Resilience Scanner

Community Microgrid Emergency Resilience Network

Solution Overview

San Francisco completed a strategic initiative to develop criteria for high-priority neighborhoods where microgrids can provide critical community energy emergency resilience, identifying up to 10 neighborhoods and specific areas for microgrid development with implementation and funding plans for each location.[3] This approach addresses the city's need to rapidly decarbonize its buildings and transportation sectors, which together account for 91% of the city's core greenhouse gas emissions, with building energy representing 49% and transportation 42% of San Francisco's core emissions in 2019.[1][7] The implementation supports San Francisco's ambitious climate goals of transitioning to 100% renewable electricity by 2030 and achieving net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2040.[1]

Technical Components

The San Francisco Department of Environment worked with the Department of Emergency Management to conduct a survey of city departments to develop a list of emergency facilities and their energy use, then mapped out the city to identify buildings with critical and essential power demands and group them into solar+storage microgrids where proximity allows.[4] These maps covered the 11 supervisory districts in the city and identified power needs should a disaster strike, buildings with solar that were already part of disaster preparedness plans, and areas where a microgrid could potentially be installed.[4] When paired with battery storage, solar provides a resilient source of backup power during grid outages, which are expected to become more frequent and severe due to climate change.[1] The Hunters Point Community Microgrid Project was designed to transform the Bayview and Hunters Point areas of San Francisco into a world-class community microgrid.[2]

Implementation Details

The San Francisco Department of Environment received $1,321,200 in funding from the Department of Energy's Solar Market Pathways program for the Solar+Storage for Resiliency project, with an awardee cost share of $288,971.[4] The Hunters Point Community Microgrid Project received a $150,000 boost in December 2015 and was being conducted in collaboration with Pacific Gas & Electric.[2] The cost of SFPUC Hetch Hetchy Power's Renewable/Generation Power Program is approximately $10.0 million through FY2033.[5] The implementation team produced four case studies explaining how solar+storage would work at a fire station, a police station, a building used for shelter, and another critical power-need building.[4]

Benefits and Impacts

Once deployed, the Hunters Point Community Microgrid Project is expected to bring $100 million in local wages to the Bayview-Hunters Point community, while reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 1.5 billion pounds over the next 20 years.[2] The project will provide 25 percent of the community's electric energy needs.[2] The strategic microgrid planning approach enables the city to identify and prioritize neighborhoods where distributed energy resources can deliver the most significant resilience benefits during emergency situations.[3]

Climate Adaptation Relevance

This microgrid implementation strategy directly addresses the increasing frequency and severity of grid outages expected due to climate change impacts.[1] The October 26, 2019 Public Safety Power Shutoff event cut power to more people than live in the entire city of San Francisco, demonstrating the scale of vulnerability that distributed energy systems can help mitigate.[6]

Business Analysis

The financial structure combines federal grant funding, local cost-sharing, and utility partnerships to support distributed energy infrastructure development across priority neighborhoods.[4][2] The Hunters Point project's economic model demonstrates significant local economic benefits through job creation and wage generation, with $100 million in local wages expected alongside substantial greenhouse gas reductions.[2] The SFPUC's Renewable/Generation Power Program allocated approximately $10.0 million through FY2033 to support renewable energy infrastructure development.[5] The collaboration with Pacific Gas & Electric on the Hunters Point Community Microgrid Project represents a public-private partnership model for implementing community-scale distributed energy systems.[2]

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