PGE Deploys Its First Fully Renewable Remote Grid
Image courtesy of Jack Haskell under Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 2.0 Generic License, resized to 700 x 391 pixels.
California-based PG&E announced that it has launched the first fully renewable remote grid in its service territory, located at Pepperwood Preserve in Sonoma County. This has enabled the utility to eliminate nearly 1 mile of overhead lines. Although this is just a drop in the proverbial bucket, it represents the first step in a plan to increase reliability in California.
Details of PG&E’s Fully Renewable Remote Grid
Historically, electric customers in remote parts of PG&E’s service territory have been served by long electric distribution lines that traverse high fire-risk areas. With remote grids, these high-risk distribution lines can be eliminated.
The Pepperwood system is a standalone system that encompasses a solar canopy and a battery energy storage system. Although this is PG&E’s fifth remote grid deployment since 2021, it is the first one that is fully renewable.
PG&E worked with several companies to bring this deployment to fruition.
The utility partnered with Sonoma Clean Power (SCP) to perform an initial site assessment and develop the implementation plan. PG&E also contracted with BoxPower, which built the remote grid in just 2 months (followed by comprehensive system testing, analysis, and fine-tuning). BoxPower will also maintain the system going forward. Additionally, PG&E contracted with Franklin Energy to implement systems, processes and technologies to reduce the possibility of an outage during periods of low solar generation.
The result of this and PG&E’s other remote grid deployments is that remote or end-of-line customers will be able to enjoy a higher level of reliability, while at the same time allowing PG&E to increase its clean energy sources and reduce the wildfire risk in the immediate vicinity.
I believe PG&E intends to expand its network of remote grids, targeting those areas that are most at risk of experiencing a wildfire, as detailed in the utility’s Wildfire Mitigation Plan. And the Pepperwood fully renewable remote grid deployment should provide an excellent blueprint to do just that!
