Case Studies

Boys & Girls Club Microgrid

2 MIN READ

For over 160 years, the Boys & Girls Clubs of America have been a community resource for kids and adults, providing children’s programs, particularly useful for working parents that need a safe place to send their children after school. Nationwide, approximately 4 million kids have been welcomed by these facilities, proving to be a key pillar of support for our youth.

In addition to this everyday support, during times of need—such as during the pandemic and during utility outage events of recent years, spurred by fires, heatwaves, storms, and public safety power shutdown (PSPS) events—the importance of these facilities has become even more evident. With infrastructure like large gathering spaces, bathrooms, and commercial kitchens, they can host community members, families, and first responders during emergencies.

The Boys & Girls Clubs of St. Helena and Calistoga have been utilized approximately 15 times since 2020, including a 3-day outage where they served as a vital resource hub. Many of the residents served during these events are low-income and located within a high-fire threat district subject to more than seven PSPS events.

To address these needs, a commercial microgrid was added, including an 80 kW/288 kWh energy storage system and 33 kW PV system to provide distributed microgrid energy. Installed by Vital Energy and commissioned by Generac in May 2023, the system uses KORE batteries, Oztek RS40 inverters, SMA CORE1 PV inverters, and Generac’s ARC microgrid control system.

Additional components include:

Generac Protective Relay Cabinet (PRC) for islanding control
Load Control Center (LCC) to preserve battery life by prioritizing key loads

Critical loads—such as commercial kitchen, HVAC, and interior lighting—are backed up for over 30 hours. Non-essential loads, like the gym and EV chargers, are deprioritized.

This microgrid technology doesn't just ensure backup power; it also saves the club money by participating in time-of-use (TOU) rate arbitrage and demand charge management. The installation is funded through the California Self-Generation Incentive Program (SGIP), with Generac serving as the Performance Data Provider.

As part of SGIP, the microgrid software collects and validates system data at 15-minute intervals over a 5-year reporting period, ensuring long-term compliance and performance insight.