innovation

Four projects involving a multiplicity of companies won commercial achievement awards at the Energy Storage North America (ESNA) conference in San Jose. Notrees Wind Energy Storage, SCPPA Thermal Energy Storage Programme, Santa Rita Jail Smart Grid, and Grid on Wheels each won for their innovation at utility scale.

The first project to win was the Notrees Wind Energy Storage Project, located in Goldsmith, TX. It performs frequency regulation, renewables capacity firming and electricity shifting with a 36MW, 24MWh advanced lead-acid storage system. Xtreme Power, Duke Energy and the DOE won an utility-scale awards for this project.

The second award went to Southern California Public Power Authority (SCPPA) Thermal Energy Storage Programme located in Glendora, CA. It uses thermal energy installed at 200 customer facilities, totaling 2.5MW, 15MWh of rated capacity to supply energy time shifting, T&D deferral and renewable energy time shifting to the grid. SCPPA and Ice Energy also won a utility scale award for this project.

Next up was the Santa Rita Jail Smart Grid, in Dublin, CA, which is the country's largest CERTS-based microgrid (Consortium for Electric Reliability Technology Solutions) with renewable generation and large-scale energy storage. The microgrid remains operational even in the event of a regional power outage to maintain reliability and security at Alameda County's Santa Rita Jail. The companies involved were Alameda County, APT, BYD, CEC, Chevron Energy Solutions, DOE, Encorp and S&C Electric.

The final project to win was Grid on Wheels, of Newark, DE. It is the first case of EV batteries, chargers, and charging infrastructure to participate in, and generate revenue from, open ancillary services markets, including frequency regulation. The companies involved, BMW, EV Grid, NRG, and University of Delaware, won the award for being the most innovative mobility project in North America.

Entrants came from a range of applications that generate revenue by providing market services for the grid, such as frequency regulation, load shifting or spinning reserve. They were marked for: services provided to the grid, financing options, ownership model and technology strengths.