Lead BESS Installation at VICARS Community Center
About VICARS Community Center:
VICARS Community Center, a part of Community Church Atlanta, serves the Southwest Atlanta community with a variety of important services. The center’s food pantry serves 300–400 families each week. Also, the community center offers local residents other services such as blood drives and health screenings, job fairs, social networking events, and child-centered services.
Project Objective: Provide Back-Up Power
To expand its service to the community, VICARS Community Center wanted to implement a battery system that would maximize the use of its existing rooftop solar panels. This system transforms the center into a resilience hub to provide power during power outages and weather-related emergencies.
Stryten Energy’s Lead BESS installed at VICARS Community Center in Atlanta.
Solution: Stryten Energy Lead Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) for behind-the-meter resiliency applications.
- E-Series BESS100 (80kW, 320 kWh)
- 34.1-kW DC solar installation
- Self-contained BESS enclosure with cooling and heating systems
- Remote system monitoring and control of BESS
- System automatically switches to the BESS battery if power grid fails
- Bidirectional power system for charging and discharging
- Stores and deploys energy on demand
- Manufactured* in the United States
Application:
The Stryten Energy Lead BESS at the VICARS Community Center is designed to provide back-up power to the facility if there is a power outage. This provides residents of the community with a place to go in the event of an emergency, enabling them to shelter safely. In addition to providing a safe haven during extreme heat or cold weather events, the resilience hub provides reliable power for individuals who may depend on electric appliances to store food or medications, and to charge communication devices. The resilience hub can provide backup power for at least three days, and potentially up to a week after a severe weather-related event has occurred. In the event of an extended power outage, the solar array will be able to charge the battery and keep the facility up and running for several weeks.
Why the Solution was Chosen:
- Cost-effective
- A proven and safe technology
- Provides up to 72 hours of power
The VICARS Resilience Hub has been described as one of the first of its kind across the country. As one of the first community-owned projects
in the nation to benefit from tax credits from the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), the VICARS Resilience Hub serves as a blueprint for others
looking to build their own resilience hub projects. Incorporating solar and battery storage components at the resilience hub serves multiple functions. Primarily, it allows the facility to generate its own power without having to rely on the main grid, which may fail after a weather-related event. This independent energy system also supports local emergency management by allowing limited back-up power services to be prioritized for other critical infrastructure facilities, such as hospitals, fire stations, and shelters.
“Thanks to our solar power and battery storage system, we’ll be a safety net for our neighbors during power outages and weather-related emergencies.”
– Pastor Kevin Earley
Senior Pastor Community Church Atlanta
Key benefits of Lead BESS include:
- Enables you to reduce your overall energy cost.
- Strengthens your organization’s energy resilience by storing power and deploying it when the grid can’t keep.
- Lead batteries are nearly 100% recyclable.
- Stryten Energy’s Lead BESS solution is engineered, built and supported in the U.S.
- Lead batteries are among the safest energy storage technologies – offering low fire risk, strong thermal stability, and proven performance.
This initiative is a practical step toward smarter, more sustainable energy systems.
*Manufactured in the USA, with some foreign components.
