Fallbrook trustees hear plan for 694 kW Tesla Megapack, battery grant and gym HVAC work; contract due next month

Fallbrook Union High School District trustees heard a presentation Feb. 12 from SiteLogic on a proposed battery-storage and HVAC package that the company says would pair a 694-kilowatt, four-hour Tesla Megapack with the district’s recently installed photovoltaic system and add or replace gym HVAC units.

The presentation said the district has a conditional reservation of roughly $2,200,000 from the California Energy Commission to cover most, but not all, of the battery cost. SiteLogic said the grant application emphasized both cost savings (peak shaving) and resiliency because the district is in a state-designated disadvantaged community and in a level-2 fire zone.

District and SiteLogic presenters told trustees the Megapack would be sized to supply the high school’s main electrical service and support critical loads — such as the gym (which is the district’s American Red Cross evacuation site), data servers and food storage — during outages. The company said the battery would normally charge from solar and the grid, and dispatch to reduce utility costs when time-of-use rates spike in late afternoon and evening.

SiteLogic described the battery as “a 694 kW battery with a four-hour duration,” and said that because the battery’s full discharge rating equals a high-demand scenario, the system would often sustain the campus longer than four hours at typical loads. The company also said the battery can be configured as a microgrid to provide backup power during outages; that resiliency function was written into the grant request.

Trustees and SiteLogic staff discussed technical and safety matters, including: how the system charges and dispatches to reduce peak charges; whether the district’s time-of-use tariff and local Community Choice Aggregation (San Diego Community Power) have been modeled into savings estimates; generator hookups as a possible supplement; and the battery’s physical size and separation from other buildings. SiteLogic said the chosen site is near the main meter and equipment rooms, would reduce conduit runs, and is roughly 30 by 10 feet (about 300 square feet). The company said some parking spaces would be removed to place the equipment.

SiteLogic said it would operate and maintain the system if the district awards the contract; the firm described training, annual and semiannual maintenance and sensor-based monitoring. The company also said safety features and fire-suppression systems would be included; trustees pressed for public and staff training on emergency procedures, citing prior community battery incidents.

The district’s superintendent, Ilsa Garza Gonzales, and trustees asked SiteLogic for interval-usage details (15-minute SDG&E interval data) showing the district’s typical daytime and peak usage so trustees can review how solar production and battery charging interact. SiteLogic responded that the firm has the interval data and that the team will provide it in follow-up materials and in a planned workshop.

District staff said an agreement for the battery project will be presented to the board next month so the district can secure the conditional grant from the Center for Sustainable Energy. SiteLogic and staff said the battery package must be approved first; HVAC work would follow as a second phase. If the board approves the agreement, SiteLogic indicated the next steps would include final design, permitting (including DSA where applicable), equipment procurement and scheduling for construction and commissioning.

Trustees did not vote on the project at the Feb. 12 meeting. SiteLogic’s presenters answered questions and agreed to meet with district staff and trustees again in the coming weeks with granular rate- and interval-based savings calculations and a timeline for the procurement and construction steps.

Community members were not recorded making public comments on the proposal at the meeting.