GRASS VALLEY, California — Despite the twists and challenges of 2020, the BoxPower team was extremely grateful to continue its trajectory of growth this year. Our support networks, customers, advisors, and hardworking team members have been invaluable in supporting us through this difficult year. The next few paragraphs outline our efforts and achievements in 2020, and look ahead to 2021.
BoxPower’s dedicated team has allowed its microgrid products to produce a real shift in energy utilization and demonstrated significant measurable results.
Metric
2020
Lifetime (All Projects)
kWh Generated
1,001,952 kWHr
18,372,459 kWh
CO2 Offset
852,043 lbs
26,307,921 lbs
Gallons of Diesel Offset
36,109 gal
830,598 gal
Individuals Impacted
2,370 people
4,300 people
We installed 15 new projects this year. Some were in familiar sectors, including hurricane resilience projects in Puerto Rico and indigenous electrification projects in Alaska. BoxPower also pioneered new markets, including the medical sector and the wildfire prevention sector.
BoxPower system at U.C. Berkeley’s Sagehen Research Facility, near Truckee, CA.
Our projects in the medical sector focused on providing life saving resiliency to hospitals with unreliable energy access. Our largest project in this sector was for the MCHC (Mendocino Community Health Clinic), a low-income medical center in rural Northern California. This project followed a 2-year streak of lengthy and costly power outages at MCHC. Between PSPS events and fire damages to power lines, MCHC had lost over $400,000 in revenue and equipment during a single fire season; additionally, without a critical baseline of power, MCHC cannot effectively serve its neediest patients. BoxPower designed a 290 kW solar + 464kwH storage microgrid to save $85,000 in annual utility bills and meet MCHC’s critical power demand during outages, ensuring that the facility can perform essential duties during grid instability.
Our projects in the wildfire prevention sector focused on reducing the risk presented by wire-and-pole electric transmission lines. Above-ground transmission lines are a leading cause of wildfires in the American west, with hot and dry climate conditions increasing their ability to initiate fires. The Sagehen Research Station project serves a remote wildlife research facility north of Truckee, CA. Sagehen’s electricity was previously provided by several miles of electric transmission lines that pass through dense pine forest. During the summer, these lines were a severe wildfire risk and were frequently shut off. Although de-energizing these lines eliminates fire risk, it leaves the research facility without power. “Fire hardening” these transmission lines would significantly decrease fire risk; however, this is a very costly and time-intensive process. Instead of spending millions of dollars hardening their lines, the electric utility decided to purchase a BoxPower solar + storage + propane hybrid microgrid. Now, the research station will rely solely on BoxPower’s system during the wildfire season.
BoxPower system at Pilot Point Grocery, in Pilot Point, Alaska.
Additional notable projects included a resilience hub at a school in Guayama, Puerto Rico, a grocery store in the remote indigenous community of Pilot Point, and a 100 bed shelter for those displaced by COVID-19 in Santa Clara County. The Guayama system provided 24/7 reliability for the entire community during multiple 2020 outages, while the Pilot Point project will enable the grocery store to lower prices to rural customers by 5% due to the energy savings. BoxPower anticipates continued growth in the medical and wildfire prevention sectors during 2021 with megawatts of projects in the pipeline. Our hybrid microgrids are finding invaluable solutions to safe, reliable, clean and affordable production. As predicted by Angelo Campus, BoxPower CEO, “As outages and distribution costs increase across the country and world, the value of a microgrid is increasing rapidly. This combined with the decreasing cost of inputs will cause the microgrid adoption to skyrocket.” We are grateful for a fruitful 2020, and look forward to continued growth and exploration in the year to come.
GRASS VALLEY, California, October 6, 2020—BoxPower, a provider of modular microgrid energy solutions, has been awarded a $1.2 million dollar grant by the California Energy Commission to further develop its software + hardware solution at 15 microgrid test sites in a diverse range of residential settings across California.
This three-year project under the designation of California Title 24 Advanced Power Utilization Technology, will provide critical insights into energy cost reduction strategies and increased energy resiliency. BoxPower’s work alongside partner, Evergreen Innovations, will seek to drive cost reductions, open new cash flow opportunities for batteries. reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and measure non-energy societal benefits, such as resiliency.
The key issue is the uncertainty of how a microgrid battery asset can be used to cover the initial investment. In the multi-megawatt commercial energy storage space, the latest business models provide multiple cash flow streams for batteries. For example, a battery can optimize financial return by using power stored in the battery during the most expensive time of use rate. Additional cash flow opportunities include frequency regulation and trading in multiple electricity markets.
Angelo Campus, BoxPower CEO and Co-founder notes, “This project is a significant step in California microgrid adoption. We will collect concrete data and identify the best options for developing residential microgrid use and industry standards.”
Customers in the past have used BoxPower’s modular microgrids in disaster relief, medical clinic, agriculture, remote power, and most recently, utility applications. This experience working with utilities will enable BoxPower to bring utility representatives into the research and testing process, ensuring the resulting solution works for all stakeholders.
