Solar Microgrid Project in Isla Vista Gets $15 Million in Funding 

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This article was underwritten in part by the Mickey Flacks Journalism Fund for Social Justice, a proud, innovative supporter of local news. To make a contribution go to sbcan.org/journalism_fund.

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Isla Vista is getting its own microgrid. On April 30, Santa Barbara County announced that Southern California Edison had awarded the county $15.3 million in grant funding to build a solar-powered grid in the dense college community. 

Microgrids are what they sound like — small, independent electrical grids that can operate when the larger grid is down. SoCal Edison’s grant comes from a state program that aims to build microgrids that support critical services in vulnerable communities. 

Garrett Wong is the county’s Sustainability Division manager. He said that the Goleta area is what’s called a “load pocket” and especially vulnerable to power outages. It’s at the end of energy lines for Southern California Edison and Pacific Gas and Electric, Wong said, with transmission lines traversing through fire and mudslide-prone canyons and mountain areas. That means an increased risk of power outages.  

“Microgrids in general are a hyperlocal response to that challenge,” he said. 

Wong said the grid will include two isolation switches. In the event of a natural disaster that damages the larger grid, professionals can disconnect the microgrid from it and operate self-sufficiently. The microgrid, which will support Isla Vista’s neighborhood health clinic, community center, and Sheriff’s Foot Patrol office, as well as 170 commercial and residential properties near I.V.’s Loop, is expected to have at least 24 hours of backup power. Local solar powers and batteries will power it.

Wong said microgrids are both expensive and technically complex. He said $4.5 million of the grant funding will go to labor and services, including design, engineering, and construction work. Another $6.7 million will pay for equipment costs. Southern California Edison will use up to $4 million to make sure its system can accommodate the microgrid. 

Second District Supervisor Laura Capps said the grid, and funding for it, is transformational — especially at a time when the county is facing major budget shortfalls. 

“This significant investment reflects our commitment to protecting communities, strengthening resilience, and ensuring that the benefits are felt directly by the people it’s meant to serve,” she said in a press release. 

Isla Vista is the only urban area the county labeled an environmental justice community — a low-income community disproportionately impacted by pollution and other health hazards. It is largely dense, aging rental housing. Capps said homes in I.V. are less likely than wealthy parts of the county to have generators. 

The community center, health clinic, and Foot Patrol office, she said, serve as safe havens in emergencies. 

“Those are places that need to have the lights on,” she said. 

Now, the county’s sustainability division is working through the grid planning stages, initiating requests for proposals for project management, design, and constructions. Later, it will partner with Southern California Edison to complete technical studies.