Vallejo Wastewater Receives $300K Energy Resilience Grant from CalOES
Vallejo Flood & Wastewater District is pleased to announce that we have been awarded a $300,000 grant from the California Office of Emergency Services (CalOES) under the FY 2020-21 Community Power Resiliency allocation.
The District will use the money towards purchase and construction of a new power project which is estimated to save the District about $200,000 annually while increasing resiliency through less reliance on PG&E’s electricity grid. For this project, the District is partnering with Bloom Energy to install a 700-kilowatt energy generator using natural gas-powered fuel cell technology.
Since July 1, 2019, Vallejo’s wastewater treatment plant has experienced 89 hours of electrical power outages. We currently use natural gas as a backup energy source to keep the treatment plant running continuously, even during power outages.
“The fuel cells will allow us to create a resilient ‘microgrid’ which will deliver up to 560-kilowatts of electrical energy,” says Melissa Morton, District Manager. “We are honored that CalOES is supporting our work to treat wastewater continuously, even during extended Public Safety Power Shutdowns or other power outages.”
During non-power outage periods, the District will use the fuel cells to generate electricity that is cleaner and less expensive than electricity from the grid.