Distributed power developer Trinity Energy is expanding its partnership with Costco, bringing off-grid  renewable electrification solutions to the wholesaler’s distribution center in Port St. Lucie, Florida.

The Washington-based renewable developer is installing an independent (and islandable), on-site energy system, enabling Costco to have a fully integrated solar-and-battery microgrid platform at its 1.87 million-square-foot depot. Trinity's integrated platform will support Costco's net-zero goals and keep the facility in operation even when the larger grid is down.

“For a distribution center of this scale, uninterrupted power is essential to maintain inventory integrity, logistics flow, and overall operational efficiency,” said Gonzalo Stabile, vice president of design and engineering at Trinity, in a statement.

While Trinity did not reveal the MW capacity, Costco’s off-grid preparations could help protect against potential outages during peak demand, providing sustainable power while bypassing lengthy grid interconnection queues. Permitting delays often create challenges for large-load commercial customers awaiting integration into the regional grid.

Trinity explains that this independent energy solution, which combines solar power, battery storage and electric fleet charging, ensures reliability for all of Costco’s critical energy loads and distribution center technology that cannot tolerate significant downtime. Costco benefits from this microgrid system with cost savings that permanently remove its Port St. Lucie facility from the utility billing cycle, making it immune to future utility rate hikes while off-grid. It comes at a time when the U.S. is facing rising energy challenges, such as outages, grid strain and surging demand.

“As our operations continue to grow, it’s important that we expand responsibly and act as a good partner to the communities we serve,” said Shay Reed, certified energy manager at Costco. “By investing in this integrated on-site energy system, we strengthen the reliability of our Port St. Lucie facility while avoiding additional burden on the utility grid.”

The system powers the entire facility, including all building equipment, such as lighting, refrigeration, EV charging and HVAC, according to Trinity. Data collected from the platform will allow Trinity to provide Costco with usage pattern insights, offering further management solutions toward energy savings and power reliability.

Currently, Trinity is actively involved in five distinct microgrid projects tied to Costco. These locations include: a retail warehouse in Connecticut and four distribution hubs (two in California, one in Washington and one in Port St. Lucie, Florida). Approximately 1,000 advanced solar modules were supplied by JinkoSolar for the Washington facility in Richland.