Utility-supported $15.3M Microgrid to Power Public Safety, Health in Coastal California Community

Santa Barbara County will build a solar and energy storage community microgrid thanks to a $15.3 million grant from California’s Microgrid Incentive Program (MIP).

The microgrid will serve the unincorporated beachside community of Isla Vista, providing critical resilience to the sheriff’s office, a neighborhood health clinic and community center. More than 150 residential and business customers within the microgrid’s footprint will also be connected to the system.

Once complete, the microgrid is expected to provide 24 hours of backup power, ensuring delivery of critical services to the community in the aftermath of earthquakes or during public safety power shutoffs (PSPS). A PSPS is when the utility temporarily shuts off power to certain areas to reduce the risk of utility equipment causing wildfires. In California, high-risk areas may have multiple PSPS events each year.  

“This significant investment reflects our commitment to protecting communities, strengthening resilience and ensuring that the benefits are felt directly by the people it’s meant to serve,” Laura Capps, Santa Barbara County supervisor, said in a statement. “In Isla Vista, that means reliable power during emergencies, support for essential community spaces, and meaningful opportunities for residents to shape and participate in a clean energy future.”

Solar panel canopies will be installed at the Isla Vista Community Center, and potentially other nearby parking lots. The site of the battery energy storage system has not yet been determined.

The microgrid will be developed in partnership with Southern California Edison (SCE), the community’s electricity provider.

Of the $15.3 million award, $400,000 is earmarked for community engagement and workforce development efforts.

A community of semi-permanent residents

Isla Vista is a small coastal community of approximately 20,000 residents. Surrounded on three sides by the University of California Santa Barbara, more than half of its residents are students.

“Not everyone can own a battery in their own garage, which is especially true in Isla Vista,” Garrett Wong, sustainability division manager for Santa Barbara County, said in a statement. “This project generates enough clean energy and backup power to serve several neighborhood blocks.”

The county says customers connected to the microgrid will see no changes in their electric bills.

A utility-funded microgrid

The Microgrid Incentive Program was created in response to California Senate Bill 1339, which required the state’s public utility regulator (CPUC) and energy commission (CEC) and CAISO, the state’s grid operator, to develop microgrid policies.

In 2023, the state’s three investor owned utilities, Pacific Gas and Electric (PG&E), San Diego Gas and Electric and Southern California Edison, received approval from the CPUC to create MIP, a $200 million competitive grant program aimed at increasing electric reliability and resilience in disadvantaged and vulnerable communities.

To qualify for an MIP grant, the project must serve at least three critical community facilities and be located in an area meeting at least one criterion from each category:

Location Criteria:

• High-fire threat zones (Tier 2 or 3)
• Areas with past Public Safety Power Shutoffs
• Elevated earthquake risk zones
• Areas with poor energy reliability history

Community Criteria:

• Low-income areas (below 60% of state median income)
• Native American Tribal Communities
• Highest environmental/health risk communities per CalEnviroScreen
• Rural areas

In 2025, PG&E awarded MIP funds to nine projects in northern California, including four in Humboldt County, three in Lake County and two in Marin County. The projects will provide resilience to more than 9,000 customers, many of whom have disabilities, are older adults or have limited English proficiency.

Southern California Edison awarded the MIP grant to the Isla Vista project.

Santa Barbara county evaluated a number of communities for potential microgrid projects, but only three met the criteria and had stakeholders interested in applying for MIP funding.

In addition to Isla Vista, two sites in nearby Cuyama Valley were also considered.

Next steps

Now that funding is secured, the county will request proposals from qualifying project design, management and construction services companies. The selected firm will conduct technical evaluation studies in conjunction with SCE.

That process, which will evaluate interconnection with the grid and guide the microgrid’s design, is expected to take between 12 and 18 months.

Actual design and construction of the microgrid will take another 18-36 months.

Either the county or a third-party vendor will operate and maintain the microgrid for a term no less than 10 years, per the MIP requirements.

You can track project progress on the county’s microgrid website.