Parks Reserve Forces Training Area To Break Ground On Microgrid

Press release from Camp Parks Reserve Forces Training Area (PRFTA):

Aug. 18, 2021

Parks Reserve Forces Training Area is conducting a groundbreaking ceremony August 19, at 10 a.m. for construction of the first of ten nodes of a Resilient Replicable Modular Microgrid (R2M2) on the installation located in Dublin, California.

The R2M2 or Microgrid will segregate PRFTA’s cantonment area into ten individual electric distribution nodes/zones that can operate independently or in unison to manage the distribution of electricity in the event of a disruption in utility power. Once complete, upon loss of utility power, the Microgrid will distribute electricity generated from an onsite 2 Megawatt Solar Array and distributed Battery Energy Storage Systems, to support the 14-day energy resilience goal for critical facilities on PRFTA.

Construction of the first node, as well as the R2M2’s Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) system, was funded by a $5M grant from the California Energy Commission (CEC). That grant was developed through a partnership agreement between the CEC, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL), PRFTA, and the Office of the Chief of the Army Reserve (OCAR). An additional $4.5M was committed as matching funds by the Army Reserve Installation Management Directorate (ARIMD) to fund the construction of additional nodes, expected to be awarded by the end of September.

The completion of the R2M2 on the installation is a first step in demonstrating the value of this type of modular system, as well as developing lessons learned that can support duplication throughout the Department of Defense.

“When you can disconnect from the grid and continue to execute your mission and/or operate facilities in the absence of utility power, that is the hallmark of resiliency,” said Jarrod Ross, Resource Efficiency Manager for Parks Reserve Forces Training Area. “If the electric utility conducts a public safety power shutoff to prevent wildfires, or any other disruption in utility power, this microgrid will prove its value.

Camp Parks has been planning and implementing infrastructure upgrades to support this effort for well over a decade, and significant design support for the R2M2 project was provided through Pacific Northwest National Labs, in support of OCAR ARIMD. LBNL is providing contracting services as well as project management support for the R2M2 as a technology test bed demonstration project.

This press release was produced by Camp Parks Reserve Forces Training Area (PRFTA). The views expressed here are the author's own.