California joint power agency to deploy Community Grid Programme with Swell Energy

Local government agency Redwood Coast Energy Authority (RCEA) has selected Swell Energy to implement its Community Grid Programme.

The programme is designed to provide additional capacity and resource adequacy for consumers in Humboldt County.

Swell Energy will leverage distributed power plants model and experience to establish 45MWh of behind-the-meter solar-powered energy storage capacity to ensure the reliability of the grid network within the region.

The deal follows consumers in the region experiencing power cuts in recent years due to wildfires and public safety power shut-offs.

Swell Energy will be partnering with GRID Alternatives and will leverage government, utility and financial programmes available to deploy the project. The project will include registering consumers to deploy onsite generation and energy storage assets.

The project will target residential, commercial and industrial customers.

Matthew Marshall, Executive Director of RCEA, said: “The battery storage systems installed under this programme can provide customer bill savings and grid benefits during normal daily operations but will also serve critical energy needs during power outages.”

Suleman Khan, CEO of Swell Energy, added: “By teaming up with RCEA on the development of a regional DPP, we are able to bring the core benefits of batteries and incremental value to local residents and businesses.”

Khan said the project will enable energy resilience for vulnerable consumers and will help expand the region’s portfolio of renewable energy capacity which is a win for a healthy environment.