Island Power USA

As we began watching with sadness from our yard last week in Chico Ca it was apparent the Park Fire would be destructive. We did not anticipate how far the destruction would spread. As the "normal" fire season approached we have been ramping up in anticipation it may be busy. Our hearts go out to all that have been affected by this senseless arson act. Our goal is to provide generation to those who may re-populate to a standing home that has several weeks to restore power. The request can come through the utility provider or to us directly. In an area ravaged by wildfires we have to stay strong and carry on helping those that need it the most.

Unexpected October like north winds descended on California and our hearts go out to those affected by fire evacuations and power outages. As in years past, Island Power is ready to mobilize sustainable generation when it's safe to do so. Fires can be enough shock to a family or business. While we can't undo the damage from a fire, we can bring back normalcy with power that can allow homes to be powered, wells to make water and plug in Starlink. If you need support, please reach out and see how we can assist. Remember the first thing in any disaster is a plan and making your safety the focus. It's very easy to forget to wear a respirator in the un-healthy air or find yourself in the strike zone of a fire damaged tree. If you safely evacuate a fire, then don't place yourself in harm's way afterwards.

A great opportunity to join our team!

Island Power is looking to expand our Chico Team. We have immediate openings for Field Service Techs. In addition to our hybrid generation division, we recently started the process of developing our mobile and stationary Microgrid team. We will be adding additional roles over 2024. Please message us if you or anyone you know wants to join a fun progressive team.

Part of Island Power's maintenance routine is a process in which we perform simulations of loads and a capacity test of the battery bank. A battery is the Achilles Tendon of the system. All electrical loads pass through the batteries. If the battery capacity is not meeting the system design parameters, then the fossil driven generator must overcompensate, and excess solar production may have limited storage. When I arrived at the company the traditional heater type load banks were used. Testing 2-3 units a day may use up to 75Kwh as waste to a load bank. I immediately asked a neighbor with a Tesla and a charger if he would be willing to let me run a typical test on his car. The test could be set up by selection of the allowable charge amps and times on the screen of the Tesla. It also records the charge data on the app. The next week Island Power purchased a new Model 3 mobile load bank in pearl white. When not load banking or at full capacity the Tesla has range to allow to make visits to most jobsites and meetings. Since our ready to rent fleet is stored in excellent SW exposure the PV charges the batteries prior to the load test. #Solar #Sustanability

Island Power has been taking a break on screen time as a result of our parents and Siri agreeing that too much screen time is risky like drinking energy drinks and eating fruity pebbles cereal for breakfast. These videos and pictures are from August 1st, 2021. It's hard to believe our generation has been online all this time serving the critical infrastructure of Union Pacific, PG&E Hydro and Telecommunications Sprint, Verizon and AT&T. What we want to share more is up time and efficiency. In this area our generation has been online through two very tough winters with access challenges that are tough to describe. Despite the challenges the generation uptime was 99% with some heroic efforts by our dedicated team and support contractors. Our generation also consistently shows a drastic reduction of fuel consumption. Combined with nearly a 100G onboard fuel capacity our generation can often run for weeks or a month without fueling. In years past we focused on the cost of off-road diesel as the main cost factor in generation. Indeed, it is still a cost. The average 15-25 KvA diesel generator buts 15-25 G per day. But the true cost is added in the labor and vehicle cost to fuel. The video below was an epic day where several forces of orchestrated powers joined to launch over 10 generators out by high rail. The high rail is a name given to the rail gear attached to normal trucks and equipment to give them dual purpose. The flatbed is called a low railer (low bed for rail transport) The trailers were shipped to the staging area, then welders modified the trailer decks to allow proper rigging to be attached. The trailers were loaded and then transported to the in-accessible meter locations along the UPRR and BNSF railroad. If we can get the generation here, we are certain we can get it where you need it.

Part of our service includes fueling and ensuring our generators are operating safely and reliably. Today we were fortunate to have PG&E's Feather River Watershed Crew out Infront of our fueling team. Clearing the roads made our job much safer and we are grateful for the partnership. Their specialty is clearing the road and ours is keeping crucial generation operating. As the storms continue put safety at the front of each step and our team is ready to deliver reliable generation when needed. #safetyfirst #pge #snowremoval #hybrid #generators #greatoutdoors #islandpower

Island Power is often asked how our fleet performs in the winter months when the sun angle changes with shorter days. The answer was typically an average of a 50% reduction in PV kWh input into the system. That means the usefulness of the battery bank is still effective, but the generator run time may need to increase a few hours per cycle to cover the absence of the solar gain. Winter also means preparing the units deployed for mountain conditions. A pre-winter campaign to prep the units in the field is typically done in November. Block heaters, battery maintainers and of course tilting the arrays, we are not perfect and sometimes we miss one. I call this the successful stress test of our rotating panel frame and our tech is surely going to remember next season to tilt all the panels. As for the PV input, we can confirm it was zero! Yes- This unit is still providing power. With a big low snowstorm approaching the western Sierras we are ready to respond!

At Island Power we are serious about 2 things, using hybrid systems to minimize fossil fuel usage in generation and up time on the service we provide. Up time refers to the reliability of our generation services. Anyone can rent you a generator but not everyone can commit a behind the scenes service which includes site-pre-checks, mobilizations, fueling, maintenance, inspection and a 24-hour call center to dispatch techs for an outage. A great amount of thought went into the set-up of our company procedures and processes. The results of the last 2 years showcase the result. In the years 2022 & 2023 we generated 1,000,000 + hours on our systems deployed in fire devastated areas of Northern California. Our up time was 99.8%- Our average outage was resolved in 33 minutes. Contact Island Power for a plan before the next emergency happens.