How a Microgrid Transformed a California Senior Center into a Resiliency Hub

From wildfires to earthquakes, heat waves and floods, California is no stranger to climate-related natural disasters. In Lake County, about 100 miles northwest of Sacramento, a new microgrid is powering a resiliency hub that helps the surrounding community weather those storms.

Located at the Lucerne Alpine Senior Center in Lucerne, CA, the off-grid microgrid provides up to 72 hours of uninterrupted power, even during extreme weather or grid disruptions.

The senior center is in a 95-year-old former elementary school building on the shores of Clear Lake, California’s largest freshwater lake. The center’s four employees and a group of dedicated volunteers provide lunches, operate a food pantry and host activities for the community’s seniors.

The center also partners with the American Red Cross during emergencies, opening its doors to the broader community as a heating or cooling center during grid outages.

It was this relationship with the Red Cross that first set Lucerne Alpine Senior Center on the path to becoming a resiliency hub, according to Charles Behne, who serves as the center’s chairman of the board.

The board wanted to create a place where evacuees from the region’s increasingly devastating wildfires could come and stay overnight, Behne explained in an interview with Microgrid Knowledge, but that would require a reliable source of power that was not subject to grid outages.

The Red Cross suggested an off-grid microgrid, launching what would become a nearly year-long journey for the senior center, Behne said.

Resilience requires reliable power

The American Red Cross, through its Community Adaptation Program (CAP), helped facilitate the design and construction of the microgrid. CAP provides the support and expertise nonprofits need to expand and enhance their essential service capabilities, enabling them to better serve local communities during emergencies or times of disaster.

The program connected the senior center with Mission Energy, the solar developer that managed the project. Mission Energy, in turn, brought on microgrid developer eIQ to design and develop the system. eIQ continues to monitor the site and will provide a yearly review of site operations. Renewable energy contractor Cal Solar was responsible for the installation.

The microgrid features 18.72-kW of rooftop solar, a 214.5 kWh battery and a 15 kW generator.

eIQ's Power Guardian system at the Lucerne Alpine Senior Center, (Source: eIQ)

While the facility itself is not connected to the Pacific Gas and Electric (PG&E) grid, the battery system is. If inclement weather prevents the solar array from maintaining a battery charge above 62%, grid power is used to recharge it. During grid outages, the on-site back-up generator charges the battery.

This layered approach provides critical energy resilience for the facility and reduces its energy bills.

Behne said that based on what they’ve seen in the first three months of operation, they expect their summer energy bills will be cut by approximately 75%. Winter energy bills should drop by around 30%, he said.

He and his fellow board members have been thrilled with the results.

“We’re a nonprofit, privately owned,” Behne said, “so the lower electricity bills are a bonus for us. It frees up money so we can buy food for our lunches and food pantry. But when the power goes out, we can still serve the community. It’s just really great, really awesome for us.”

Prepared for the next event

While the center hasn’t been called on to serve as a resiliency hub since the microgrid was installed, Behne expects it will be within the year – and they’re ready.

“We have a refrigerator here just for medications, people will be able to charge their cell phones” and the Red Cross will bring in beds, if necessary, Behne explained.

Other communities in Northern California are ready, too.

In addition to the Lucerne microgrid, Mission Energy, eIQ and Cal Solar have developed similar power systems for four other resiliency hubs in Lake and Butte Counties in recent months. Facilitated by the Red Cross’s CAP, three churches and an African American cultural center are now operating on eIQ’s PowerGuardian system.

While the solar and battery sizes vary by site, each off-grid system is designed to provide up to 72 hours of power.

Patience and persistence are key

Behne offered two pieces of advice to other nonprofits considering building resilience hubs – be patient and persistent.

“It takes a lot of prep work and time to design the system,” he said. “It was a good 10 months for us from the time [the vendors] first came out to when we were able to turn the system on and start using it.”

Persistence, especially when it comes to funding these types of projects, is also key.

The senior center paid for the microgrid with funds from multiple grants. They contacted their state and federal representatives, as well as the county, in their search for funds.

“You can’t just go look in one place because it’s going to take multiple grants,” he said.

For the Lucerne Alpine Senior Center, the effort was worth it, Behne said, recalling a 2023 snowstorm that knocked out power for a week. “If we would have had this microgrid then, we’d have had the building filled up with people and that would have been really exciting. You know, that’s what we’re here to do – serve the community.”