# UCSD Microgrid Equipment Manual

> **Markdown report of a non-markdown source document.**
>
> | | |
> |---|---|
> | **Source** | `Shift Matlab Drive/Shift Matlab Drive/Energy_Managment/UCSDEquipmentManual.docx` |
> | **Format** | Microsoft Word (.docx) |
> | **MD5** | `6d5a080fc2b3adfa49a8cc9469c458ac` |
> | **Owner** | Energy Management cluster |
> | **Status** | Current |
> | **Report generated** | 2026-07-25 |

## What this document is

Equipment specifications for the **UC San Diego** campus microgrid — the second SHIFT case
study alongside [BIDMC](bidmc-ucsd-energy-flow-and-balances.md). Covers the fuel cell, battery
system, combined heat and power (CHP) plant, and the planned electrolyser.

Every parameter carries an **AI RL tag** marking how it is expected to enter the
reinforcement-learning formulation:

| Tag | Meaning |
|---|---|
| **S** | State variable — the agent observes it |
| **A** | Action variable — the agent controls it |
| **R** | Reward component — it scores the agent |

This tagging is what makes the document more than a datasheet: it is the Energy Management
cluster's proposal for how physical plant maps onto the
[RL specification](../02-specifications/rl-state-variables.md).

## Fuel cell

**Equipment:** DFC3000 molten carbonate fuel cell, manufactured by FuelCell Energy.

| Parameter | Value | Units | AI RL |
|---|---|---|:---:|
| Rating | 2800 | kW | A |
| Standard output AC voltage | 13800 | V | S |
| Standard frequency | 60 | Hz | S |
| Natural gas consumption | 364 | Scfm (standard cubic feet/min) | A/S |
| Heat rate | 7260 | Btu/kWh | R |
| Initial operation LHV | 47 ± 2 | % | R |
| Water consumption average | 9 | gpm | S |
| Exhaust temperature | 371 ± 10 | °C | S |
| Exhaust flow | 16601 | kg/h | S |
| NOx emissions | 4.54 | g/MWh | R |
| SOx emissions | 0.05 | g/MWh | R |
| PM10 emissions | 0.009 | g/MWh | R |
| CO₂ emissions | 444.52 | kg/MWh | R |
| CO₂ emissions with waste heat recovery | 235 – 308 | kg/MWh | R |

**Applications**

- Converts wastewater-treatment methane to electricity
- Continues operation during outages, critical for the hospital
- Performs permanent load shifting: during off-peak hours when electricity is cheapest, the
  fuel cell pumps power into the grid to charge the batteries

> [!IMPORTANT]
> This is a **molten carbonate** fuel cell running on **natural gas** — fundamentally different
> from the **PEM hydrogen** fuel cell SHIFT models in
> [its Simulink work](../04-simulations/pem-electrolyser-and-fuel-cell-models.md) and specs at
> 100 kW in the [Simulator I/O Interface](../02-specifications/simulator-io-interface.md#12-fuel-cell).
> UCSD's unit is 28× larger and emits 444.52 kg CO₂/MWh because it burns methane. It is a
> reference for *microgrid operation at scale*, not a model of SHIFT's intended hydrogen chain.

## Battery system

UCSD uses a **2.5 MW / 5 MWh** battery from BYD; the exact model is not published. The BYD
standard 3U battery (U3A1-50E-A) is taken as a reference:

| Parameter | Value | Units | AI RL |
|---|---|---|:---:|
| Nominal voltage | 51.2 | V | S |
| Energy efficiency | > 97 | % | S/R |
| Working voltage | 44.8 – 57.6 | V | S |
| Battery cycle life | 6000 | — | R |
| Operating temperature | 0 – 55 | °C | S |
| Storage temperature | −20 – 55 | °C | S |
| State of charge | 0 – 100 | % | S |
| Nominal energy | 2.56 | kWh per module | S |
| Total system energy | 5 | MWh | S |

**Applications**

- Increases grid reliability by reducing disturbances that could affect hospital operations
- Discharges on peak hours to reduce demand charges

## Combined heat and power (CHP)

The microgrid uses two gas turbines (Solar Turbines Titan 130) and one steam bottoming-cycle
turbine (Dresser-Rand).

| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Total CHP electrical capacity | **30 MW** (2 × 13.5 MW gas + 3 MW steam) |
| Campus electricity share | 72% of annual campus electricity needs |
| Heating supply | 95% of campus heating needs |
| Cooling needs | 95% of campus cooling needs |
| CHP total efficiency | 66% |
| CO₂ savings | 82,500 tonnes CO₂ per year |

### Solar Turbines (Titan 130)

| Parameter | Value | Units | AI RL |
|---|---|---|:---:|
| Power | 16,530 | kWe | S |
| Heat rate | 10,160 | kJ/kW·hr | S |
| Exhaust flow | 202,510 | kg/hr | S |
| Exhaust temperature | 490 | °C | S |
| Energy efficiency | 35.4 | % | R |
| Simple-cycle thermal efficiency | 34 | % | R |
| Primary fuel type | Natural gas | — | A |
| Secondary fuel type | Light distillate | — | A |

> The datasheet figure of **16,530 kWe** per turbine does not match the summary line's
> "2 × 13.5 MW". The summary describes UCSD's installed/derated operating capacity; 16.5 MWe is
> the Titan 130's nameplate rating. Both numbers are in the source document.

### Steam bottoming-cycle turbine

Electric capacity **3 MW**. The steam source is the exhaust of the Solar Titan 130 gas turbine.
It produces domestic hot water for campus buildings.

**Applications**

- High-temperature exhaust gas boils water into high-pressure steam, which powers the steam
  turbine and provides hot water and heating for the campus
- The captured thermal energy also drives three steam-turbine absorption chillers, producing
  chilled water to fill the Thermal Energy Storage tank
- The turbines are also the primary electricity supply for the campus

## Electrolyser (planned, not installed)

UCSD does **not** currently operate an electrolyser. One is planned under the **SDG&E UCSD
Hydrogen Blending Pilot Project**: if approved, the electrolyser would be placed on campus to
produce hydrogen for the campus gas distribution network, with the aim of injecting **up to 20%
hydrogen into the natural gas pipeline**.

The exact model and brand are not yet known, but it will be a **Proton Exchange Membrane (PEM)**
electrolyser. Representative PEM specifications:

| Parameter | Value | Units | AI RL |
|---|---|---|:---:|
| Temperature | 50 – 80 | °C | S |
| Efficiency | 50 – 83 | % | R |
| Consumption | 4.3 – 5.1 | kWh/Nm³ | A |
| Pressure | 30 – 40 | Bar | S |
| Current density | 1 – 2 | A | S |
| Voltage range | 1.4 – 2.5 | V | S |

> The current density unit is given as **A** in the source; current *density* is conventionally
> A/cm². Likely a units slip in the original.

## Sources

| Topic | Link |
|---|---|
| Fuel cell specifications | https://go.fuelcellenergy.com/hubfs/3000-fuel-cell-power-plant.pdf |
| Battery reference specifications | https://sunsol.pl/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/Akumulatory-BYD-ENERGY-STORAGE-PRODUCTS.pdf |
| CHP general information | https://chptap.ornl.gov/profile/356/UCSDMicrogrid-Project_Profile.pdf |
| CHP general information | https://microgrid-symposiums.org/microgrid-examples-and-demonstrations/uc-san-diego-microgrid/ |
| Solar turbines | https://www.solarturbines.com/en_US/products/power-generation-packages/titan-130.html |
| Solar turbines | https://www.industrialmarinepower.com/solar-titan-130/ |
| Electrolyser | https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/energy-research/articles/10.3389/fenrg.2024.1358333/full |
| Electrolyser | https://www.sempra.com/sdge-hydrogen-pilot-project-aims-advance-cas-clean-energy-goals |

## Related

- [BIDMC/UCSD Energy Flow and Balances](bidmc-ucsd-energy-flow-and-balances.md) — dispatch model for the other case study
- [RL State Variables](../02-specifications/rl-state-variables.md) — where the S-tagged parameters land
- [RL Reward Function](../02-specifications/rl-reward-function.md) — where the R-tagged parameters land
- [BIDMC Digital Twin Readiness Checklist](bidmc-digital-twin-readiness-checklist.md) — the readiness gate these specs feed