The energy storage system with home, commercial and industrial applications, is designed to store and distribute electricity generated by the school’s solar arrays. The project took nearly 18 months of planning and will be completed at the end of May.
“This partnership between College of Marin and Tesla reduces the carbon footprint,” said Greg Nelson, vice president for finance and operations. “It helps us, helps Tesla and it helps save taxpayer dollars.”
Nelson led the charge that made the school the first community college in the state to enlist in the innovative program.
The Kentfield campus will benefit from five 480-kilowatt batteries housed in 10-foot cabinets behind the Student Services Building. Another three will be near the Indian Valley campus’ main building — all at no cost to the college.
Tesla will receive $5.3 million in state and utility incentives and rebates covering the cost of site preparation, installation of the lithium-ion battery packs, a liquid thermal control system and software commanded by a solar inverter.
The college’s electricity provider, Marin Clean Energy, alerted the college about the Tesla program and helped with paperwork for the incentives program that paid for the project, Nelson said.
Dawn Weisz, chief executive of Marin Clean Energy, said the utility is interested in seeing similar projects elsewhere.
“Solar and battery storage is a nice symbiotic relationship,” she said. “Having the battery helps reduce the peaks and valleys you see in power usage.”
The battery packs are derived from the same technology that powers Tesla’s electric vehicles. The batteries will store the excess generation for later use so that the distribution of electricity is more efficient — and they can provide backup power.
Nelson said he hopes this program could open the doors for students to the renewable energy industry.
“There are clear pathways for science and engineering,” he said. “One of the goals of the college is to work on energy pathways for students to be in either energy, solar and waste reduction industries.”
Stephanie O’Brien, president of the college board, said, “It’s pretty awesome, isn’t it?
“We are so honored to have been selected to be the only community college in the state,” she said. “It’s great.”
College of Marin plans on a grand opening in late June.
©2016 The Marin Independent Journal (Novato, Calif.) Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