Utilities have historically been expensive and unreliable in rural areas. BoxPower’s innovative approach to software design and process improvement combined with turnkey hardware and installation methods creates a repeatable and cost effective microgrid. BoxPower and the California Energy Commission look forward to partnering on this project to modernize the California utility grid. Microgrids are part of a move away from large-scale one-size fits all solutions to modern microservice architectures.
Modern Microservice Energy Solutions Offer:
● Distributed control
● Scalability of control
● Interactions between grid stakeholders in ways not previously possible
● Utility, operator and user interfaces
Watch for more news on microgrids as BoxPower begins work on this important California Energy Commission Project.
About the California Energy Commission
The California Energy Commission is transforming buildings through standards and programs for newly constructed and existing buildings. Learn more about the Energy Commission’s building energy efficiency standards, benchmarking programs, efficiency for existing buildings, and resources on how to comply at https://www.energy.ca.gov.
About BoxPower, Inc.
An employee-owned company located in Grass Valley California, BoxPower is a mission-driven social enterprise. BoxPower helps communities, governments, businesses, humanitarian and emergency relief agencies provide energy resilience when power supply from the grid is unavailable or unreliable.
BoxPower’s work has been featured inFast Company,GreenBiz, andMicrogrid Knowledge. BoxPower’s CEO and cofounder, Angelo Campus, was recognized as aForbes 30 under 30 list maker for 2019. Learn more at BoxPower.io or contact Anderson Barkow co-founder and CFO at anderson@BoxPower.io or Dalan Angelo Director, Business Development at Dalan@BoxPower.io 530-802-5477.
When a California-based electric utility was researching wildfire mitigation options to harden a transmission line serving one of its customers, it selected Grass Valley, California-based BoxPower and its ground-breaking solar+storage container systems.
Liberty Utilities, a regulated utility with about 50,000 customers on the West side of Lake Tahoe, was investigating making upgrades such as installing covered conductors to its transmission lines that run through a mountainous area to a remote research station operated by University of California, Berkeley. But after running a cost and feasibility analysis, it realized it would be better to de-energize the line during wildfire season and instead utilize a BoxPower containerized solar/storage system.
“We were looking to make certain upgrades to target our transmission lines for wildfire season,” Amanda Chee, Liberty Utilities Program Manager, Capital Administration and Planning, said. “In the process of developing the project for the line, we realized that this could have been a very expensive project.” It would have cost about $3 million to harden the entire 4-mile line, which has 90 poles and serves Berkeley’s Sagehen Creek Field Station. BoxPower’s solar/battery system with propane back-up will allow the utility de-energize the lines in summer, according to Chee. This results in over $2 million dollars in lifetime savings for the utility.
BoxPower’s experience in the area and dealing with remote environments helped steer Liberty toward the company, she said, adding that grading and foundation work in the remote area would have been difficult and costly. BoxPower was chosen over “numerous bidders” responding to a Request for Offers it issued earlier this year after identifying the need in early 2020. Ground was broken September 8th on the project, which is due to go operational in October.
“We are trying to go against wildfire season, time is of the essence,” Chee said.
The project required a unique approach due to its location in a remote area of the Sierra Nevada that gets large amounts of snow in winter, according to Michele Nesbit, BoxPower Co-Founder and COO.
“Beyond what we just do normally, there was some design constraints that made this rather unique,” Nesbit said. The 20-kW, 68-KWh system will use propane back-up, but is projected to be 97% renewable. The location has a climate-controlled container design and a load rating of 375 pounds per square foot of snow. BoxPower made small modifications to its standard design increasing tilt to a 60-degree angle so the snow won’t pile up mounted with eight-food clearance from the ground. This is also the first for BoxPower in its home county of Nevada County, “so we’re rather excited about that,” she said. The BoxPower system will prevent the need to inspect the lines during fire season and eventually eliminate the need for them altogether once more generation is put into place, she said.
In partnership with New Sun Road, the system includes real-time monitoring, remote diagnostics, automated alert and reporting. This complete site management tool also enables peak demand reduction, time-of-use optimization, data consolidation and aggregation for resale, as well as virtual power plant (VPP) capabilities.
Lindsay Maruncic, Liberty’s Senior Manager, Renewable Energy, said Berkeley was “100 percent” on-board with the microgrid. “They have been so incredibly cooperative with the project. They have even been involved with the design conversation we had. We really couldn’t ask for a better partner in this project,” she said, adding that the U.S. Forest Service was very accepting and “it’s been a great team.”
An online virtual tour of the site has been posted, which was greatly beneficial during the project development because it avoided the need for on-site visits. That innovative approach is just one more way the Sagehen project developers are using the benefits of technology to substantially reduce costs and complexities, resulting in an ultimately safer and more reliable way to meet the needs of customers.
