Permanent Load Shifting to Increase Grid Stability and to Reduce the Cost of Agricultural Water in California

Load shifting, which refers to the coordinated, targeted modification of the timing of power consumption by utility customers to better align with the daily cycles in power generation, has emerged as a primary strategy to address the challenges posed by incorporating large amounts of variable renewable generation resources into the power grid. The project team augmented AgMonitor’s existing programmable irrigation software platform – which utilizes Smart Meter data to provide water, energy, fertilizer, and crop management tools to farms – by adding a feature that enables growers to shift large electrical loads for agricultural water pumping outside of peak demand hours without adversely affecting farming operations.

Over 3 megawatts were shifted from peak demand hours in the summer of 2021 and over 10 megawatts in the summers of 2022 and 2023 across more than 100 power meters covering 18,500 acres of croplands. Summer savings of $50 per acre or $75 per kilowatt of pump load were achieved consistently. The project accounted for 1 percent of the total power load shed statewide during the Governor’s declared emergency event on September 6 during the summer of 2022. The grid was under extreme strain at the onset of the wildfire season that coincided with a heat wave and high winds.

The project also demonstrated that diverting flood waters for groundwater recharge can shift the energy load of well pumps from dry to wet years by restoring the level of the water table.

Applying permanent load shifting programs to farms covered by Pacific Gas and Electric Company and Southern California Edison Company territories, which include over 5 million acres of irrigated land, has the potential to shift 1500 megawatts of power load from peak demand periods. Benefits include greater grid stability during the critical summer season, the ability to incorporate more renewable resources into California’s energy portfolio, reduction of greenhouse gas emissions, and lower energy costs for ratepayers.