AlphaStruxure in Montgomery County begins work on a transit facility powered by renewable energy

AlphaStruxure and Montgomery County, Maryland, have begun work on an integrated microgrid infrastructure project that includes electric bus charging and on-site green hydrogen production powered by solar and BESS.

Construction of the microgrid is expected to be completed next year, when the system will begin feeding renewable energy back to the grid and can power zero-emission buses running through the David F. Bone Transit Maintenance and Operations Center.

This microgrid follows the 2022 launch of the Brookville Smart Energy Bus Depot, which was the county’s first fully constructed microgrid-powered bus depot and also managed by AlphaStruxure.

The two depots are expected to collectively power approximately 335 zero-emission transit buses under the county’s rate transformation plan.

“It’s an exciting time to begin work on a project that sets a new standard for public transportation in the United States,” says Juan Macias, CEO of AlphaStruxure.

“The district has proven to be a national leader in zero-emission transportation, in part by prioritizing the simultaneous procurement of both buses and the sustainable infrastructure needed to power them. Both are fundamental to a successful fleet transition. Our energy-as-a-service approach enables the County to achieve sustainable and resilient transit without upfront capital, in a way that eliminates risk during the financing, construction and operation phases of the project.

Specifically, the microgrid will include 5.65 MW of rooftop and canopy solar, 2 MW of battery power, and 2.25 MW of charging capacity.

AlphaStruxure and the county will leverage a partnership with local utility Pepco to rapidly deploy a large-scale microgrid. The microgrid will also be able to transmit up to 2MW of renewable energy back to the power grid through Pepco’s grid metering program.

AlphaStruxure’s partners on this project include Mortenson in design and build; Schneider Electric for BESS, microgrid control, switchgear and services. WSP is the engineer of record, AZZO is the contract network and cybersecurity. Mobility House is used for charging management software and Heliox for electric vehicle charging equipment.