A lava flows emerging from the elongated fissure in Pahoa (USGS)
Kīlauea Erupts
On May 3, 2018, quiet island life changed radically for those in the Puna District of the Big Island of Hawaii. The 2018 lower Puna eruption on the island of Hawaii on Kīlauea volcano’s East Rift Zone began on May 3, 2018, then on May 4, a 6.9 magnitude earthquake hit Puna. This eruption evolved into 24 fissures, forcing the evacuation of 2000 residents. The Puna Geothermal Venture, which provided one-quarter of the island’s electricity, was forced to shut down and was later damaged by lava. The fissures had sent lava rivers that buried part of Hawaii Route 137 on May 19, and began flowing into the ocean. On May 29, lava from a new northeastern flow overran Hawaii Route 132, cutting the access between Kapoho and Pahoa.
After months of uncertainty and devastation, on December 5, 2018, the volcano eruption ended.
Roads, power and services were interrupted and needed to be re-established. For many who had only vaguely considered solar or microgrids, this became a real concern for survival and sustainability in Hawaii’s fragile and volatile environment.
In this handout photo provided by the U.S. Geological Survey, lava from a fissure slowly rolls down the street on Saturday near Pahoa, Hawaii after the eruption of the Kilauea volcano
Rebuilding with Sustainable Energy Supply
Longtime Pahoa resident Wendy contacted BoxPower in 2019. Wendy’s situation was not unique: she had been looking for an off-grid solar + battery solution for her home on the Big Island of Hawaii for several years, but no one had been able to meet her exact requirements.
Wendy’s home is one of the many in the Pahoa region of Hawaii that lack access to electricity, due to a combination of their remote location and the intermittent flows of lava from the nearby Kīlauea Volcano, as well as tropical storms. Wendy was using a generator for her primary source of power since building her home in the early 2000s, spending on average $300-500 per month on gasoline to power her home, and attached home-office. (This gasoline is shipped to Hawaii, adding significant transportation costs and energy use.)
Boxpower’s Plug and Play Microgrid
BoxPower was able to offer the options needed to make a microgrid part of Wendy’s sustainable energy solution. In July 2019, BoxPower Inc. was contracted to design, build, and deploy a palletized solar + storage system to power Wendy’s off-grid home and home-office in Pahoa, Hawaii.
Boxpower designed a system to meet her needs and constructed it in California. This was then shipped to the Big Island and installed on -site in a single day by Wendy herself, following Boxpower’s detailed instructions.
Boxpower’s system consisted of a 21kWh lithium ferro phosphate battery system, and 12kW AC-coupled battery inverter pre-wired inside of a 4’ x 8’ palletized metal enclosure, with a 3.5kW solar PV array mounted on top.
This system was designed to connect to a back-up gasoline generator, and to be expandable with an additional ground-mount or roof-top array, adding the flexibility that was needed to fully adapt this rural tropical environment.
As Wendy’s power needs grew, she chose to increase her capabilities at home and given the ease of adding to BoxPower’s system, Wendy added an additional 4kW ground-mount PV array, bringing the total system PV capacity to 7.5kW.
Energy Savings + Increased Security
This palletized solar + battery system now saves Wendy approximately $600/month in avoided fuel expenditures, and offsets 27,231 lbs of CO2 equivalent per year. Calculated at 48 lbs of CO2 per tree absorption, this is the equivalent of planting 567 trees per year. Additionally, her home is secure with power supplied throughout other climate change related weather incidents.
“I spent 2 years looking for a system that met my needs for a 10kW system to run manufacturing that was not on my roof, which would leave it vulnerable to hurricanes. I also needed customer service and a warranty. I looked all over Europe and Canada and had many other bids.
Every detail on system integration has been covered from specification to installation.
I couldn’t be happier with BoxPower. It’s life changing. I am super happy. We are really proud as a company that we are a net zero company with zero waste.” —Wendy with the Wrist Widget, Big Island Hawaii
Boxpower’s 21kWh lithium ferro phosphate battery system, and 12kW AC-coupled battery inverter pre-wired inside of a 4’ x 8’ palletized metal enclosure, with a 3.5kW solar PV array mounted on top—installed in a single day. Also shown is Boxpower’s Minibox 4kW ground-mount PV array. Together this produces total system PV capacity to 7.5kW.
About BoxPower
BoxPower is a leading provider of plug and play solar energy solutions worldwide, offering best-in-class engineering, components, and workmanship to meet the needs of residential, community, commercial, and agricultural applications. BoxPower’s modular systems can be sized from as little as 3.5kW and as much as 528kW. From rural homes and farms in California to community microgrid projects in Alaska and disaster recovery in Puerto Rico, BoxPower offers clean, reliable, and affordable energy anywhere.
A case study from Mercy Corps’ Resilience Hub in Guayama, Puerto Rico
Aim
Mercy Corps and BoxPower seek to disseminate lessons learned from our Resilience Hub Program in Guayama, Puerto Rico to create a replicable model for energy resilience projects on which other non-profits can build.
