Sandbar Solar & Electric Headquarters Building (Santa Cruz, California)

Sandbar Solar & Electric Headquarters Building (Santa Cruz, California)

Last Updated on September 11, 2023 by Jeremy Pearl

In 2019 Sandbar Solar & Electric built its new 11,500 square foot headquarters building.  Instead of waiting several years for PG&E to establish a new electrical service at the site Sandbar designed, engineered and installed a stand-alone microgrid made up of 57-Kilowatts of solar, 154 kWh of energy storage, and a 35-kW generator.  The solar and batteries satisfy the building’s energy needs 96.5% of the year while the generator runs just 3.5% of the time or approximately 300 hours.  The Sandbar HQ has commercial-grade, 480V, 3-phase power and has remained fully operational through all grid power outages that have affected its local area since the building’s completion in December 2019. 

System size:

•             57 kW DC Solar

•             154 kWh ESS Capacity 

Installation type:

Pitched Metal Roof, Mechanically-Attached, Flush-Mounted Racking

Solar/Battery Inverters:

Ideal Power: 30 kW, DC-coupled Inverters

Batteries:

  • Avalon 30kWh Batteries
  • Blue Planet 64kWh Battery

About the Author

Jeremy has worked in the solar industry since 2006. He has a Bachelor’s Degree from UC Santa Cruz in Environmental Studies. Jeremy has spent most of his solar career in residential sales and Sales Management in both California and Hawaii. He was raised in Santa Cruz County and is passionate about helping local residents make the switch to clean and reliable renewable energy. Jeremy lives on the Westside with his wife and two boys and enjoys music, photography and hiking in his personal time.