California has seen more than its share of natural disasters in the past few years. The high risk of fires that burn through acres of land, as well as the coastal storms that flood other areas, can leave hundreds of thousands of people without electricity and running water. 

Enchanted Rock, a company focused on microgrid development, has stepped up to the plate to provide gas-fired power for emergency situations. Working together with the California Department of Water Resources (DWR), Enchanted Rock strives to find solutions to the challenges that climate change poses to already problematic areas. 

Gas-Fired Generators in Strategic Areas

The project involves three gas-fired generators, hosted by Turlock Irrigation District, Modesto Irrigation District, and the City of Lodi, designed to provide fast power in emergencies. The three generators are on the utility side of the grids.

In charge of monitoring the generators and managing operations is Enchanted Rock, while natural gas comes from Pacific Gas & Electric. The generators meet air pollution control non-emergency emission levels for San Joaquin Valley, aligning with the project’s focus on avoiding inadvertently contributing to climate change through proposed solutions.

Alan Schurr, chief commercial officer for Enchanted Rock, is proud to be able not only to offer reliable electricity that California can count on when disaster strikes, but also to do so in an environmentally friendly way. 

“Because they operate cleanly, quietly, and on-demand, they will do so while meeting strict air quality standards and without disturbing the surrounding area’s quality of life,” he says of the generators. 

Leading the Way to Sustainable Energy

Since 2006, Enchanted Rock has been offering electrical resiliency-as-a-service for businesses, communities, and critical infrastructures. Even after almost two decades, the company’s goal remains the same: to ensure civic durability and business continuity. 

To operate their microgrids, Enchanted Rock relies on renewable natural gas and natural gas. Their dependable microgrids provide power while also featuring radically lower carbon emissions than the standard diesel generators.

Combined with this innovation is their monitoring software, which optimizes use and ensures that everything is running correctly 24/7, all days of the year. By offering dual-purpose microgrid designs and the latest technology, Enchanted Rock has become one of the leaders in the field.

The Bright Future of Microgrid Technology

It’s no surprise, then, that the company has already provided power generation services on-site for vital infrastructure sites throughout the country. In Texas, it has helped Houston’s Northeast Water Purification Plant and the West Harris County Regional Water Authority get multiple-MW microgrids up and running. 

Recently, Microsoft hired the company to build the largest microgrid powered by natural gas in California. Microsoft wants to use the on-site power generation to fuel their data centers and achieve negative carbon emissions. 

For now, though, Enchanted Rock is focused on bringing electricity to an average of 100,000 California homes in any extreme weather incident.

Read the original article at Microgrid Knowledge to learn more about the project.