Resilience Hubs – Background and Context
In 2017, Hurricane Maria hit Puerto Rico, causing unprecedented loss of lives and livelihoods whilst also exposing the fragility of the Puerto Rican electrical infrastructure. During this crisis, more than eighty¹ percent of the grid’s transmission and distribution power lines collapsed , leaving 1.5 million customers ² without power. This loss of infrastructure meant that communities had to find power generators to keep medicines cold, ventilators working, and other essential electrical equipment functioning. It has been documented³ that this prolonged lack of power for essential needs led to a further loss of lives. This highlights the essential need for reliable electricity supply before, during and after such a crisis.
Following the hurricane, Mercy Corps initially provided direct emergency response. However, it soon became evident that a successful transition to long term recovery required a community resilience approach. Mercy Corps secured funding for our Resilience Hubs Program, which aimed to create 15 Resilience Hubs in the most vulnerable communities around the island to equip them with resources that would allow them to respond to future natural disasters.
These 15 Hubs serve to leverage existing community centers and provide a range of resiliency support mechanisms. To date, 17 such centres have been established, providing a multitude of Mercy Corps sponsored assets for community use. These include community gardens and agricultural resources; disaster risk reduction training and material; connectivity equipment; potable water storage systems; and off-grid photovoltaic energy with storage capacities – all of which directly benefit over 95,000 members of Puerto Rico’s most vulnerable communities.
Since implementation, the capabilities and resiliency of the Hubs have been both tested and validated. In 2019, storm Dorian and Karen swept the island, followed shortly after by a 6.4 magnitude earthquake in January 2020. The damage caused by the earthquake was largely considered one of the worst crises the island had faced since Hurricane Maria. The Resilience Hubs played a crucial role in providing a centralized locale for storm preparation, coordination and community organization during all three disaster events. Emergency response was centralized at the Hubs as critical access to water, energy, recharge stations, food and emergency supplies and internet connectivity were provided. One Hub, equipped with a kitchen powered by solar energy, was used by World Central Kitchen to provide meals to surrounding communities and first responders, impacting at least 1,500 individuals during its first week of emergency response.
The Use of Solar for Resilience Hubs
The use of solar + battery storage for Mercy Corps Resilience Hubs proved essential for providing reliable energy access throughout these crises. Solar connected to battery storage allows for the use of energy generated from the system day or night, both in times of grid supplied electricity and during an outage. Without the storage, a grid-tied solar energy system would not provide energy during an outage. The promotion of renewable energy also aligns tightly with Mercy Corps community driven approach to problem solving, and the desire to mitigate the impact of climate change within the communities it serves. Solar power generation was an obvious choice given the inherent vulnerabilities of Puerto Rico’s grid and the country’s UV potential.
Solar + storage enables communities to effectively plan due to the knowledge that they will have reliable electricity access. The flexibility of solar + storage, particularly through a modular approach, means that the capacity of the existing system can be increased to meet emergency requirements: for cold storage, medicine preservation, or whatever disaster response may arise. Lastly, solar + storage removes reliance on diesel for generators, which dramatically increases in cost or is completely unavailable during disasters.
For these reasons, access to clean and reliable energy to power the Resilience Hubs remained a requirement throughout the design phase. The Mercy Corps Puerto Rico (PR) Infrastructure team assessed the needs of each community and site location to see if solar installation was an option. This process identified that 14 of the 17 Hub locations could have high-capacity solar energy systems installed to better support the resilience of the communities they serve. One such example is the Guayama Hub.
Guayama Hub
The Guayama Hub was established in 2019 at the community school, Rafael A. Delgado Mateo. Through a competitive procurement process, BoxPower was identified as the solar installer, providing a dependable solar + storage system to support the local community in the face of emergencies.
Groundwork and foundation work began in late December in partnership with local contractors. On January 3, 2020, the container had been placed on the foundation and connected to the school. Soon after this, Puerto Rico schools, including Rafael A Delgado Mateo, were closed for weeks following a 6.4 magnitude earthquake. Despite these challenges, BoxPower was able to get access to the site in order to rapidly install the solar array, and fully commission the BoxPower unit by January 13, within a week of the earthquake.
Highlights of the Project
Mercy Corps PR team were happy with the number of communication channels between themselves, BoxPower and the subcontractor, and the speed at which the anchoring of the container, PV installations and commissioning moved once the foundation and permits were cleared. The team felt that even when working across different time zones and accounting for staff leave, BoxPower were always quick to respond, which meant that if issues arose they were mitigated quickly relative to the complexity of the tasks.
Furthermore, the team were impressed with the expertise shared by BoxPower, “Eric Youngren did one of the best handover presentations to the Community Based Organisation (CBO) and the community that we’ve ever had, it was clear, knowledgeable and full of examples. It was given in English but it did not seem to be a barrier since we had someone from our team translating it.” BoxPower was able to train local contractors and school employees on both the installation of the racking and also the operation of the system. This also helped to increase local engagement, reduce costs, and allow for local operation of the system. Given the remote monitoring capabilities installed, BoxPower can identify problems remotely should they arise and walk the local operator or a local technician through the issues.The system was quickly put to the test on January 29, 2020 when the power went out just after 8:00am. As can be seen on the graph below, the batteries seamlessly picked up the load. According to school representatives, the only reason they knew the power was out was when local residents started to come to the Hub to use the power!
