Orcas Power and Light Microgrid and Solar Array
OPALCO 504 kW community solar array on Decatur Island
This 504 kW community solar array has been installed in the San Juan Islands on Decatur Island and co-located with a recently modernized substation where the primary submarine cables from the mainland terminate. With assistance from a Clean Energy Fund grant, Orcas Power and Light Cooperative (OPALCO) will be procuring additional services and assets to be located at the Decatur Island Substation. It will include a 500 kW/2.0 MWh energy storage system (ESS) and control systems to support multiple use cases. These use cases include integration of the solar PV generation, reducing utility demand, load shifting, deferral of submarine cable replacements and outage mitigation. It will be designed for the overall system to operate as an islandable microgrid capable of sustained operation during system outages.
They have a great time lapse video on the build on their facebook page.