Sempra Energy has signed an agreement with the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE's) National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), providing a framework for a joint effort to advance future net-zero energy systems.
The agreement, which builds on nearly 10 years of ongoing collaboration, will continue current work researching and developing innovative solutions to help shape a lower-carbon future through technology and applications capable of withstanding increasing energy demand and broad adoption while advancing future innovation.
In 2013, Sempra Energy's subsidiary San Diego Gas & Electric Co. (SDG&E) and NREL joined to establish the nation's first utility-owned community microgrid in Borrego Springs, Calif., connected to a local 26-megawatt solar field, two battery storage systems, two generators and an ultracapacitor.
The microgrid, which is being upgraded so that it can operate on 100 percent clean energy, was designed to provide consistent power flowi