Reliable power like this is essential for the local community. As described by the School Director, “for us it has been critically important to have a good solar energy system that can serve the community. Especially for those of us that may one day need this space as a refuge [during a natural disaster]. With this system, we’ll be able to continue educating the children. This solar system has been a blessing.”
BoxPower
Centered around helping communities, governments, humanitarian and emergency relief agencies, BoxPower is a social enterprise providing access to power with containerized solar + storage solutions. BoxPower’s products are designed to bring off-grid power rapidly and provide energy resilience when power supply from the grid is unavailable or unreliable. Benefitting over 3,000 people to date, they have helped provide clean, affordable, reliable energy access to established and emerging markets around the world. Their products are rapidly deployable, ship within days of ordering, and install on-site in a single day. By pre-assembling and mass-producing their systems in shipping containers, they can control cost, lead time and logistics.
BoxPower has been working in the Caribbean since Hurricane Maria, providing resilience with its rugged systems. Its systems, including that at the Guayama Resilience Hub, can withstand 188 mph winds. This is crucial for providing reliable electricity supply for critical loads during natural disasters. Furthermore, the standalone design allows the system to be installed next to the Hub, which enables solar provision without requiring ownership of the building. This video chronicles BoxPower’s work in Guayama and the Caribbean.
Conclusion
Mercy Corps in partnership with BoxPower provided a model for energy resilience in the community of Guayama, Puerto Rico. This system has continued to provide essential backup power for the community in the face of emergencies. The outcomes of this project have been commended by both the local community and Mercy Corps and we believe that there is great potential for this model to provide a high quality solution for backup power across numerous Resilience Hubs. As the Puerto Rican community and communities around the world prepare for the next disaster, Mercy Corps and BoxPower are confident that its Hubs will continue to support local disaster response efforts and provide a standardized and scalable model for comparable efforts globally.
BoxPower is a leading provider of plug and play solar energy solutions worldwide, offering best-in-class engineering, components, and workmanship to meet the needs of residential, community, commercial, and agricultural applications. BoxPower’s modular systems can be sized from as little as 3.5kW and as much as 528kW. From rural homes and farms in California to community microgrid projects in Alaska and disaster recovery in Puerto Rico, BoxPower offers clean, reliable, and affordable energy anywhere.
About Mercy Corps
Mercy Corps is a leading global organization powered by the belief that a better world is possible. In disaster, in hardship, in more than 40 countries around the world, we partner to put bold solutions into action — helping people triumph over adversity and build stronger communities from within.
Case Example: Light Manufacturing Company Replaces Generator with Solar Plus Battery Storage to Reduce Costs and Emissions
In December 2019, BoxPower deployed an off grid SolarContainer in Concord, CA that shows the strong economic, environmental, and logistical advantages for off grid commercial customers. These benefits include:
Significant annual cost savings from reduction in generator fuel
Range of options for amount of renewable energy production, up to 100%, with ability to meet air quality standards
Turnkey system that installs in under one day, shipped anywhere
The example below illustrates the advantages of BoxPower systems for off-grid commercial applications, based on a client’s light manufacturing operation in Concord, CA that had been running on a diesel generator for 20 years, as they were not able to receive utility service to their facility.
BoxPower Process for Right-sizing Solar Plus Battery Systems for Optimum Benefit at Least Cost
Cost savings begins with right-sizing the system, no more and no less than what is required to meet both renewable energy and cost-saving goals. In order to recommend the optimal solar plus battery system and at the least cost, BoxPower offers its Energy Audit and System Integration (EASI) service. This process takes a detailed survey of current and planned energy usage as well as the customer’s current diesel generator usage. It then recommends a BoxPower system and the potential savings and financial analysis of the system. For this customer in Concord, CA, BoxPower’s EASI software recommended a 15kW PV array and 42kWh battery bank to integrate with the existing 30kW generator. This system was designed to reach 90% renewable energy utilization with no generator usage as can be seen in the February 2020 data below.
Diesel Generator Costs
In Concord, CA the average diesel price is $3.79 and projected to increase 4.5% per year through 2040 (EIA). Assuming the customer continues to use 2,300 gallons of diesel a year costing $8,700, the lifetime cost of only the diesel fuel totals 272,375 dollars over the 20 year useful life period. Assuming $250 of maintenance per year (GTI), this total cost increases to $275,375. Please note this does not include diesel procurement or storage costs which can increase costs above $5 per gallon.
