Does Santa Rosa Have the Answer to Load Management?

The activist website, Next City, had an interesting story regarding how buildings could assist in balancing grids. The site zeroed in on how the city of Santa Rosa converted a building to improve its grid and fight climate change. Santa Rosa used a building that is using natural gas a test case for new ways to power buildings.

The process started with the New Buildings Institute and U.S. Green Building Council establishing a partnership in what is known as the “GridOptimal Buildings Initiative”. This program would serve to develop resources for buildings that would allow them to get off fossil fuels and help optimize the grid.

The program sought to make the building in Santa Rose, Sonoma Clean Power’s headquarters, serve as the pilot. The initiative hopes that this program can serve as proof that renewable energy can power buildings completely.

Sonoma Clean Power is a clean energy company that seeks to help people convert their utilities into renewable energy fueled utilities. They will change people’s home meters, provide financial help, and partner with contractors who can make these changes. Given Sonoma Clean Power’s mission, they wanted to provide a clear example to the public.

As a result, Sonoma Clean Power’s building ran completely on renewable energy. This matters to the grid because buildings consumer 75 percent of America’s electricity. If a significant number of buildings start using renewable energy, it will greatly reduce the strain on the grid. This reduced strain will not only prevent black outs and other problems, but it will also allow for the grid to be used for things like electric cars. So overall, this could go a long way in reducing carbon emissions.

For Sonoma Clean Power to achieve their goal, they had to actively work with architects to maximize the efficiency of the building. Architects can identify changes in the structure. The building utilized smart grid technology that is appearing elsewhere. For example, the building would completely rely on solar energy in hours when the sun is fully out. The building could also account for high electricity use moments such as when people are charging their cars, all lights are on, and when the water heater is on. The building could store energy to use in hours when the grid was stressed.

This program is very interesting. If it works, it would do away with just about all of the grid issues. But this is just one building, it remains to be seen if this can be applied wide scale.