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North America / Island & remote community

Alcatraz Island Microgrid

Organizations, planners, suppliers, equipment, controls, and reported system specifications—with source-level citations.

CoverageDetailed public record
Named organizations3
System facts14
Sources reviewed4
Last researched2026-07-19

Alcatraz Island's National Park Service microgrid combines a 305 kW photovoltaic array, lead-acid storage, diesel generation, bidirectional power conversion, and supervisory controls. Current federal sources document the operating concept and outcomes; the archived Princeton Power case study supplies controller and inverter detail.

Research status
Operational National Park Service island microgrid; completed in 2012
Historical classification
Island
Reported capacity
See component specifications
Coordinates
37.82698, -122.42296
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 Alcatraz Island Microgrid?

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

Organization

National Park Service

Site owner and microgrid operator [3][4]

Organization

Princeton Power Systems

Power-conversion and microgrid-control supplier [2]

Organization

U.S. Department of Energy Federal Energy Management Program

Feasibility, design-review, and performance-assessment support [3]

System evidence

Reported capacity and specifications

Values can describe different project phases or components. Source citations are attached to each figure so discrepancies remain visible.

KW Solar
400 [1]
Storage
1400/1900 kW/kWh [1]
Verified solar PV rating
305 kW [3]
PV module count
959 panels [4]
Typical island demand
Approximately 70–80 kW [4]
Reported annual electricity production
Approximately 400,000 kWh [3]
Reported diesel reduction
Approximately 75% [3][4]

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 controller

Princeton Power Systems — PPS Site Controller

Coordinates solar, battery, and diesel resources and starts diesel generation when renewable energy and stored energy cannot meet load. [2][4]

02

Bidirectional inverters

Princeton Power Systems — GTIB-100

The archived manufacturer case study identifies eight 100 kW-class power-conversion units; the federal page does not restate the model count. [2]

03

Battery storage

Model not publicly disclosed

Lead-acid battery bank. The reviewed sources do not disclose a battery manufacturer or cell model. [1][4]

Recovered detail

Additional technical notes

Concise system facts recovered from the historical project record. Treat these as historical unless a newer primary source confirms them.

  • Storage

    Lead Acid Battery Bank [1]

  • Dispatch sequence

    The controller prioritizes photovoltaic production, then battery energy, and calls diesel generation when those resources cannot support island load. [4]

  • Source reconciliation

    DOE reports a verified 305 kW array, while the recovered directory listed 400 kW; both values are preserved with provenance instead of silently selecting one. [3][1]

  • Disclosure gap

    Public federal sources do not identify the PV-module, battery-cell, diesel-genset, switchgear, or communications-network model numbers. [3][4]

Provenance

4 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 2020-11-30

  2. [2]
    Read More

    princetonpower.com · Archived source · captured 2020-11-30

  3. [3]
    Alcatraz Island

    U.S. Department of Energy Federal Energy Management Program · Primary source

  4. [4]
    Sustainable Alcatraz

    National Park Service · Primary source

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