ForeFront Power developing solar and storage project at California school district
California’s Porterville Unified School District (PUSD) is majorly overhauling its energy infrastructure, thanks to some help from ForeFront Power.
Aiming to meet the district’s needs for energy, grid resilience, and electricity costs, the project will include a 763 kW carport solar array, a 408 kW / 1.63 MWh battery storage system, and its own microgrid capabilities. The district will be able to fully detach from Southern California Edison’s main grid when needed, drawing all power from the on-site solar assets.
In total, the project should be able to offset about 80% of the district’s electricity consumption across all facilities, ForeFront Power representatives say.
“We are excited to advance this important infrastructure project, which supports the District’s long-term goals for sustainability, energy resiliency, and responsible stewardship of public resources,” says Brad Rohrbach, assistant superintendent of businesses services for Porterville Unified School District. “This project represents a significant investment in our students, schools, and community, while helping position the District for a more efficient and sustainable future.”
Innovative energy technologies like microgrids and vehicle-to-grid (V2G) services have become integral to the PUSD’s resiliency strategy, officials say. The project also aims to protect the wider community in the district’s area of California during emergencies and power outages.
“When complete, this clean energy portfolio will serve as a national model,” says Dr. Ruben Fontes, CEO of ForeFront Power, “for how vulnerable communities can mitigate rising energy and fuel costs, improve public health, meet ambitious climate goals, and protect themselves from climate emergencies.”
Charging up the fleet
In addition to solar and storage efforts, the district will be electrifying its fleet of school buses, thanks to a major investment through the EPA’s Clean School Bus Program.
Largely made up of federal grant money, the investment will pair the district with CALSTART, a Pasadena, California-based firm focusing on furthering the energy transition in the transportation sector. Included in the wider project is a support system of 35 fast charging ports to serve the fleet, which will connect to The Mobility House’s ChargePilot charging management system.
CALSTART’s regional director, Valerie Thorsen, P.E., says the district has also provided EV internships in partnership with Climate Action Pathways for Schools, and are enabling the creation and filling of renewable energy jobs in the Golden State.
“PUSD’s commitment to decarbonize their fleet is transformational for the San Joaquin Valley, for the broader Porterville community, and for school districts that are navigating similar transitions,” Thorsen adds. “Funding programs that reduce capital costs are critical to make these school electrification projects possible.”
The newly electrified fleet of buses will help to remedy another problem for the school district and its surrounding area: poor air quality. According to ForeFront Power officials, the district’s home of Tulare County consistently experiences some of the worst air quality in the U.S. as a whole. The EV fleet program is part of the PUSD Energy & Sustainability Program, aiming to reduce both energy costs and GHG emissions by 80% by 2030 or sooner.