BoxPower Financial Benefits
The total cost of the BoxPower 15kW/42kWh system was $94,813 including our 1 day installation process due to BoxPower’s patented easy-to-assemble design. Lifetime savings compared to the diesel generator are $178,143 before any investment tax credit. With the 26% investment tax credit, lifetime savings increase to $202,795 and an ROI in year 6. This customer chose to purchase outright, but if mixed with BoxPower’s 15 year financing, the customer experiences day 1 savings. Please see the figure below showing savings for the customer.
Environmental Benefits
Each gallon of diesel emits 22 pounds of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere (EIA). Since installation at the end of 2019, the Concord system has offset 11,509 pounds of carbon dioxide and will offset 1.1 million pounds of carbon dioxide over its life. For commercial and government entities who must meet air quality standards, the BoxPower solar plus battery systems provide an immediate solution. For those who wish to reduce generator use and emissions over time, all BoxPower systems are modular and easily scalable, enabling clients to add more solar and battery storage as their budgets allow, working toward renewable energy targets in an efficient and feasible way.
Logistics Benefits
Instead of worrying about diesel procurement, generator maintenance, or complicated custom solar and battery systems, BoxPower removes the headache and trouble by providing a turnkey, plug-and-play system that works on arrival, and that requires zero maintenance. Batteries and inverters are pre-wired inside a cargo container. BoxPower assembles pre-cut racking and the solar panels on site, and then commissions the system, all in a single day. Remote monitoring enables clients and BoxPower to assess system performance.
BoxPower, Clean, Affordable, and Reliable Energy Anywhere
As seen by an off-grid commercial customer in California, there are significant value propositions in cost, simplicity, reliability, and sustainability for choosing BoxPower. Please reach out to sales@boxpower.io or visit our website https://boxpower.io to learn more.
Whether motivated by values or the need to save money on generator fuel and utility bills, small and large commercial farms alike are increasingly being driven to renewable energy to power their greenhouses and agricultural buildings. “Even the small farms with just a few greenhouses are spending tens of thousands a year on electricity, whether via the grid or generator fuel,” says Tracy Huston, BoxPower’s Director of Partnerships who works with farmers to help them find cost-saving alternatives. “As the cost of solar panels and batteries has come down, renewable energy is now a way to cut farm operating costs by using the clean energy of the sun.” Now that some counties in California are mandating reduction if not the elimination of generator use for agriculture, many are looking for an affordable alternative. And with many states moving toward carbon taxes, many won’t be able to sustain energy-intensive farming practices without offsetting consumption with renewables.
Whether motivated by values or the need to save money on
generator fuel and utility bills, small and large commercial farms alike are
increasingly being driven to renewable energy to power their greenhouses and
agricultural buildings. “Even the small farms with just a few greenhouses are
spending tens of thousands a year on electricity, whether via the grid or
generator fuel,” says Tracy Huston, BoxPower’s Director of Partnerships who
works with farmers to help them find cost-saving alternatives. “As the cost of
solar panels and batteries has come down, renewable energy is now a way to cut
farm operating costs by using the clean energy of the sun.” Now that some
counties in California are mandating reduction if not elimination of generator
use for agriculture, many are looking for an affordable alternative. And with
the likely move toward carbon taxes, many won’t be able to sustain
energy-intensive farming practices without offsetting consumption with
renewables.
BoxPower’s affordable solutions for agriculture offer
turnkey solar plus battery systems that can be added to over time, allowing
farmers to gain energy independence and reduce their energy costs as budgets
allow. Founder and CEO Angelo Campus explains, “Our systems are modular, so you
can start with a small solar array and a few batteries, then add more to meet
your goals and as your resources and needs change.” BoxPower’s smallest system,
the MiniBox, comes with a 9-panel 3.5kW solar array and 15.2kWh of lithium iron
batteries, and can be scaled by adding additional rooftop or ground mount
solar. The larger Solar Containers come pre-wired with inverters and batteries
inside a 20’ cargo container, with arrays that range from 6kW to 22kW.
Containers can be daisy-chained together to meet any load for the larger farm
operations. Any of the systems can be off-grid or grid-tied. In counties
requiring reduction of generator use, BoxPower’s “hybrid” solutions enable
integration with a generator that recharges the batteries as needed, reducing
fuel consumption and emissions. The modular nature of the system allows farmers
to add more batteries over time to continue reducing generator use and move
toward 100% renewable energy. Grid-tied farms can use the batteries for peak
shaving to further reduce utility costs, as well as for emergency back-up power
when the grid goes down—which, in California tends to happen at the worst
times, during harvest season.
“One of our clients has been spending over $60,000 a year in
generator fuel and maintenance alone, for a relatively small 10,000sf
greenhouse operation. With our solar plus battery solution, we are getting her
to 50% renewable now, with a scalable plan for 100% in future. The payback
period for 50% renewable is about three years—it’s a no-brainer from a
financial perspective,” says Huston.
