Massachussetts

2Life Communities (formerly JCHE)

2020

2Life Communities provide safe and affordable independent housing where older adults of all backgrounds can age in community around the Boston area.

With our partners American Microgrid Solutions and Clean Energy Group, muGrid Analytics analyzed the techno-economic feasibility of using a solar plus storage system for utility bill savings and enhanced resiliency at both the 2Life Brighton campus (including the Ulin, Leventhal, and Genesis buildings) and the 2Life Coleman house facility.

We adapted our Redcloud energy optimization model to include the Solar Massachusetts Renewable Target (SMART) program compensation structure, since the proposed solar plus storage systems at these facilities will be some of the first to be installed under the new scheme. This allowed us to accurately estimate the compensation that the proposed solar array would receive, and also to co-optimize the battery sizing and dispatching for behind-the-meter peak shaving, while also capturing the SMART program adder for battery storage. We then evaluated the enhanced resiliency that the hybrid solar plus storage system could provide when combined with planned (or existing) fixed generation in an islanded microgrid.

This project was featured in an article by our partners at Clean Energy Group: The New England Battery Revolution: In a Public Health Crisis, State Efficiency Programs Are Making Resilient Power Affordable for All.

This is our analysis – in partnership with Clean Energy Group and American Microgrid Solutions – on the benefits and details of this innovative program: ConnectedSolutions: The New Economics of Solar+Storage for Affordable Housing in Massachusetts.

We are excited to continue our engagement with 2Life and look forward to upcoming projects together.