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    Encorp Handling EPC on $45.3M Alameda County Microgrids

    Sept. 12, 2024
    Alameda County government is planning for on-site solar, battery storage, generators and equipment resources to power microgrids supporting its Contract Services Building, the San Lorenzo Library, Social Services, Turner Court Building, Peralta Oaks-Sheriff’s Office and the Santa Rita Jail ROTC Complex. 
    Image credit Encorp
    66e3442e492640dbd4aad713 Santa Rita Jail

    Control technology firm Encorp will deploy a new fleet of six microgrids for critical services within the county of Alameda in northern California.

    Alameda County government is planning for on-site solar, battery storage, generators and equipment resources to power microgrids supporting its Contract Services Building, the San Lorenzo Library, Social Services, Turner Court Building, Peralta Oaks-Sheriff’s Office and the Santa Rita Jail ROTC Complex (pictured above). 

    “These projects will deliver substantial environmental benefits by lowering fuel energy costs, reducing greenhouse gas emissions and diminishing our dependence on fossil fuels,” Tom Wesig, energy program manager for Alameda County, said in a statement. “Beyond environmental impact, they will also drive job creation and bolster energy resilience.

    Colorado-based Encorp will provide its Egility microgrid control platform and will also serve as engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) lead for all six microgrid projects. The company typically focuses on the technology and software side of the microgrids but has served as EPC contractor for the $1.5 million microgrid for Red Feather Lakes in Colorado and the $5 million Kings River Packing’s Cobblestone facility in central California.

    Cost of the Alameda County project is valued at $45.3 million and includes financing and incentives from the federal Inflation Reduction Act of 2022.  Four of the six microgrids will be located within low-income zones, Encorp CEO Michael Clark said.

    Mission Critical Services and Microgrids

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    The composition of each Alameda County microgrid are as follows:

    • Contract Services Building: Microgrid featuring 100 kW of solar PV, two 50 kW inverters, controls and grid interconnection systems.
    • San Lorenzo Library: Microgrid featuring 150 kW of solar PV, three 50 kW inverters, controls and grid interconnection systems.
    • Gail Steel Building; Alameda County Social Services: Microgrid featuring a 1 MW solar PV (with 8 125 kW inverters) and 1 MW/3685 kWh battery energy storage system, controls and grid interconnection and new switchboard.
    • Turner Court Building; Alameda County Public Works: Microgrid featuring 375 kW of solar PV, 500 kW/2103 kWh of battery energy storage, integration of existing 350 kW generator, controls, grid interconnection and new switchboard.
    • Peralta Oaks; Sheriff’s Office: Microgrid featuring 500 kW of solar PV (with 4 125 kW inverters), 1 MW/8081 kWh of battery energy storage and grid interconnection.
    • Santa Rita Jail ROTC Complex: Microgrid featuring 750 kW of solar PV, 1.5 MW/4020 kWh battery energy storage, two new 500 kW generators, controls and grid interconnection.

    Encorp’s original microgrid work at Santa Rita Jail dates back to 2021. In the past year alone, the company also has contributed microgrid control technologies for projects in Georgia, Bahamas and Scotland, among others.

    Pacific Gas & Electric, which is the primary utility for northern California, has interconnected numerous microgrids within its distribution system and also recently announced work on six new remote microgrids for communities.

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    About the Author

    Rod Walton, Managing Editor | Managing Editor

    For Microgrid Knowledge editorial inquiries, please contact Managing Editor Rod Walton at [email protected].

    I’ve spent the last 15 years covering the energy industry as a newspaper and trade journalist. I was an energy writer and business editor at the Tulsa World before moving to business-to-business media at PennWell Publishing, which later became Clarion Events, where I covered the electric power industry. I joined Endeavor Business Media in November 2021 to help launch EnergyTech, one of the company’s newest media brands. I joined Microgrid Knowledge in July 2023. 

    I earned my Bachelors degree in journalism from the University of Oklahoma. My career stops include the Moore American, Bartlesville Examiner-Enterprise, Wagoner Tribune and Tulsa World, all in Oklahoma . I have been married to Laura for the past 33-plus years and we have four children and one adorable granddaughter. We want the energy transition to make their lives better in the future. 

    Microgrid Knowledge and EnergyTech are focused on the mission critical and large-scale energy users and their sustainability and resiliency goals. These include the commercial and industrial sectors, as well as the military, universities, data centers and microgrids. The C&I sectors together account for close to 30 percent of greenhouse gas emissions in the U.S.

    Many large-scale energy users such as Fortune 500 companies, and mission-critical users such as military bases, universities, healthcare facilities, public safety and data centers, shifting their energy priorities to reach net-zero carbon goals within the coming decades. These include plans for renewable energy power purchase agreements, but also on-site resiliency projects such as microgrids, combined heat and power, rooftop solar, energy storage, digitalization and building efficiency upgrades.

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