PG&E uses New Sun Road's Stellar to Deliver Local Resiliency
Pacific Gas & Electric Company (PG&E) is using remote microgrids for local resiliency.
To enhance local resilience and eliminate fire risk, PG&E recently deployed three new remote grid systems in California’s Tehama and Mariposa counties with several more anticipated for deployment in 2023 and up to 30 to be deployed by 2026 in collaboration with New Sun Road. Locally sited solar, batteries and back-up generators provide the same or better level of electric service reliability while serving as a permanent alternative to poles and powerlines.
In 2022, PG&E elected New Sun Road’s Stellar solution as the monitoring and control platform to manage their expanding remote grid program designed to mitigate wildfire risk. PG&E estimates that remote grids reduce wildfire ignition risk by 98% compared to conventional overhead power lines.
In 2021, the first PG&E remote grid came online in Briceburg, California — a rural community near Yosemite National Park that had previously lost its transmission line to a wildfire.
Here are some results:
Despite the heavy snowfall and the mountainous area, Briceburg is powered by
0
%
renewable energy with no sustained outages in over 24 months.
In 2022, the Oak Fire came within 15 miles (24 km) of Briceburg.
During the three weeks that fire raged, Briceburg had power while other areas did not because transmission lines were de-energized.
The Stellar platform enables PG&E to monitor and control remote grids via satellite or cellular connectivity, offering real-time data, performance management, reporting, and automated alarms and notifications from a single dashboard for hundreds or thousands of sites. If necessary, Stellar enables remote shut-down and black-start procedures to protect the community.
PG&E has identified hundreds of potential sites in California’s wildfire-prone regions where remote grids can provide cleaner, more reliable power while reducing wildfire risk. New Sun Road is proud to partner with PG&E in this important and impactful program – providing clean, safe, reliable power to rural communities.