A company that designs electrical power infrastructure – ETAP – is going to build a onsite microgrid at its own corporate campus in Irvine, Calif.
ETAP will design, build, finance and manage its own corporate campus microgrid, comprised of solar carports. The company says the project will help broaden its knowledge of best practices in alternative energy, smart grids and microgrids. The completed microgrid is expected to generate 180 kWh and save the company an estimated $40,000 to $50,000 per year, while also providing 12 car-charging stations for ETAP employees who drive electric vehicles.
The microgrid is scheduled to be deployed before the end of July.
Once operational, the microgrid will be controlled by the company’s ETAP Real-Time software platform, which enables on-line monitoring, simulation and demand side management of smart grids and microgrids. It will also monitor the building’s power consumption throughout the day, providing insights into ETAP’s energy usage patterns to help the company lower energy costs.
Utilizing this knowledge will allow ETAP to optimize when and how it uses electric power. For example, the system will: