Community Microgrid Deployment - California Climate and Energy Collaborative

Barrier 12: Community Microgrid Deployment

Barrier Statement

Community-scale microgrids remain financially and technically difficult to deploy due to restrictive utility rules, undervaluation of battery reserves, and high coordination needs for EV fleets and other DERs. These challenges, compounded by PSPS outages and slow permitting, prevent microgrids from delivering reliable and cost-effective community resilience.

Filterable Database

How communities are experiencing this barrier

View the details on what communities have shared with SLECC from across the state.

Key challenge discussed in - Los Angeles

Funding and administrative gaps for microgrid implementation: Even when technical solutions exist, cities often have only “one person” to manage a grant or technical application, creating bottlenecks in project development

Key challenge discussed in - Los Angeles

Need for stationary backup for microgrids: Stakeholders stressed that solar + EV fleets are not enough; critical sites require stationary batteries to ensure reliability in emergencies.

Key challenge discussed in - Los Angeles

Value of resilience overlooked: Standard cost-benefit analysis fails to account for intangible benefits (safety during wildfires, emergency shelter capacity). Tools like Clean Coalition’s Value of Resilience framework were highlighted as ways to justify investment .

Key challenge discussed in - Los Angeles

Day-to-day operational complexity: Municipal fleets and other DERs require coordinated planning for battery use across multiple functions (mobility, backup, grid services). Without active management, projects stall because the complexity exceeds most agencies’ capacity.

Key challenge discussed in - Los Angeles

CCA role in enabling projects: Some CCAs are able to push microgrid projects forward because they can leverage procurement data and grid advocacy resources that private developers cannot access. Without this support, scalability remains out of reach .

Local Solution Opportunities

SLECC stakeholders have brainstormed the following solution opportunities that can be taken by local leaders. Existing examples of progress or pathways to make further progress are highlighted if known.

Local Solution

Leverage municipal EV fleets as resilience assets by pairing their batteries with local microgrids. Coordinated planning to reserve capacity for emergencies, alongside stationary storage at critical facilities, can unlock supplemental energy storage during outages and strengthen community resilience.

Existing Examples of Progress:

LA Metro’s electric bus fleet demonstrates the potential of EV batteries as supplemental storage for microgrids, but in practice buses often return from routes with depleted batteries, limiting their resilience value. Stakeholders emphasized that realizing this potential will require coordinated planning to reserve capacity for grid use and pairing EVs with stationary batteries at critical facilities.

Further Progress Pathways

Region(s): Los Angeles

Local Solution

Deploy solar microgrids with guaranteed battery backup at critical community sites (city halls, libraries, schools, water treatment plants).

Existing Examples of Progress:

LA and Ventura Counties microgrid projects where they are guaranteeing battery backup capacity as part of a solar microgrid projects. The first round includes 11 sites focused on city halls, libraries, cooling centers, and emergency operations centers; second round will target critical community sites like school districts, water treatment plants, and transportation headquarters. Projects aim for design and permitting by the end of the year.

Further Progress Pathways

Region(s): Los Angeles

Local Solution

Scale microgrid projects by standardizing materials procurement and modular design.

Existing Examples of Progress:

Further Progress Pathways

Region(s): Los Angeles

State Solution Opportunities

SLECC stakeholders have brainstormed the following solution opportunities that can be taken by state leaders. Existing examples of progress or pathways to make further progress are highlighted if known.

State Solution

Support efforts to reduce utility restrictions on microgrids to increase project feasibility.

Existing Examples of Progress:

Further Progress Pathways

Region(s): Los Angeles

State Solution

Advocate for state and federal support to simplify microgrid regulations and interconnection rules.

Existing Examples of Progress:

Further Progress Pathways

Region(s): Los Angeles

State Solution

Long-term monitoring and evaluation – Fund multi-year demonstration projects to assess the effectiveness of microgrids and DER coordination over time

Existing Examples of Progress:

Further Progress Pathways

Region(s): San Diego

Solution Spotlight

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Additional Resources

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