AlphaStruxure, a provider of Energy as a Service (EaaS) microgrid solutions, and Montgomery County, Maryland, announced an integrated microgrid infrastructure project, featuring electric bus charging and on-site green hydrogen production powered by solar and battery energy storage, for the county’s Equipment Maintenance and Transit Operation Center (EMTOC). According to the company, this is one of three transit bus depots in Ride-On Montgomery’s network and the fifth largest county-owned energy consumer. By 2035, AlphaStruxure notes that the site is projected to accommodate over 200 mixed-fleet vehicles and the project is expected to begin construction in Q4 of 2023, operating by Q1 of 2025.

Comprising five MW_DC of rooftop and canopy solar generation, two MW/7.35 MWh battery energy storage, existing backup generation, and up to 4.5 MW of charging capacity, the EMTOC microgrid is said to be able to provide sustainable power to a mixed fleet of battery electric and fuel cell electric buses (FCEB) as well as EMTOC’s five existing buildings, according to the company’s recent press release. The microgrid is said to be interconnected to the Pepco utility and is engineered to operate in island mode indefinitely, ensuring uninterrupted service for the county’s constituents during extended grid or power outages and emergency situations.

By fueling the county’s initial 13 FCEBs with green hydrogen produced by the microgrid’s solar, this solution not only advances the county’s goal to achieve net zero carbon emissions by 2035 but also reduces their Scope 1 and 2 emissions by 4,000 metric tons of CO₂ per year, equivalent to approximately 780 homes’ electricity use for one year, the company notes. 

AlphaStruxure, a joint venture of Schneider Electric and Carlyle, is designed to finance the project through the Energy as a Service (EaaS) business model, while also delivering all aspects of design, construction, and long-term operations and maintenance. The companies note that the microgrid is delivered without capital expenditures to the County through an EaaS contract, a long-term agreement ensuring predictable operating expenses and guaranteed performance without upfront capital expenditures. 

The system’s performance is managed by AlphaStruxure’s Integrate, a cyber-secure digital platform that monitors and optimizes on-site energy and charging infrastructure. The Integrate digital platform provides perspectives and reporting across multi-site environments to model, monitor, execute, analyze, and improve operations, and according to the company, the 24/7 operators predict and respond to the system in real-time through the AlphaStruxure Network Operations Center.