When Santa Clara County commissioned Pallet Shelter to build Casitas de Esperanza, a 100-bed community to shelter the unhoused, they needed to figure out how to power the site. The location was outside the old San Jose City Hall, which lacked reliable utility power. Rather than paying the utility company’s $600,000 quote or power the site completely with generators, the county contracted BoxPower to energize the shelter with two microgrids: containerized solar + battery + backup generator.
New Sun Road provides the brains for microgrids powering shelters in San Jose
San Jose, California
Installed in New Sun Road’s Stellar Microgrid OS™ provides the intelligence – the remote data collection, real-time monitoring, and controls – that enables BoxPower to significantly reduce generator usage. This cuts the cost of operations by thousands of dollars a month while improving the air quality at the shelter. The solar panels at the site are designed to cover 100% of electricity demand during the summer months, and require some generator backup during the winter. Operating since June 2021, Pallet Shelter is powered by an off-grid renewable energy microgrid in the heart of San Jose.
As a Public Benefit Corporation, New Sun Road is proud to partner with mission-driven companies like BoxPower and Pallet Shelter on projects that combine cost savings with social and environmental benefits.