Scale Microgrids has been awarded a $4.2-million grant to build Santa Barbara City College a new microgrid with solar energy, battery storage and charging for electric vehicles.

The grant was awarded to Scale by the California Energy Commission for the college’s Community Resilience Hub Project through the Community Energy Reliability and Resilience Investment (CERRI) program.

Chris Renbarger, the assistant superintendent and vice president of business services for SBCC, said the new microgrid will help cut down energy costs for the college by allowing the school to purchase electricity from Scale.

The grid will also ensure the school’s power supply in the event of a natural disaster or major event.

“We’ll have energy battery storage on campus that will allow the college to continue to operate fully for at least eight hours, and partially for 24 hours or so, in case of power outages,” Renbarger said. “In case of a major event, earthquake, or whatever that causes the power to go out.”

Santa Barbara County’s energy grid is particularly vulnerable to outages, according to a press release by Scale.

The release said that the county experiences more than twice the average outage duration and frequency as the rest of Southern California Edison’s system.

The CERRI Program will also help Scale install non-solar components, including batteries and microgrid parts.

The press release said the new grid will ensure that critical services remain operational during emergencies, including powering EV chargers.

“We’re proud to have the support of the Energy Commission on this important project,” said Shea Hughes, Scale’s vice president of business development.

“Santa Barbara faces unique grid reliability challenges and vulnerabilities that make local resilience solutions such as solar, battery storage, and microgrids a critical need for communities in the area,” Hughes said.

Scale said that the microgrid will also allow SBCC to operate as a “a safe gathering place where residents can receive supplies, charge electronics, and access medical treatment.”

Renbarger said the project is still in the developmental stage. Construction is expected to begin in February 2027 and be fully operational by the end of next year.

We’re excited about this project, and it fits both the interests of the institution and I think the local community,” Renbarger said.  “And also fits in with our state chancellor’s office goal of sustainability in the long term.”