Hoopa Valley Public Utilities District

Hoopa Valley Public Utilities District: a Solar Energy Microgrid for Tribal Resilienceemdp Project Abstractlocated in a Remote, Heavily Timbered Region of Northern California, the Hoopa Valley Indian Reservation Experiences Frequent and Often Sustained Power Outages. These Outages Disable Critical Services, Interrupt Daily Activities, and Impact the Health and Welfare of Vulnerable Tribal Members. Temperatures in Hoopa Can Range From 28 to 114 F Over the Year and Outages Frequently Accompany Both of These Extremes, Limiting the Tribes Ability to Keep Homes and Facilities Safely Heated and Cooled. Households Lose Food Storage Which They Rely on to Sustain Multi-generational Families, Medications That Require Refrigeration Fail, and Community Members Who Depend on Medical Devices Which Need Electricity to Operate Can Become Dangerously at Risk. Residential Broadband Is Also Significantly Impacted During These Events, Restricting Access to Telemedicine and More. Finally, the Hoopa Valley Public Utilities District (HVPUD) Owns and Operates the Largest Tribal Water Utility in the State of California and These Recurring, Sustained Outages Can Make It Nearly Impossible for the Tribe to Produce Safe Drinking Water. These Impacts Are Felt by All Residents on the Hoopa Reservation.the Hoopa Valley Tribe Seeks to Develop a Solar-based Microgrid to Address These Ongoing Electricity Reliability Issues and Improve Resilience in the Hoopa Valley. Using a Two-stage Assessment, Planning, and Design Process, the Tribe and Its Partners Will First Evaluate Five Potential Microgrid Locations. Four of These Are Critical Resilience Hubs Which Have Been Identified by the Tribal Council, Which Could Be Served by Behind-the-meter Microgrid Systems. the Fifth Microgrid Would Be Located at Pacific Gas Electrics Transmission Substation in Hoopa, and Would Provide Resilience Across the Reservation. This Microgrid Would Be a Front-of-the-meter System, Similar to the One Recently Launched at the Redwood Coast Airport.a Comparison Analysis Will Consider the Technical Feasibility, Funding and Economics, Land Availability, Regulatory Considerations, and Operations and Maintenance Needs Between These Five Sites. the Tribe Will Then Select Their Preferred Microgrid Development Option, and a 30 Engineering Design Will Be Generated, Enabling the Tribe to Seek Funding for Final Development and Installation.the Hoopa Valley Tribe Will Be Supported on This Project by the Schatz Energy Research Center at Cal Poly Humboldt and the Native Energy Resources Counsel, LLC. Together, These Partners Bring Considerable Technical and Policy Expertise in Microgrid Design, Development, and Implementation, and in Tribal Sovereignty and Jurisdiction Over Land Use and Energy Developments. the Schatz Center Recently Brought Californias First Community-level Microgrid Online at the Redwood Coast Airport, and Developed the Technical Guide for Pacific Gas Electrics Community Microgrid Enablement Program. the Centers Microgrid Team Also Developed and Continues to Partner With the Blue Lake Rancheria on Its Own Groundbreaking Solar-based Microgrids, and Works Closely With Other Tribes on Californias North Coast to Support Their Resiliency, Sovereignty, and Clean Energy Goals.