Around the same time, the Paskenta Band of Nomlaki Indians partnered with Open Access Technology International (OATI) to integrate advanced microgrid controls into a two-part solar and battery energy storage system (BESS) project in Northern California, to enable the tribal community to operate independently of the local utility grid during outages or periods of grid instability.
Microgrids are attracting institutional tax equity investment as project sizes reach viable thresholds and developers gain operational experience.
Foss & Company, a tax equity investor that has deployed over US$11 billion since 1983, recently closed financing for a microgrid project combining solar and energy storage—one of the first such deals to secure institutional tax equity backing.
Announced 8 July, Foss & Company closed a US$30 million Section 48 tax equity investment in a microgrid system from energy as a service (EaaS) provider AlphaStruxure, located in Montgomery County, Maryland, US, designed to integrate solar PV and battery storage to power a public transit facility and its transitioning electric bus fleet.
The microgrid is expected to achieve commercial operations in August 2026 and “is projected to generate more than 6,000MWh of clean energy annually.”
