Soboba Band of Luiseño Indians
Special to the Valley News
Members of the California Energy Commission visited the Soboba Band of Luiseño Indians Wednesday, June 21, to recognize the Tribe’s implementation of clean energy solutions, including the installation of a solar microgrid that can maintain power for critical infrastructure even when the grid is down.
The CEC is California’s primary energy policy and planning agency, and it is instrumental in leading the state to a 100% clean energy future for all. In 2019, the commission awarded the Tribe a $1.7 million grant from its Electric Program Investment Charge program to demonstrate microgrid technology at the fire station.
“We were impressed by the scale and extent of Soboba’s accomplishments towards their clean energy transition through the adoption of advanced clean energy technologies and incorporating robust energy conservation measures,” Michael Ward, representative of CEC, said.
During the visit, the team, which included CEC Commissioner Noemí Gallardo, met with youth Tribal members who are part of the Fire Explorers Program. They also toured the area where the microgrid is installed and learned about the Tribe’s future clean energy plans. In addition, staff and the Tribe discussed opportunities to host workshops for other Tribes at the reservation.
“We are impressed with the Tribe’s long-term commitment to clean energy,” Sean Anayah, an energy specialist with the CEC Energy Research and Development Division, said. “Soboba has strategically invested in clean energy projects over time, leveraging a variety of financial resources and creating an effective model that other Tribes and communities can duplicate.”
Soboba Tribal Council expressed their appreciation for the visit: “We were pleased to host Commissioner Gallardo and her team and to show them all that the Tribe is doing to move toward energy resilience and a clean energy future.”
The Soboba Reservation is located in a high-fire risk region in the foothills of San Jacinto and often experiences power outages due to fires or public safety power shutoff events, which are implemented by Southern California Edison when fire risk is high. The Tribe’s power outages last seven hours on average but can be as long as 24 hours during high wind conditions and PSPS events.
During outages, the Tribe’s ability to provide critical resources and potentially life-saving responses during an emergency or disaster become extremely limited. The microgrid, which consists of solar photovoltaics located on a carport plus a battery storage system, is connected to the larger electricity grid but can isolate from it, producing power independently during grid outages and PSPS events.
The microgrid can power both the Tribe’s fire station and its emergency operations center, providing critical services to the Tribe and the surrounding community through mutual aid agreements.
The project includes an innovative, long-duration battery storage system that can provide the community with at least 10 hours of electricity, which is far longer than traditional energy storage systems. If the Tribe deploys more solar, the microgrid could produce power for more than 24 hours, Anayah said.
In addition to power, the microgrid also provides public health, economic and energy security benefits, Anayah said. The Tribe relies less on diesel generators during power outages, which lowers greenhouse gas and other polluting emissions. Construction and installation of the system created jobs, which helped develop the local economy and workforce. And the system provides energy security because the Tribe can generate power on-site. The microgrid also helps support the grid when it’s stressed by harsh weather.
In addition to validating the microgrid’s performance as a system that provides long-duration energy storage, the Tribe and the CEC will evaluate its energy resiliency during power outages and its services to the grid. Those grid services include load shifting and peak shaving, which involve directing the microgrid to store solar energy and release it during high-electricity demand periods to lower the burden on the grid.
“These energy investments not only result in greater energy reliability but also lead to cost savings over time,” Katrina Leni-Konig, CEC deputy public adviser and Tribal liaison, said.
The CEC will collect data about the microgrid’s capital cost, operating cost, performance and lessons learned to support commercial deployment of microgrids that use advanced battery systems, Anayah said.
The Tribe and CEC already learned one lesson from the project, Anayah said. The battery couldn’t conduct a “black start” during a grid outage because it didn’t have auxiliary power to activate it. The Tribe added an uninterruptible power supply as backup which allows the system to start up during outages.
The microgrid is a demonstration case for similar systems that can be sited in Tribal, remote and disadvantaged communities across the state. The project is part of a larger effort from the CEC to support Tribes’ efforts to achieve energy independence with clean energy.
“Earlier this year, the CEC adopted a resolution committing to continue to support Tribal energy sovereignty and to work closely with Tribal leaders to advance clean energy in ways that benefit Tribal communities and ultimately achieving a 100% clean energy future for all Californians,” Gallardo said.
While the microgrid project is unique, it is not the Tribe’s first clean energy project. In 2016, the Tribe received a $500,000 grant from the federal Department of Energy’s Office of Indian Energy Tribal Energy Deployment Program to help develop a 1 megawatt solar system that generates 1.8 million kilowatt-hours a year and can meet 92% of the annual energy needs of the country club at Soboba Springs. It’s expected to save more than $6 million over 20 years, money that can be directed to other community needs.
There are a number of funding opportunities available to California Native American Tribes for supporting the transition to clean energy. The funding available can support the installation of electric vehicle infrastructure, building decarbonization, energy research and development and other opportunities, Leni-Konig said.
“We invite Tribes interested in clean energy to reach out to the CEC. We are happy to discuss the opportunities available for funding renewable energy projects and to learn how we can better serve Tribal communities in their transition to clean energy,” Gallardo said.
