EDF Renewables North America has announced an agreement to design, build and operate an integrated energy system consisting of rooftop and carport solar, storage and electric vehicle (EV) charging.
Working with Sanford Burnham Prebys Medical Discovery Institute and San Diego-based CollectiveSun, the integrated system comprises 847KW solar photovoltaic panels and 800KW/1805KWH on-site behind-the-meter battery storage.
There will also be 50 smart EV charging stations to be installed at the Sanford Burnham Prebys campus in San Diego (La Jolla), California.
The integrated solar carport and battery energy storage system will be operated by EDF Store and Forecast Energy Management System (EMS).
The software platform has been deployed on over 129MWh of integrated renewable and energy storage systems globally and is controlling EDFR’s growing portfolio of systems throughout the San Diego region.
The EV charging system will be installed by EDF’s PowerFlex company using its adaptive load management technology.
Developed out of Caltech, this patented technology maximises the delivery of power to electric vehicles while reducing or eliminating the need for costly utility upgrades by managing charging dependent upon driver’s demand, building load, onsite generation.
The smart EV charging platform is designed to flatten charging consumption and shift the consumption into the middle of the day to align with solar production.
The integrated system is tailored to the facility’s energy characteristics, turning the solar carport and EV charging stations into a sustainable clean energy asset that reduces operational energy costs with no up-front capital costs
Under the agreement CollectiveSun will provide a discount for the cost of the installation to EDF since it was able to utilise tax credits that were not available to Sanford Burnham Prebys due to its tax-exempt status.
While CollectiveSun will initially own the system, an ownership option will be available to Sanford Burnham Prebys after six years.
The storage system will also be used to mitigate spikes in usage thereby lowering utility demand charges.
Sanford Burnham Prebys is expected to save over €5.9million in utility costs over the lifetime of the system.
EDF Renewables executive vice president, distributed solutions & strategy Raphael Declercq said: “EDF Renewables is proud to work with CollectiveSun on this multi-technology project for Sanford Burnham Prebys – a leading nonprofit institution in biomedical research.
“This system demonstrates how a holistic solution provides the Institute with the most control of their operating energy costs while offering benefits to its 700 scientists and staff.”