Ticaboo Utility Improvement District cut diesel generator runtime by 75% with Torus
Industry
Electric Utility
Service Territory
Ticaboo, Utah
Grid Access
No connection to main transmission
Primary Use Cases
Microgrid, renewable firming, voltage and frequency support, and cost savings
Ticaboo is a small town near Lake Powell, too remote to tie into main transmission. For decades, its utility district ran the town on diesel generators around the clock. Today, solar and Torus energy storage and management power the town through the day and most of the night.
The Ticaboo Utility Improvement District provides power, water, wastewater, and solid waste services to 130 accounts in Ticaboo, a remote town near Lake Powell. With no grid connection, TUID ran three diesel generators 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. When diesel prices swung from $2.50 to nearly $6 a gallon, the board decided it had to change. TUID chose Torus through a competitive bid. Its new 530 kW solar array and Torus Reserve came online in August.
Challenges
- Ticaboo is too far from the grid to tie in, so diesel generators ran nonstop.
- The high cost of diesel leads to prohibitively expensive electricity bills for residents that constrain the town's growth.
- Generators that never shut off meant constant wear, costly rebuilds, and the risk of failure.
Outcomes
- Torus now orchestrates the town's grid. Solar powers the town by day, and Torus storage carries it through most of the night.
- Diesel use dropped from 192 gallons a day to 24.
- Generator runtime is down 75% or more, which reduces maintenance and the risk of a catastrophic failure.
Energy infrastructure for remote communities
For more than 46 years, Ticaboo heard proposals to fix its power supply, and none of them got built. When the town’s utility partnered with Torus, the project went from engineering and planning to work on the ground within months.
This is the work Torus is made to do. Our mission is to create energy infrastructure that unites people and communities through resilient, sustainable, and intelligent power. In a town as remote as Ticaboo, that means showing up, engineering for the conditions on the ground, and staying in the relationship after the install. Ticaboo’s next chapter is still being written, and we're proud to be part of it.
Cutting diesel dependence
Before Torus, Ticaboo’s generators never shut off. The utility rotated between three gen sets just to keep up with oil changes and service. Now the 530 kW solar array powers the town and fully charges the 1.5 MW battery by noon. When the sun goes down, the battery takes over until about 3 or 4 a.m. A generator then runs for roughly two hours to get the town to the next solar day.
“It’s knowing that somebody finally invested here and was willing to see the vision that we saw too.”
— John Motley, General Manager, Ticaboo Utility Improvement District
