The IssueThe Port of Long Beach (POLB) is planning a zero-emissions future in which electricity will be the predominant fuel and the Port-wide electrical load is expected to quadruple. This will create a significant strain on the utility grid, especially because the delta between port-wide base loads and peak loads is likely to widen.

Increased reliance on electricity also adds risk to marine terminal operations in that a single point of failure—the utility grid—could result in millions of dollars per day of damage to the economy in lost work hours and perished cargoes. Microgrid systems that integrate zero-emission distributed energy resources (DERs) and grid services will add resiliency to seaport operations and reduce pollution from diesel generators, as well as alleviate intermittent pressures on the utility grid.

Project Innovations + AdvantagesThe POLB Microgrid Project will create an integrated system of DERs and microgrid controls to achieve long-term islanding at the Port’s critical response facility, the Joint Command and Control Center. Key features of the project include photovoltaic energy production, stationary battery energy storage, mobile battery energy storage, and a microgrid controller.

Both batteries will provide grid services, such as demand response and peak shaving, during regular operation of the utility grid. During wide-spread outages or emergencies, the mobile battery will act to extend the microgrid as a zero-emission generator that can be deployed where needed, such as stormwater pump stations and refrigerated container yards. An additional project innovation is the installation of both DC and

AC bus controllers in the system to allow for direct DC transfer of energy from the PV system to the battery, significantly improving the efficiency of the stored energy.

Anticipated Benefits for CaliforniaSignificant funding for this project comes from the California Energy Commission’s Electric Program Investment Charge (EPIC), which uses ratepayer monies to support demonstration and deployment projects that achieve the State’s energy policy goals at the lowest possible cost. Accordingly, the project is designed to be successful, cost-effective, and replicable across any facility with a central headquarters and distributed critical resources, including seaports, airports, railyards, wastewater treatment plants, landfills, and other critical facilities.

In addition to providing energy resiliency at the Port’s critical response facility, this project will allow the Port to understand the use of DERs and controls to provide necessary grid services during times of peak demand. Lessons learned from this demonstration will be integrated into the Port’s design criteria for future terminals, which will be extremely energy intensive and challenging from the perspective of utility grid capacity.

The POLB Microgrid Project also includes robust workforce development and training elements and is located at a facility that is visited by every federal, state, and local response agency, allowing POLB to showcase the project and share lessons learned. Specific benefits include:

• Lower costs: Smart load management reduces demand on the utility grid, specifically peaking power, which provides important but high-cost electricity. This microgrid installation will also integrate new solar

Fact Sheet

Port of Long Beach Microgrid — Resilience for Critical Facilities

4801 Airport Plaza Drive, Long Beach, CA 90815 | www.polb.com Aug. 2018

PV capacity, reducing the net demand on Southern California Edison’s (SCE) system. These two factors will lower costs to electricity ratepayers by reducing expensive peak power needs and increasing the longevity of existing grid infrastructure through the production of onsite power.

• Greater reliability: The proposed project will add stationary energy storage and demand response capabilities, allowing the JCCC to respond to utility signals and reduce demand during peak periods. Strategic load shaving in response to utility signals improves the reliability of utility grid services, particularly during times of peak demand.

• Increase safety: The microgrid will incorporate advanced cybersecurity software and will detect and react to external cyber threats to the JCCC system and to the larger SCE network. As a critical facility, POLB is a target for attacks on a scale that would impact all SCE customers. Enhancing POLB’s electrical cyber security increases the safety of all SCE ratepayers.

• Environmental benefits: The microgrid will produce renewable electricity and allow for peak shavings and demand response. In addition, during an outage, the microgrid will reduce the need to use diesel generators for emergency power.

• Energy security: The microgrid will provide important ride-through capabilities during a power outage, allowing the Port’s Joint Command and Control Center to maintain uninterrupted operations as the microgrid switches to islanded mode. Additionally, the PV system mitigates against fuel supply risk in an emergency, allowing for long-term all-renewable operations.

Project Components• Install a 300 kilowatt solar carport

• Install an Energy Control Center that includes microgrid controls and a 330 kilowatt stationary battery energy storage system

• Integrate a 250 kilowatt microgrid-extending mobile battery energy storage system

• Compile and analyze 12 months of performance data

• Work with Long Beach City College and the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers to strengthen local workforce development and training initiatives

• Provide paid on-the-job training to apprentices during construction

• Provide education to and share information with other California seaports about the benefits of microgrids

• Develop a “lessons learned” document to support replicability at other facilities and commercialization of microgrid systems

Conceptual Design

PartnersCalifornia Energy Commission

Schneider Electric

Long Beach City College

National Renewable Energy Laboratory

California Community Colleges

Southern California Edison

International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers

Electric Power Research Institute

Advanced Power and Energy Program, UC Irvine

ContactGrant Recipient: Christine Houston The Port of Long Beach Phone: (562) 283-7100 Email: christine.houston@polb.com

Commission Agreement Manager: Kenneth Schumann California Energy Commission Phone: (916) 327-1556 Email: Kenneth.Schumann@energy.ca.gov

Total Project Cost: $7,120,000

EPIC Funding: $5,000,000

Project Location: POLB Joint Command and Control Center, Long Beach, California

Contract Term: 4/23/2018 to 3/31/2023

4801 Airport Plaza Drive, Long Beach, CA 90815 | www.polb.com Aug. 2018