Dive Brief:
- Green Charge Networks is deploying 7.4 MWh of energy storage devices at 14 sites in nine locations in a San Diego school district.
- Green Charge says the system will save the Grossmont Union High School District more than $6.4 million in reduced utility costs over the life of the project. The company says its product is the first purpose-built storage offering that targets peak demand reduction, which can be a lucrative cost-saving option for large power customers like the school district.
- Through Green Charge's performance-based Power Efficiency Agreement the school district will not have to bear any costs associated the storage system.
Dive Insight:
Declining costs have been a driving factor in the recent rapid growth of energy storage, but financial innovation is beginning to play an increasingly important role.
In the Philadelphia region, an innovative public-private partnership enable the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transit Authority (SEPTA) to install a wayside storage system.
The SEPTA deal with Constellation borrowed from the solar power industry’s third party ownership financing model to enable SEPTA to install the regenerative braking system and storage system with no capital outlays.
In that model, the developer bears the equipment and installation costs, which the customer pays back through a series of lease payments that are bundled with payments for the solar power.
In San Diego, Scott Patterson, deputy superintendent of the Grossmont Union High School District, said the district’s electricity charges exceed $4 million annually.
The Green Charge energy storage system targets peak demand reduction. The system includes cloud-based software that automatically responds to peaks in demand by learning a facility’s energy use patterns, lithium-ion battery storage designed to perform in extreme environments. Using the savings from demand charges, Green Charge offers a no-cost financing option — the company’s Power Efficiency Agreement under which Green Charge installs, owns, operates, and maintains the GreenStation at a host location.
In return, Green Charge receives a share of the savings from the reduced demand charges on the customer’s energy bill.
Green Charge says the agreement works with solar PV, electric vehicle chargers, and energy efficiency measures.
“Green Charge was founded on the principle that public and private institutions need additional capabilities to manage their energy costs,” said Vic Shao, CEO at Green Charge, in a statement. "This partnership positively impacts schools operating budget and allows Grossmont to reduce their monthly electricity bills in the process."
