Miramar Microgrid, California3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8
Electricity generation from LFG at the West Miramar Landfill in San Diego, California began in 1997 with eight reciprocating engines and waste heat recovery. In 2012, third-party project owner Fortistar added two new engines with a combined rated capacity of 3.2 MW—this green power is now delivered to the Marine Corps Air Station (MCAS) Miramar via a 6.5-mile power line under a 15-year power purchase agreement.
MCAS Miramar has a 36-square-mile footprint with a population of more than 15,000 personnel and family members. The station’s microgrid began as a vision in 2011 through its pursuit of energy security and sustainability and was officially completed in 2020. Designed and built by Schneider Electric and Black and Veatch, the microgrid is powered by 1.8 MW of solar energy, 3.2 MW of LFG electricity and 6.45 MW from a natural gas/diesel power plant. The microgrid is monitored and controlled from a newly built Energy and Water Operations Center, which hosts all the utility and energy control systems for the base.
The microgrid prioritizes the use of renewable energy, which provides about 50 percent of the base’s power consumption. The generators at the natural gas/diesel power plant were sized to cover critical loads in case of a primary grid failure but renewables were included to make the microgrid less reliant on fossil fuels. Assuming all resources are available, the incorporation of onsite renewable power provides the microgrid the opportunity to power mission critical areas for up to 21 days. MCAS Miramar also plans to integrate lithium-ion battery storage by 2024 through a California Energy Commission grant to help supplement energy usage during peak times, support the renewables in island mode and further reduce the need for fossil fuels.
In June 2020, the installation proved that the microgrid can power all the base’s critical operations, including more than 100 buildings and its entire flight line, while also confirming functionality through various stress tests. As of 2023, the base has performed more than 17 base-wide power outage tests with microgrid operation, practicing and preparing for the future.
In addition to supporting the base’s own operations, the microgrid can support the local grid as needed. During heat waves in the summers of 2020, 2021 and 2022, MCAS Miramar provided emergency support through demand reduction from the microgrid to San Diego Gas & Electric during rolling power outages, which allowed the utility to provide continuous power to thousands of homes that otherwise would have been affected by blackouts.
