Greentech Lead America: S&C Electric Company, a smart
grid solutions provider, has completed an energy storage project at the Santa
Rita Jail in Dublin, Calif.
S&C’s PureWave Storage Management System helps
integrate on-site renewable energy sources and storage at the facility.
The new energy storage solution’s battery capabilities
enable the jail to purchase power during non-peak hours from the local utility
and store the reserves–a process that will end up saving the jail nearly
$100,000 dollars per year.
The jail’s microgrid, built by Chevron Energy Solutions,
serves a correctional facility that covers 113 acres and combines solar, wind,
and fuel cell energy sources, along with emergency diesel backup, to generate
electricity. The facility uses 3 MW of electricity daily.
To add the needed energy balancing to the microgrid,
S&C provided a 2-MW PureWave Storage Management System to control the
charging and discharging of lithium-ion batteries.
“With the stored energy system, the Santa Rita Jail
can use on-site renewable generation to power the facility in the event of a
power disruption on the utility grid,” says Jim Sember, S&C Vice
President–Power Quality Products.
The energy storage system assures that these intermittent
and diverse green energy sources will provide reliable and stable generation
for the jail for up to eight hours until utility power is restored or back-up
diesel generators are brought online.
S&C’s PureWave SMS features control algorithms that
allow the SMS to pick up or shed load for the various generation sources
without a system-level master control, which would add cost and complexity.
The stored energy system also allows the facility to
charge the batteries when electricity is inexpensive, and use them to supply
electricity during peak hours when costs are high.