For farms under pressure due to county air quality
requirements, BoxPower offers a fast solution, with the plug-and-play,
permit-ready systems able to be installed in under one day. “Each system is custom-designed, using
pre-engineered components,” explains Campus. “We pre-wire the batteries and
inverters in our shop in Grass Valley, pre-cut the racking system, and then
ship just about anywhere. It saves months of time and thousands on typical
solar installation costs.”
As an added benefit, the solar containers provide clean,
usable space for storage or processing, complete with outlets and work lights. “For
those who need more work space on their farms, the solar containers provide
pristinely finished interiors, with sealed flooring and options for placement
of outlets and work lights. So, you get clean energy and a farm building all-in-one,
and at much less cost than buying a shed or constructing a stick-frame
building. It’s hard to make a living as a farmer. We aim to take as much cost
out of the system as we can, and leave more money in farmers’ pockets!”
Whether motivated by values or the need to save money on generator fuel and utility bills, small and large commercial farms alike are increasingly being driven to renewable energy to power their greenhouses and agricultural buildings. “Even the small farms with just a few greenhouses are spending tens of thousands a year on electricity, whether via the grid or generator fuel,” says Tracy Huston, BoxPower’s Director of Partnerships who works with farmers to help them find cost-saving alternatives. “As the cost of solar panels and batteries has come down, renewable energy is now a way to cut farm operating costs by using the clean energy of the sun.” Now that some counties in California are mandating reduction if not the elimination of generator use for agriculture, many are looking for an affordable alternative. And with many states moving toward carbon taxes, many won’t be able to sustain energy-intensive farming practices without offsetting consumption with renewables.
“One of our clients has been spending over $60,000 a year in generator fuel and maintenance alone, for a relatively small 10,000 sf greenhouse operation. With our solar plus battery solution, we are getting her to 50% renewable now, with a scalable plan for 100% in the future. The payback period for 50% renewable is about three years—it’s a no-brainer from a financial perspective,” says Huston. At another farm, grid-tied with an indoor nursery, BoxPower is reducing utility bills by 80%, using the solar to power operations during the day, and the batteries to provide even more energy during their peak rate times and when consumption is highest.
BoxPower’s affordable solutions for agriculture offer
turnkey solar plus battery systems that can be added to over time, allowing
farmers to gain energy independence and continually reduce their energy costs,
as budgets allow. Founder and CEO Angelo Campus explains, “Our systems are
modular, so you can start with a small solar array and a few batteries, then
add more to meet your goals and as your resources and needs change.” BoxPower’s
smallest system, the MiniBox, comes with a 9-panel 3.5kW solar array and
15.2kWh of lithium iron batteries, and can be scaled by adding additional
rooftop or ground mount solar. The larger Solar Containers come pre-wired with
inverters and batteries inside a 20’ cargo container, with arrays that range
from 6kW to 22kW (up to 60 panels). Containers can be daisy-chained together to
meet any load for the larger farm operations. Any of the systems can be
off-grid or grid-tied. In counties requiring reduction of generator use,
BoxPower’s “hybrid” solutions enable integration with a generator that
recharges the batteries as needed, reducing fuel consumption and emissions. The
modular nature of the system allows farmers to add more batteries over time to
continue reducing generator use and move toward 100% renewable energy.
Grid-tied farms can use the batteries for peak shaving to further reduce
utility costs, as well as for emergency back-up power when the grid goes
down—which, in California tends to happen at the worst times, during harvest
season.
For farms under pressure due to county air quality
requirements, BoxPower offers a fast solution, with the plug-and-play,
permit-ready systems able to be installed
in a single day. “Each system is custom-configured, using pre-engineered
components,” explains Campus. “We pre-wire the batteries and inverters in our
shop in Grass Valley, pre-cut the racking system, and then ship just about
anywhere. It saves months of time and thousands on typical solar installation
costs.”
As an added benefit, the solar containers provide clean,
usable space for storage or processing, complete with outlets and work lights.
“For those who need more workspace on their farms, the solar containers provide
pristinely finished interiors, with sealed flooring and options for placement
of outlets and work lights. So, you get clean energy and a farm building
all-in-one, and at much less cost than buying a shed or constructing a
stick-frame building. It’s hard to make a living as a farmer. We aim to take as
much cost out of the system as we can, and leave more money in farmers’
pockets!”
Utility and community scale customers are among BoxPower’s strongest applications. By using BoxPower products, utility customers in Alaska have reduced project costs by up to 50%.
A Cost-Effective Solution
BoxPower’s most concentrated utility customers have been in Alaska with customers including NANA Regional Corporation, Buckland Municipal District, and Deering Municipal District. In two communities already with a third on the way, Alaska is one of the oldest microgrid markets in the world given the remote nature for many of its communities. Historically, diesel-based, these microgrids face -50 degree F temperatures, harsh winds, and require fuel to be flown or barged in.
Facing high and increasing diesel prices, BoxPower multi-box microgrids have become a cost-effective solution due to its turnkey design.
BoxPower has streamlined the design, procurement, and installation process for solar microgrids in one of the most challenging regions in the world.
