The new microgrid system at the Kaiser Permanente Ontario Medical Center in Southern California adds 2MW of on-site solar generation and 9MWh of non-lithium battery storage capacity to the state’s electrical grid, increasing reliability. The microgrid also features a 1-MW fuel cell.
The microgrid provides clean, reliable electrical power for the hospital’s day-to-day use and will serve as the initial emergency power backup system during commercial power outages. It has the capacity to serve all the hospital’s emergency power needs for 10 continuous hours.
The battery storage component of the project was funded through an $8.3 million grant from the California Energy Commission to Faraday Microgrids. The solar power canopies were installed by Ameresco under a power purchase agreement with Kaiser Permanente.
Improvements in battery technologies and climate-driven challenges to electrical grid infrastructure have led Kaiser Permanente to explore innovative energy solutions for its facilities. The organization installed California’s first renewable microgrid at its Richmond Medical Center in 2017. With 250kW of solar generation and 1-MWh of battery storage, that hospital’s system reduces energy costs and provides limited backup generation.
Photo of Kaiser Permanente
Press release https://tinyurl.com/2e2wc8md
