His company is developing a microgrid to power Santa Margarita Water District’s water and wastewater treatment facilities in south Orange County.

And Guillermo Gomez with Scale Microgrids - which partnered with Soboba on its project - said interest in microgrids has never been higher. But in recent years, the price of solar energy has come down while traditional electricity costs and available funding for renewable energy projects have shot up. That’s why hospitals and prisons, which can’t risk power outages, have used microgrids for years. They typically tie into the larger energy grid but can be disconnected to operate independently, with battery storage and control systems that run like mini utilities.ĭone right, microgrids can lower utility bills, offer reliable backup power and even take some businesses or communities entirely off the currently strained power grid. Microgrids are independent electricity networks, where a local energy source like solar panels is used to power an adjacent building, a collection of buildings, or an entire neighborhood.

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