On October 8, 2020, Concentric Power Inc., an energy technology company deploying intelligent microgrids throughout California, and Gonzales Electric Authority (GEA), established by the City of Gonzales to oversee its new municipal electric utility, announced that they have executed an Energy Services Agreement (ESA) to deliver wholesale electric power via a community-scale microgrid in and around the Gonzales Agricultural Industrial Business Park.

The microgrid will initially have 35MW of capacity to provide locally generated, resilient, and sustainable power to the Agricultural Industrial Park, which houses processing facilities for some of the country's largest fresh vegetable and wine producers. The project is designed to address poor grid power quality and difficulties in upgrading existing distribution facilities adversely affecting the agricultural producers. The integrated solar generation, battery storage, and natural gas generator system will also meet the clean energy requirements of the City of Gonzales's Climate Action Plan.

The $70 million project will be funded primarily by Concentric Power, with supplemental funding from GEA and the Gonzales Municipal Electric Utility (GMEU) toward ownership of the distribution infrastructure. Concentric Power will develop, design, build, operate, and maintain the microgrid assets, including both generation and distribution. The distribution assets will be transferred to GMEU. The initial term of the ESA is 30 years, and the project is expected to break ground in mid-2021 and be ready for service in 2022. Concentric Power will also be providing engineering, procurement, construction, and long-term services to the project, and has plans to build a Network Operations Center, field office, and shop in the Park to support its work in the region.

The Wilson Sonsini team that represented Concentric in the agreement includes Todd Glass, Kristen Berry, and Stephanie Phillips. The firm continues to represent Concentric in ongoing development and financing matters related to the project.

For more information, please see Concentric's press release.  For greater context within the energy industry, see this article from Greentech Media.