The Southern California Public Power Authority (SCPPA) and Ice Energy, a provider of advanced energy storage solutions, announced an agreement to undertake what they say is the nation’s first utility-scale, distributed energy storage project.
The 53-megawatts (MW) project, to be implemented by SCPPA member utilities throughout Southern California, will reduce California’s peak electrical demand by shifting as much as 64 gigawatt hours (GWh) of on-peak electrical consumption to off-peak periods every year, reducing exposure to costly peak power and improving the reliability of the electrical grid.
Ice Energy’s energy storage system works by leveraging the higher efficiencies associated with generating and transmitting power off-peak (typically at night) and using that energy to make ice, which is then used to cool buildings during the day, when energy demand for air conditioning is at its highest.
Installation of the Ice Energy storage systems will begin in the first half of 2010, with deployment scheduled over two years.
"Ice Energy’s solution is a convenient and cost-effective solution for managing peak demand, and aligns perfectly with our Smart Grid initiatives–enabling our member utilities to deliver reliable, competitively priced electric service to their customers in a sustainable, environmentally-sensitive manner,” said Bill Carnahan, Executive Director of SCPPA. “By using storage to change how–and more importantly when–energy is consumed by air conditioning, we can offset enough peak demand in the region to serve the equivalent of 10,000 homes."
This groundbreaking agreement also allows SCPPA to enable the expansion of this storage solution for other municipal utilities and agencies in Southern California.
Jeffrey Byron, Commissioner of the California Energy Commission, hailed the SCPPA project as critical to helping the State of California meet a key strategic objective: that all utilities consider energy efficiency and demand side management solutions before investing in generation resources to meet demand objectives. “This project includes all of the aspects we look for: managing electrical consumption, improving system efficiency, reducing greenhouse gases, and creating regional green jobs for our communities,” said Commissioner Byron. “SCPPA is to be applauded for showing how Californians are taking the lead to deploy innovative solutions to meet our energy demands.”
"SCPPA’s selection of Ice Energy’s solution is truly a win-win for all stakeholders. Member utilities can better meet their goals to reduce peak demand, ratepayers are protected against the rising costs of peak power, and the growing supply of clean off-peak wind generation can be more reliably integrated," said Frank Ramirez, CEO of Ice Energy. “SCPPA and its members have shown extraordinary leadership at the forefront of reshaping the future of our energy system, forever changing the way we deliver and consume energy in this country.”
The Southern California Public Power Authority is a joint powers authority consisting of 11 municipal utilities and one irrigation district. SCPPA members deliver electricity to approximately 2 million customers over an area of 7,000 square miles, with a total population of 4.8 million.
The Members include the municipal utilities of the cities of Anaheim, Azusa, Banning, Burbank, Cerritos, Colton, Glendale, Los Angeles, Pasadena, Riverside, Vernon, and the Imperial Irrigation District.
Ice Energy is headquartered in Windsor, Colorado, with offices in Lake Forest and Sacramento, California. In October 2008 the company raised $33 million in second-round financing.
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