By Karen Robes Meeks
The Port of Long Beach will develop a $7.1 million microgrid at its Joint Command and Control Center.
Schneider Electric will develop and create the microgrid. The project will also include a workforce development training component in partnership with Long Beach City College and the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers.
According to the port, the project – funded in part through a $5 million California Energy Commission grant – will include the building of a solar carport, a stationary storage system and a mobile storage system that can be deployed in the event of an outage at the port replacing diesel generators.
“Ensuring a stable supply of energy is crucial to the zero-emissions future the Harbor Commission envisions for the Port of Long Beach,” said Long Beach Board of Harbor Commissioners President Tracy Egoscue.
Long Beach will gather and analyze data from the microgrid demonstration over a 12-month period and share that information with other California seaports.
“Our terminals are increasingly using electric equipment to move cargo and we will need to build more energy resiliency into these operations,” said Port of Long Beach Executive Director Mario Cordero. “This project will help us learn more about how to keep the power, and cargo, flowing.”
