Rialto Resilient Clean Power Microgrid
The microgrid project will optimize power management and renewable integration at the Rialto Bioenergy Facility.
Rialto Bioenergy Facility LLC
Recipient
Carlsbad, CA
Recipient Location
38th
Senate District
77th
Assembly District
$4,997,500
Amount Spent
Active
Project Status
Project Update
In a change of ownership, Rialto Bioenergy Facility is now owned and operated by Rialto Bioenergy Solutions, LLC. As of February 2026, the California Energy Commission is in the process of transferring the grant agreement to Rialto Bioenergy Solutions, LLC, with the objective of completing the remaining scope of the agreement including microgrid operations, data collection, and testing of islanding capabilities. The project team anticipates the microgrid will be commissioned in the first half of 2026, followed by 12 months of operation and data collection.
The Issue
Presently, it is uncommon to deploy microgrid systems at facilities that manage wastewater, wastewater biosolids, or food waste. Microgrids have the potential to optimize onsite power management, enhance power export, and provide other grid and ratepayer benefits which can reduce the overall operational costs of these facilities and enable them to operate during grid outage events. Additionally, California has a goal of diverting 75 percent of waste from landfill disposal by 2020, as called for by AB341; anaerobic digestion to convert waste into energy is part of the solution.
Project Innovation
The project funded procurement and installation of a microgrid at the Rialto Bioenergy Facility (RBF) which generates biogas from food waste. The microgrid will manage energy from biogas production and an energy storage system to support the power demand of the RBF. This will minimize grid draw and enhance renewable electricity export. The project will install battery storage, demand response capabilities, new power production capacity, an enhanced Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) interface, and switchgear to allow islanding during utility outages.
Project Benefits
An advanced microgrid which includes battery storage, a biogas conditioning system to support cogeneration, and a microgrid control system will help revitalize the bioenergy facility. When fully operational, the facility will convert food waste and biosolids into carbon-negative renewable electricity for the facility and support exporting electricity to Southern California Edison’s (SCE) electrical grid. The microgrid will enable the facility to generate up to 2 MW of renewable electricity for onsite use - increasing uptime and reliability while reducing grid strain and GHG emissions. The project will also benefit the health, welfare, and economic development of local disadvantaged communities (DACs) and the City, by providing a reliable source of renewable backup power to the Rialto Wastewater Treatment Plant, which is currently vulnerable during extended grid outages.
Affordability
The microgrid will allow the facility to cut operating energy costs, which will make the economics of anaerobic digestion of food waste and biosolids more feasible in the state.
Environmental Sustainability
The RBF will support diversion of food waste from landfills and enable the state to better utilize biosolids, rather than ship them to neighboring states for management; thus, reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
Reliability
The project is located near the end of the San Bernardino Corridor, a congested transmission system, and will provide distributed power resources to this area. Greater electricity reliability will result by implementing demand response, minimizing peak power draw from the grid by approximately 18,000 MWh per year.
Key Project Members
Jeremy Armstrong
Subrecipients
GHD, Inc.
The Grant Farm, Inc
GC Green, Incorporated
W. M. Lyles Co.
Trinity Consultants
Southern Electric
Match Partners
The Grant Farm, Inc
Rialto Bioenergy Facility LLC
Trinity Consultants
Southern Electric
