Valencia Gardens Energy Storage (VGES) Project

In the heart of San Francisco’s Mission District

VGES 2-page overview VGES interconnection case study

Staging to become California's first front-of-meter merchant energy storage project

The Clean Coalition is leading the Valencia Gardens Energy Storage (VGES) Project. This groundbreaking project, located in a low-income and senior housing community in the heart of San Francisco, will showcase how front-of-meter (FOM) energy storage can be effectively deployed in dense, developed urban environments.

Key features:

  • Staging to become the first FOM merchant energy storage project in California.
  • Sited at the Valencia Gardens Apartments (VGA), a low-income and senior housing facility with 260 units and 516 kWdc of solar on a feeder with a total of 580 kW of solar, exceeding the feeder peak load of 570 kW.
  • Originally designed to deploy two 548 kWh battery energy storage systems (BESS), now modified to deploy one 556 kWh BESS; sized to provide indefinite solar-driven backup power to the most critical loads during grid outages.  
  • Designed to enhance the interconnection hosting capacity of the existing feeder by at least 25% and ensure that far more solar can be sited on that feeder.

By demonstrating how targeted deployment of energy storage can increase the grid’s ability to handle greater amounts of distributed solar, VGES will set the stage for increased deployment of clean local energy in California and beyond. 

Download a 2-page overview of the VGES Project (PDF)

Download the VGES interconnection case study (PDF)

This is something on the very cutting edge of electrical technology, energy storage and our goal to get rid of carbon emissions and slow down the deterioration of our environment ... I have to say that the Clean Coalition has gone above and beyond working with the community, working with the trades to make sure this is a hugely successful and safe project for all of those in the neighborhood and city.

Joel Koppel
President, San Francisco Planning Commission

Aerial view of a modern urban area with rows of buildings featuring solar panels on their roofs.

Project goals

VGES has these primary goals:

  • Increase the solar hosting capacity of the distribution feeder by at least 25%. The feeder is currently at full capacity for hosting solar.
  • Examine how energy storage can be monetized by CAISO wholesale markets and provide a comprehensive case study.
  • Study the enhancements and associated costs required to upgrade VGES to an operational Community Microgrid that provides resilience to the Valencia Gardens Apartments and its at-risk residents, including low-income families and senior citizens.
  • Leverage in-process efforts between the Clean Coalition and Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E) to  streamline FOM interconnection. This FOM interconnection streamlining advances similar collaborations that were pursued in a prior CEC grant to the Clean Coalition for the Peninsula Advanced Energy Community (PAEC).
  • Leverage the Clean Coalition’s policy expertise to propose policy & market mechanism innovations that advance commercial-scale FOM energy storage and other distributed energy resources (DER).
Aerial view of a modern residential area with buildings equipped with solar panels on rooftops.

An innovative solar+storage project

A major VGES innovation is that solar+storage are interconnected to the distribution grid, a configuration that will deliver many benefits to the grid that current projects — deployed either behind a customer meter or on the transmission grid — cannot achieve:

  • Support for higher penetrations of distributed solar across multiple sites along a feeder. An optimized feeder load and generation profile.
  • Reductions in system-wide peaks, reducing the need for costly peaker generation and expanded transmission system capacity.
  • Ancillary services to the distribution and transmission grids such as demand response and frequency regulation.
  • Prospective policies and market mechanisms that advance the regulatory and interconnection frameworks by properly valuing and supporting cost-effective energy storage solutions.
  • Enhanced grid resilience and security through indefinite renewables-driven backup power to critical loads during grid outages; future resilience benefits are possible with grid isolation switches at proper locations on the feeder.

The project will add 556 kWh of energy storage power to the 516 kW of rooftop solar that is already interconnected to the local distribution grid. The resulting solar+storage system will include cutting-edge technology to offer grid balancing and set the stage for indefinite renewables-driven backup power for critical facilities in the case of a grid outage. The system will be capable of demonstrating a resilient solution for the community’s emergency energy needs — from clean local sources.

A model for California

A major VGES innovation is that solar+storage are interconnected to the distribution grid, a configuration that will deliver many benefits to the grid that current projects — deployed either behind a customer meter or on the transmission grid — cannot achieve:

  • Support for higher penetrations of distributed solar across multiple sites along a feeder.
  • Reductions in system-wide peaks, reducing the need for costly peaker generation and expanded transmission system capacity.
  • Ancillary services to the distribution and transmission grids such as demand response and frequency regulation.
  • Prospective policies and market mechanisms that advance the regulatory and interconnection frameworks by properly valuing and supporting cost-effective energy storage solutions.
  • Enhanced grid resilience and security through indefinite renewables-driven backup power to critical loads during grid outages; future resilience benefits are possible with grid isolation switches at proper locations on the feeder.

VGES will serve as a model that supports California’s emissions reductions goals, increases the state’s resilience and security, drives regional economic development, and lowers the cost of operating the power grid.

Potential long-term VGES resilience design
Aerial view of a dense urban landscape with closely packed buildings, streets, and a distant city skyline under a clear blue sky.

Project benefits

Once complete, VGES will:

  • Enhance community resilience by setting the stage for emergency renewable backup power in the event of a natural disaster or widespread grid outage.
  • Increase access to clean energy by creating more capacity locally on the distribution grid so that neighbors can go solar.
  • Build on prior successes by leveraging an existing showcase solar deployment.
  • Demonstrate the viability of local energy storage for ratepayers, developers, and the utility.
  • Protect open space by deploying in a dense urban community on built environments.

The VGES project is expected to provide these benefits per 1 MW of added solar over 20 years:

  • $1.3 million in peak capacity savings, transmission and distribution line loss savings, and new transmission capacity savings
  • $4.6 million in regional economic development, including job creation and increased tax revenue
  • $0 ratepayer impact
  • 225 million pounds of GHG emissions reductions
  • 0.6 million gallons of water saved
A group of logos that include the california iso, pg & e and mission housing.

Project partners

VGES is funded in part by the California Energy Commission. Project partners include Mission Housing, Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E), the California Independent System Operator (CAISO), and the City and County of San Francisco.

VGES fact sheets and reports

Throughout the VGES project, the Clean Coalition will publish reports and fact sheets on VGES findings. As we produce reports and fact sheets, we will post them on this page.

Recent news

The latest in clean local energy

Learn about our innovative projects and initiatives on our blog, and see what others are reporting about our important work.

All news

Flattening California’s Duck Curve with Local Solar and Battery Storage

This blog post by the Clean Coalition discusses how Local Solar and local battery storage can address California's energy grid challenges.

Read More

Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS) Pros & Cons – 11 Dec 2024

Craig Lewis of the Clean Coalition presented during City of Irwindale's City Council meeting on 11 December 2024.

Read More

Climate Action Plan Win

Sierra Club Santa Barbara-Ventura Chapter reports on Santa Barbara's Climate Action Plan which the Clean Coalition supported.

Read article
Copyright © 2023 Clean Coalition
Site Design: FIREANT STUDIO