Oak View Microgrid: Using Microgrid Technologies to Simultaneously Improve Quality of Life and Electric Grid Operations
Designing a microgrid to improve the environmental performance and resiliency of the local electric infrastructure.
University of California, Irvine
Recipient
Irvine, CA
Recipient Location
37th
Senate District
73rd
Assembly District
$1,007,641
Amount Spent
Completed
Project Status
Project Result
The project final report is complete. The final analysis prior to the final report concluded the analysis of passive and active cooling measures for the community. This showed that passive cooling measures including cool roof and wall coatings, window film, and a heat pump water heater pulling heat from residential building interiors could replicate 90% to 99% of the cooling effect from a conventional air conditioning or heat pump system. Additional analysis also showed that low cost solar and storage are key for enabling electrification across low-income California communities.
The Issue
Disadvantaged communities suffer disproportionally from the environmental impacts of energy conversion. Microgrid technologies can reduce these impacts, helping combat poor air quality while also improving grid performance and resiliency. Currently, there are no standard methodologies for microgrid design that simultaneously consider air quality, grid reliability, and grid resiliency. In addition, there is a dearth of experience in designing microgrids while also improving building energy efficiency and retrofitting at a reasonable cost.
Project Innovation
This project develops multiple urban energy scenarios in which multiple types of energy efficiency, electrification, and microgrid technologies are considered. The design approach uses integrated methods that simultaneously consider various technology and retrofit options, while also verifying that the proposed technology mixes accomplish the goals of improving air quality and grid operations. The work will result in the proposal of a microgrid design ready for implementation in the Oak View community and an extensible and robust design methodology that can be used throughout the state for economic and environmentally sensitive microgrid development.
Project Goals
Project Benefits
One project benefit has been an understanding of the role of building electrification in the Oak View community. Electrification is key for reducing carbon and building related pollutant emissions across the community. However, under current utility rates, energy burden will increase due to electrification. Low cost solar and storage or more generous low-income utility rate rebates are required to offset the cost increase. A second benefit is the understanding of the impact of electrification of electrical distribution system equipment. Electrification increases electrical loads across electric transmission and distribution circuits. However, if electrification occurs using heat pumps and high efficiency electric appliances, the increases system loading increases utility cost by less than 3%.
Affordability
The microgrid design is intended to decrease transmission and distribution losses and reduce the need for new transmission infrastructure, thereby lowering costs to ratepayers.
Reliability
Design is expected to serve the critical loads inside a community without interruption, provide ancillary services to the grid during normal operations, and provide black-start capability.
Key Project Members
Jacob Brouwer
Robert Flores
Subrecipients
County of Orange/City of Huntington Beach
U.S. Department of Energy, National Renewable Energy Laboratory
Altura Associates, Inc.
ComUNIDAD
Match Partners
Advanced Power and Energy Program (APEP) - University of California, Irvine
County of Orange/City of Huntington Beach
U.S. Department of Energy, National Renewable Energy Laboratory
Altura Associates, Inc.
