Designed by the Schatz Center, the microgrid will generate green electricity, create jobs for local contractors and technicians, and provide an energy lifeline in the event of a natural disaster. Last week, the California Energy Commission announced a $5 million grant award through its EPIC program that will support $6 million in matching funding from the Redwood Coast Energy Authority (RCEA), for development of this solar + storage microgrid system.

“The Redwood Coast Energy Authority is excited to be partnering with the Schatz Center, PG&E, and the County,” said Matthew Marshall, Executive Director of the RCEA. “This project will allow us to provide enhanced resiliency and emergency-response capabilities for the airport and Coast Guard and deliver the environmental and economic benefits of developing our local renewable resources.”

Composed of a 2.3 megawatt photovoltaic array covering 9 acres—the largest in Humboldt County—and an 8 megawatt-hour battery storage system, equivalent to the batteries in 100 Tesla Model S cars, the microgrid will support 18 electric accounts including the airport and the U.S. Coast Guard Air Station.

The California Redwood Coast-Humboldt County Airport serves 50,000 flights a year and 140,000 customers, including commercial, private, and emergency medical flights. The Coast Guard Air Station Humboldt Bay provides search and rescue for 250 miles of rugged rural coastline, from the Mendocino-Sonoma County line to the California-Oregon border. Since roads into and out of Humboldt County are often closed by fires and slides, energy stability at the regional airport is crucial.

“This is a wonderful project for Humboldt County and we have a great team eager to get started,” said Peter Lehman, founding director of the Schatz Center and principal investigator for the project. “The airport microgrid will make us a safer and more resilient community and plow new ground in developing the electric grid of the future.”

As the first multi-customer microgrid in Pacific Gas and Electric’s service territory, the project will provide a test bed for the policies, tariff structures, and operating procedures necessary to integrate microgrids into California’s electric grid. Lessons learned will help the state strengthen its power grid by creating a roadmap for microgrid integration across the state.

A microgrid combines energy generation–often solar or wind power–with energy storage and smart controls to allow it to run both connected to and disconnected from the larger power grid. Under normal conditions, microgrids add power to the grid and smooth out power fluctuations, adding stability. In an outage, microgrids can “island” and supply electricity indefinitely. As extreme weather events and fires driven by climate change continue to cause regional outages, the ability to maintain independent power generation is key to local resiliency. Microgrids provide life-saving power to transportation hubs and other critical facilities like shelters, hospitals, and fire stations.

The airport microgrid is the second designed by the Schatz Center for the Humboldt Bay region. The Center’s renewable energy microgrid at the Blue Lake Rancheria (BLR) went live in 2017, providing clean energy to the BLR campus and enabling the Rancheria to operate as a Red Cross Shelter. Last fall, the Rancheria was recognized by the Federal Emergency Management Agency for its contributions to community safety.

The Schatz Energy Research Center was a major presence at the 5th Global Off-Grid Solar Forum and Expo, which took place this week in Hong Kong. The conference is the premier global event for the off-grid solar industry. Schatz Center Director Arne Jacobson was on the conference organizing committee, and six members of the Center’s off-grid team delivered presentations and facilitated discussions in conference sessions and side events over the three-day meeting.

The Schatz Center’s involvement in the conference is linked to its leadership role in the World Bank Group’s Lighting Global Quality Assurance Program, the world’s leading framework for quality assurance and consumer protection for off-grid solar products. The quality assurance program is widely used to support consumer protection for low-income families in off-grid areas of Africa, Asia, and the Pacific Islands.

The Center’s work on Lighting Global is carried out in partnership with CLASP, a D.C.-based non-profit, and it involves close collaboration with the Global Off-Grid Lighting Association (GOGLA).

• View the 2018 report on off-grid solar market trends from Lighting Global, Dalberg Advisors, and GOGLA.

The Blue Lake Rancheria (BLR) microgrid was awarded the 2018 Project of the Year Award for Distributed Energy Resources (DER) Grid Integration at the annual DistribuTECH conference held this week in San Antonio, Texas. The award was given in recognition of the project’s ingenuity, scope, practicality, vision, and follow-through.

The Schatz Energy Research Center at Humboldt State University is the project lead and system integrator. The BLR microgrid integrates a photovoltaic array, a Tesla battery, and a legacy backup generator. A Siemens management system and foundational programming developed by Schatz engineers control the microgrid, which provides renewable electricity, lowers the Rancheria’s energy costs, and supports clean energy jobs. The microgrid also provides an emergency services backbone for its remote rural community and equips the Rancheria to serve as a Red Cross shelter in the event of a natural disaster.

DER design strategically deploys power generation across multiple sites to lower impact on existing grid infrastructure and to make use of renewable technologies including solar and wind. By locating power generation close to where that power will be used, utilities are able to streamline infrastructure improvements. When microgrids are employed, these smaller generation sites can disconnect from the main grid in the event of a grid outage – protecting critical electricity supply within a campus, business, hospital, or other community facility.

The BLR microgrid was funded by the California Energy Commission’s Electric Program Investment Charge and the Blue Lake Rancheria Tribe. Major project partners include Pacific Gas & Electric, Siemens, Tesla Energy, Idaho National Laboratory, GHD Inc., Colburn Electric, REC Solar, McKeever Energy & Electric, and Kernen Construction.

The Schatz Energy Research Center develops clean and renewable energy technologies for implementation worldwide. Current projects and expertise include smart-grid design, bioenergy assessment, off-grid energy access, and clean transportation. The Center also plays a leading role in the World Bank Group’s Lighting Africa and Lighting Asia initiatives, which support high quality, affordable energy solutions for people in off-grid and marginal-grid communities. The Schatz Center is located on the campus of Humboldt State University in Arcata, California.

Press Contact:
Maia Cheli, Schatz Energy Research Center
maiacheli@humboldt.edu / 707-826-4363