CleanSpark deploys its microgrid mPulse software in Costa Rica

CleanSpark Inc (NASDAQ:CLSK), a diversified software and services company, announced Tuesday the successful deployment of its mPulse software on its latest microgrid project in Central America.

Located on an industrial equipment retail facility in San Jose, Costa Rica, the project utilizes CleanSpark’s patented mPulse controller to coordinate all aspects of the system and improve overall performance. 

The company said the microgrid consists of a 222-kilowatt (kw) PV solar system and a Tesla 111-kW/223kWh Powerpack provided by CleanSpark. The system is integrated with standby diesel generation for use in the event of a sustained power disruption. This will be one of the first Tesla Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA) battery systems deployed in Costa Rica.

READ: CleanSpark completes strategic acquisition of energy software firm GridFabric

During system operations, the mPulse controller, utilizing operating parameters identified and modeled through the company’s mVSO software, is expected to significantly reduce the use of grid power. The Tesla battery energy storage system will be intelligently controlled by mPulse to shave peak demand and improve the overall project economics and ensure long-term cost avoidance. 

Additionally, this project will reduce greenhouse gas emissions to assist the Costa Rican people to close the gap on their goal to become the world’s first carbon-neutral country.

Many countries in Latin America share a central 1,100 mile-long power grid, as a result, a disruption in Nicaragua, El Salvador, Panama or Costa Rica can affect the others within the region. Costa Rica experienced a nationwide power outage in 2017 as a result of a downed power transmission line in Panama. The impacts of these disruptions can potentially cause millions of dollars in losses for commercial, industrial and agricultural customers. 

One of the key value propositions of a CleanSpark microgrid is the ability to provide energy certainty during unplanned outages, as well as meaningful, long-term economic benefits.

Matt Schultz, CleanSpark’s chairman, noted that over the last four years, Costa Rica has generated more than 95% of its domestic electricity from renewable energy. In 2018, nearly 75% of all national renewables came from hydropower. Recent drought conditions have threatened the consistency of that supply, and the country has been more reliant on wind production. 

“This CleanSpark powered system utilizes proprietary forecasting, driven, not only by the end-user’s energy consumption behaviors and utility rates, but a multitude of other factors, including forecasted weather patterns,” he said. “Having an intelligent, fully-automated hybrid-cloud controller allows the end-user the security of knowing the vectors they have identified as priority are being met without any requirement for a ‘man in the loop’.”

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