Encorp wins $45.3M contract to deploy microgrids

FORT COLLINS — Encorp LLC, a privately held microgrid-controls manufacturer, has been awarded a $45.3 million energy-services contract by the Alameda Board of Supervisors to deploy a fleet of six microgrids for buildings owned by Alameda County, California, which is located just east of San Francisco.

Encorp, a 30-year-old company with corporate offices at 242 Linden St. in Fort Collins, will provide its Encorp Egility microgrid control platform and will serve as the engineering, procurement and construction lead for all six microgrids in the Bay Area county.

“These projects will deliver substantial environmental benefits by lowering energy costs, reducing greenhouse-gas emissions and diminishing our dependency on fossil fuels,” Tim Wesig, energy program manager for Alameda County, said in a prepared statement. “Beyond environmental impact, they will also drive job creation and bolster energy resilience. The integration of Encorp’s cutting-edge microgrid technology will ensure uninterrupted operations at three essential facilities, even during utility grid outages.

“The passage of the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 was instrumental in securing the approval of these forward-thinking projects.”

Tapping incentives available in the Inflation Reduction Act reduced the total cost of the project by approximately 35%, according to the company. Additional state subsidies contributed $8 million in public funding to the pool of private equity debt bonds used to finance the microgrid portfolio.

“We are primarily an energy technology controls firm but have served as an EPC for previous projects such as a $1.5 million microgrid for Red Feather Lakes in Colorado, which is served by the Poudre Valley Rural Electric Cooperative,” Michael Clark, Encorp’s CEO, said in a prepared statement. “We also served as the EPC for the $5 million microgrid for Kings River Packaging’s Cobblestone facility in central California.”

Clark said Encorp serving as the EPC for this $45.3 million project is a move that dovetails with the company’s “Microgrids for the Masses” program.

“We at Encorp wish to our customers curated microgrid solutions to free potential clients from the hold of large multinationals that often limit choice with costly prescribed vendor packages and procedures,” he said.

Clark said four of the six microgrids will be in low-income zones, adding an equity dimension to the project.

Capital support for payment and performance bonding was provided by Pine Grove Holdings of Chicago.