Construction is underway on the next phase of Snohomish County PUD’s Arlington Microgrid and Clean Energy Technology Center project. Moon Construction recently broke ground on construction of the Clean Energy Technology Center (CETC) and Modular Data Center (MDC), both of which will be located on the same site as the PUD’s Community Solar array and future Arlington Microgrid.
Construction of the CETC is expected to be complete this summer, with construction of the microgrid and installation of the MDC to occur shortly after. In 2021, the CETC will be open for customers to tour and learn more about microgrid technology and other renewable energy options.
“With the energy industry rapidly evolving, the CETC provides a great opportunity for us to educate customers on some of the new technology the PUD is exploring,” said PUD Microgrid Program Manager Scott Gibson. “It will also give us another tool to continue our strong support of STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) education.”
Work on the Arlington Microgrid project is expected to begin this summer. As the PUD’s third project to employ energy storage technology, it will couple renewable energy generated by a 500-kilowatt solar array with a lithium-ion battery storage system and a Vehicle-to-Grid (V2G) charging system, providing emergency back-up power to the CETC, MDC and a future community office.
The PUD has all contracts in place for construction of the microgrid except for the contract to install the battery energy storage system and microgrid control system. The PUD will go out to bid for that contract in April 2020, with installation slated to be finished by the end of 2020.
ABB is providing the equipment for the battery and microgrid control system and Burns & McDonnell is the system design engineer. Mitsubishi Electric Power Products is working on the V2G system and the chargers, which are scheduled to arrive at the site in June 2020. Like the PUD, ABB is a member of the Modular Energy Storage Architecture (MESA) Standards Alliance, which promotes non-proprietary and scalable approach to energy storage.
The total cost of the PUD’s Arlington Microgrid project is $12 million. The PUD received $3.5 million in funding from the Washington Clean Energy Fund through the Washington State Department of Commerce. Since 2013, the state has invested $152 million in the Clean Energy Fund.