Sunnova will deploy a grid independent solar and storage project for a tribe located in Maine and Quebec.
Sunnova Energy announced it has been selected by the Penobscot Nation to install a 500 kW battery energy storage system to store and dispatch solar generation.
The battery system is expected to capture excess PV production estimated at 549,678 kWh per year and provide resiliency enabled by load management through the microgrid. The system is designed to provide power during ongoing grid outages, which are often more common in rural and remote areas.
“While state-of-the-art, our microgrid technology is simple: Sunnova’s solar system generates the power while the battery storage component stores it, and then that clean power can be accessed when and where needed, even when the grid goes down,” said Adam Miller, vice president of microgrids, Sunnova.
The Penobscot Nation is a federally recognized tribe in Maine and a First Nations band government in the Atlantic provinces of Canada and Quebec. The microgrid is designed to support Indian Island, Maine, where the Penobscot Tribe is headquartered.
“The Penobscot Nation is particularly vulnerable to multi-day outages when severe weather strikes due to our location on Indian Island in Maine,” said Kirk E. Francis Sr., Chief of the Penobscot Nation.
Francis said the microgrid will serve critical power during outages, supplying power to the Penobscot Community and Commercial Centers, helping maintain essential health and administrative services.
“Community microgrids have proven to be highly effective in combating power outages, which are becoming more frequent across the country,” said Michael Grasso, chief revenue officer, Sunnova. “Recent destructive hurricanes in addition to more regular heat waves and severe winter weather all continue to expose the vulnerability of the electrical grid. Sunnova’s solar and battery storage systems offer a life-changing source of power for homeowners, businesses and communities.”
Maine suffered the highest number of power interruptions in the United States in 2020 and ranks among the states most exposed to extreme weather. The project is supported by the Maine Grid Resilience Program which selected Sunnova along with six Maine utilities to deploy electric grid resilience projects in communities throughout the state.
The solar and storage microgrid is backed by the company’s standard 25-year service plan, Sunnova Protect. The plan includes maintaining production for 25 years after installation, reducing or eliminating out-of-pocket expenses for system maintenance or equipment repairs or replacements, including labor.
Read Sunnova chief executive officer John Berger’s recent statements on the potential residential solar industry impacts of the upcoming Trump presidency here.
