Generators save the day
The University of San Diego (USD) was the first to come on-line in November 2006 with three 2,000-kW diesel-fired Cummins generators. Not only does USD get payments for the use of its generators, but EnerNOC also has taken over responsibility for ongoing generator maintenance, which, according to Roger Manion, assistant vice president, facilities management at USD, gives the university a greater sense of security that its generators will operate when needed. In addition, USD is also notified when the grid is at risk, which is important information for the managers of a 7,600-student campus.
When an event is called, USD does not notice the transition because the generators run parallel with the grid. If there is a blackout despite an event being called, USD won’t notice because it will already be running on backup generators. According to Les Young, senior project manager at EnerNOC, “This is a great aspect of the program because USD is not subject to a momentary outage if a program event is called or the grid fails during an event.”
The San Diego County Water Authority’s (SDCWA’s) Olivenhain Dam facility in Escondido, Calif., also enrolled its four 2,000-kW Caterpillar diesel generators in the program (Figure 2). These generators, normally used to provide power to the facility’s three 2,500-hp water pumps in the event of a power failure, are the perfect fit for the program: they’re big, powerful, and willing to work. They are also set up in parallel with the grid, so there is no interruption if a program event is called or the grid blacks out.
2. Mighty generators. In this construction photo of Olivenhain Dam’s four 2,000-kW Caterpillar diesel generators, the two generators on the right have the new filters installed; the gensets on the left are awaiting the upgrade. Courtesy: EnerNOC
EnerNOC didn’t stop with the USD and SDCWA sites; it went on to include several diesel generators from various San Diego area wastewater treatment plants. All those generators had open transition transfer switches that would not allow EnerNOC to use the full potential output of the generators, because the loads running on the generators were only a percentage of their nameplate ratings. As a result, EnerNOC designed an innovative “wrap around” breaker system to parallel the generators with SDG&E. According to Young, this system picks up the facility load and then exports the excess power back to the utility.
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