In Ontario, California, a groundbreaking project has transformed the healthcare industry. The Kaiser Ontario Microgrid involved the deployment of a 9MWh battery, a 1MW fuel cell, and a 1.8MW solar PV system to provide normal power and supplement emergency power for the Kaiser Ontario Campus.
The project commenced in February 2023 and concluded in April 2025. It was a collaborative effort involving several key players, including Faraday Microgrids as the general contractor and eStructure handling the structural aspects. Together, these partners worked to deploy cutting-edge technologies and innovative solutions to achieve the project’s goals.
One of the team’s achievements was successfully involving Bloom and Ameresco in the creation of the microgrid. Despite the regulatory constraints for a microgrid to supply emergency power, the team demonstrated exceptional resourcefulness and worked with OSHPD to allow its connection as supplemental power to the existing emergency generators.
The team designed the connection between the microgrid and the hospital, inheriting a design initially done by others for the battery installation. Their efforts resulted in improved resiliency by adding to the capacity of the generators and reduced operating costs by letting the batteries discharge during high-cost periods during the day and charge during low-cost periods overnight, saving $30k a year.
The project demonstrated that a renewable microgrid could supply a portion of emergency power for a hospital, bending the climate curve and proving that microgrids can indeed supply emergency power. The deployment of 9MWh of Eos flow battery was a cutting-edge technology that set this project apart.
Throughout the journey, the team learned valuable lessons. They discovered that microgrid projects need a holistic approach to both PPAs and operation, and that commissioning these systems is crucial. The Kaiser Ontario Microgrid project stands as a testament to innovation, resilience, and the power of collaboration.