BoxPower customer Brian Hirsch, of Deerstone Consulting
Reliable Power Anywhere
When delivering power to more than 1,200 residents in some of the most remote places in the world, reliability is essential in our system design. With built-in redundancies and proven execution, BoxPower is proud to ensure lights, refrigerators, ovens, and warm water stays on.
Paying more than seven dollars per gallon, customers have been won in competitive bidding processes and by articulating quick 3-5 year return on investments. Additionally, Sonny Adams from one project sponsor NANA articulates, “This solution will provide dependable power that is also clean, important to protecting the subsistence foods we rely on.”
BoxPower is excited to apply its standardized and streamlined design to reduce design, installation, and logistics costs on your next utility or community project.
When disaster strikes and leaves entire communities in the dark without power, BoxPower is at the front-lines, partnering with nonprofits and governmental agencies to provide reliable energy for emergency response services.
Hurricane Maria
After Hurricane Maria in 2017, BoxPower served as a first responder, delivering a rapidly deployable microgrid to a remote mountainous community where grid electricity was not reinstated for more than 8 months. Through their partnership with Mutual Aid Disaster Relief, Arecma, and Footprint Org – BoxPower was able to provide power to a community resilience center, health clinic and soup kitchen that provided critical shelter, food, and water to more than 300 residents.
January 2020 Earthquakes
In January of 2020, Puerto Rico experienced over 1280 earthquakes that caused over $110M in damage – toppling over 500 homes – and plunging the entire island into intermittent darkness due to severe damage to one of Puerto Rico’s primary power plants, which could take more than a year to repair.
In the wake of these earthquakes, BoxPower returned to install energy providing products to a school resilience center and medical clinic. They arranged the delivery of two containerized microgrid systems to the region within days, and soon, their SolarContainer and MiniBox began providing a reliable and uninterrupted supply of clean energy to the impacted community.
In the southern town of Guayama, BoxPower partnered with Mercy Corps, to install a 24kW SolarContainer at a school resilience center, which will serve as a gathering place for community members during outages or disasters – providing a place for them to charge phones, computers, and medical devices and to organize disaster response efforts. The system, which consists of a solar array mounted to a shipping container with pre-wired batteries and inverters inside, can power an average-sized medical clinic, school, or other critical facilities during extended outages.
Closer to the earthquake epicenter, BoxPower partnered with Direct Relief to deliver one of their MiniBox trailers, a scaled down, fully mobile version of their SolarContainers capable of being towed behind a standard car or truck. This unit will be used to provide power to a medical clinic impacted by the earthquake, to ensure that medications and vaccines can remain refrigerated and usable in the event of ongoing power outages.
BoxPower continues to work with governmental and non-profit agencies worldwide, providing advanced energy technologies, resilience consulting, and project management services in preparation for future natural disasters – ensuring that the people, and those responsible for them – have access to clean, affordable, and reliable energy – anywhere.
A need for emergency backup power has now been highlighted by the energy crisis in BoxPower’s home state of California. Destructive wildfires combined with rolling power shut offs have made relying on the grid a risky endeavor. Millions of Californians went without power in October and November of 2019, with many more ‘Public Safety Power Shut Offs’ planned for the future. BoxPower’s office faced over 150 hours of outage but was able to stay open and productive thanks to one of its systems. This is just one example of how BoxPower microgrids offer a solution to this unique challenge facing California’s future.
A New Era of Wildfires
In 2018, BoxPower spearheaded wildfire resilience and recovery efforts in Northern California wildfires, aiding in the recovery from fires.
BoxPower provided solar equipment to residents impacted by the Paradise Fire, consulting to county agencies regarding their critical facility resilience plans, and supporting non-profits in procuring microgrid systems for medical clinics and community centers.
Public Safety Power Shut Offs in California
In 2019, the risk of wildfires caused by transmission lines forced the investor owned utility, PG&E to enact the ‘Public Safety Power Shut Off.’ As blackouts extended for days, and gas stations were unable to pump fuel, Californians felt firsthand the significant impact of unreliable power.
BoxPower stepped in and began serving California governmental and NGO clients to plan, procure, and execute microgrid resilience projects at critical facilities impacted by the wildfire prevention ‘Public Safety Power Shut Offs.’ Nevada County, BoxPower’s home county, is now one of multiple counties working with BoxPower to identify sites and critical loads, as they implement BoxPower for its 2020 resilience plan.
Energy Resilience
Energy insecurity is driving interest in distributed energy alternatives, especially solar + storage microgrid systems, that can deliver reliable, 24-hour power. BoxPower has been on the leading edge of this seeing increased demand for its modular microgrid system from customers throughout California.
BoxPower continues to work with governmental and non-profit agencies in California and around the world, providing advanced energy technologies, resilience consulting, and project management services in preparation for future natural disasters – ensuring that the people, and those responsible for them – have access to clean, affordable, and reliable energy – anywhere.