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North America / Defense

Camp Pendleton Microgrid

Current status, energy mix, organizations, suppliers, equipment, controls, reported specifications, and project updates—with source-level citations.

CoverageDetailed public record
Named organizations9
System facts25
Sources reviewed12
Evidence reviewed2026-07-20

The assigned Camp Pendleton record is the Area 52 School of Infantry FractalGrid demonstration, not later Camp Pendleton microgrids. Four distributed microgrids combined fixed and concentrated solar, diesel backup, flywheel and GEL-battery storage, vehicle-to-grid capability, and CleanSpark controls across a 12 kV system that could coordinate as a roughly 1.1 MW-class site microgrid.

Research status
Area 52 was commissioned in 2014 and CleanSpark reported continuous operation for more than three years in 2017. CleanSpark expected release to the Marine Corps in 2018, but no public source verifies the final transfer or continued operation through 2026.
Historical classification
Community
Reported capacity
See component specifications
Coordinates
33.23121, -117.37927
Evidence note: “Every company” cannot be proven from public material alone. This page lists every organization found in the recovered record and reviewed sources, preserves unknown roles, and explicitly marks undisclosed controller or equipment details.
Report missing evidenceResearch methodology

Project delivery

Who was involved in Camp Pendleton Microgrid?

9 publicly identified organizations. Where a recovered source named a participant without explaining its work, the role remains explicitly unspecified.

Organization

California Energy Commission

Provided a reported $1.7 million grant for the Area 52 demonstration [8][10]

Organization

CEC

Publicly named participant; role not specified in the recovered record [1]

Organization

CleanSpark

Subcontracted designer, controls developer, integrator, installer, and later owner/operator under the transfer arrangement [4][5]

Organization

Harper

Publicly named participant; role not specified in the recovered record [1]

Organization

Harper Construction

CEC grantee and general contractor; later transferred the microgrid control infrastructure to CleanSpark [4][5]

Organization

Quantum

Publicly named participant; role not specified in the recovered record [1]

Organization

Quantum Energy Storage

Flywheel energy-storage developer/supplier for the Area 52 demonstration [8][9]

Organization

Specialized Energy

Publicly named participant; role not specified in the recovered record [1]

Organization

U.S. Marine Corps / Camp Pendleton

Host and intended ultimate recipient/operator of the Area 52 system [4][7]

System evidence

Energy mix, capacity, and specifications

Values can describe different project phases, generation sources, storage systems, or other components. Source citations are attached to each figure so discrepancies remain visible.

KW Solar
525 [1]
KW Gas/Diesel
200 [1]
Storage
300 KWH [1]
Area 52 photovoltaic resources
Approximately 525 kW total: 225 kW concentrated PV plus 300 kW flat-plate PV [8]
Area 52 diesel backup
200 kW [8]
Area 52 storage design
300 kWh total: 240 kWh flywheel storage plus 60 kWh deep-cycle GEL battery storage [8][5]
Area 52 coordinated microgrid scale
Four local microgrids coordinated into a roughly 1.1 MW-class 12 kV system; 1.1 MW describes the combined site/grid scale, not installed generation alone [4]
Area 52 energy mix
Solar PV plus flywheel/GEL storage and vehicle-to-grid support, with a 200 kW diesel generator for dispatchable backup and utility-grid service in normal operation [8][4]
CEC project term
June 30, 2013 to March 31, 2015 [10]

Controls and hardware

Equipment and controller details

Manufacturer and model are shown only when a source names them. Generic descriptions are not converted into guessed product assignments.

01

Microgrid controls

CleanSpark — mPulse / fractal power system controls

Distributed control platform coordinating four local microgrids, islanding, reconnection, generation, storage, and loads [4][5]

02

Concentrated photovoltaics

Model not publicly disclosed

Fifteen dual-axis concentrated-PV trackers totaling about 225 kW [4][8]

03

Flywheel storage

Quantum Energy Storage

Two low-speed flywheel systems; public sources describe a 240 kWh project allocation, while a contemporaneous technology report described a tested 60 kW/120 kWh unit [5][8][9]

04

Battery storage

Model not publicly disclosed

60 kWh deep-cycle GEL battery bank supporting the flywheel-based storage design [8]

Technical record

Architecture, performance, and project updates

Concise technical facts, milestones, operating results, and later developments. Dated notes distinguish historical design claims from current evidence.

  • Management

    Microgrid Software & Controls) [1]

  • Management

    – Rapid SCADA (ms response time, [1]

  • Management

    – Model-based engineering, including [1]

  • Storage

    Energy Storage [1]

  • Storage

    (V2G) for additional storage [1]

  • Generation

    Microgrid [1]

  • Architecture

    Distributed controls formed four separate microgrids at Area 52 and allowed them to align autonomously as a larger 12 kV microgrid, island from the utility, and reconnect after restoration. [4]

  • Operational update

    CleanSpark reported in late 2017 that the mPulse system had operated continuously for more than three years with minimal maintenance. [6]

  • Ownership and transfer

    CleanSpark bought the control infrastructure from Harper for $1 and assumed a ten-year operating/maintenance obligation. A 2018 filing said the company expected to release the assets to the Marine Corps that year, but that forward-looking statement is not proof the transfer closed. [5][7]

  • Capacity clarification

    The 1.1 MW figure in CleanSpark filings is the coordinated site microgrid scale and should not be added to the 525 kW solar and 200 kW diesel figures as another generator. [4][8]

  • Later Camp Pendleton project disambiguation

    A separate Critical Infrastructure Support microgrid accepted in 2019 used about 150 kW solar and 400 kWh iron-flow storage. It is not the 2014 Area 52 FractalGrid represented by this record. [11]

  • Future Camp Pendleton update

    California announced a separate Haybarn Energy Reliability Center in December 2024: $42 million for an initial 6 MW/48 MWh battery system, expandable to 50 MW/400 MWh, with operation expected in summer 2027. This does not establish the current status of Area 52. [12]

Provenance

12 sources

Primary owner, government, university, supplier, and engineering sources are preferred. Archived references preserve claims whose original pages moved or disappeared.

  1. [1]
    Recovered Microgrid Projects record

    Internet Archive · Archived source · captured 2021-04-20

  2. [2]
    California Energy Commission Presentation

    energy.ca.gov · Archived source · captured 2021-04-20

  3. [3]
    Cleanspark News from Microgrid Media

    microgridmedia.com · Archived source · captured 2021-04-20

  4. [4]
    CleanSpark SEC Filing: Camp Pendleton Area 52 Microgrid Asset Disclosure

    U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission / CleanSpark · Primary source

  5. [5]
    CleanSpark SEC Exhibit: Area 52 FractalGrid Acquisition and Technology

    U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission / CleanSpark · Primary source

  6. [6]
    CleanSpark Annual Report: Camp Pendleton Operating History

    U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission / CleanSpark · Primary source

  7. [7]
    CleanSpark Quarterly Report: Expected Marine Corps Asset Release

    U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission / CleanSpark · Primary source

  8. [8]
    Microgrid Demonstration Projects and Case Studies: A Review of Lessons Learned

    Electric Power Research Institute · Secondary research

  9. [9]
  10. [10]
    Electric Program Investment Charge 2015 Annual Report

    California Energy Commission · Primary source

  11. [11]
  12. [12]

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