Green Charge to deliver megawatt-scale commercial storage system for California college

Image: Green Charge.
A liberal arts college in California will get a 1MW/2MWh energy storage system from Green Charge that could save the facility US$800,000 over its lifetime.  

Pacific Union College is expected to net the savings over a 10-year agreement by reducing its demand charges, which are levied onto commercial and industrial users of electricity in the US based on their use of power during peak times. The system will also participate in demand response programmes hosted by utility Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E) to generate revenues.

The system will be controlled by Green Charge’s GridSynergy software, with the company touting its software as one of its strong points. Algorithms customised to the Pacific Union College unit will control discharge of the batteries to avoid causing spikes in the amount of power drawn from the grid. The batteries will recharge during off-peak hours at cheaper rates for electricity.

“While our main motivation for installing energy storage is saving money through peak demand shaving, we are pleased that energy storage is a way to enhance the reliability and performance of our power supply,” Pacific Union College facilities director Dale Withers said.

“Commercial energy storage is a viable solution to provide quality power to our customers located toward the end of distribution lines while providing substantial savings,” Vic Shao, CEO of Green Charge said.

Green Charge has since May of last year been majority-owned by utility giant ENGIE (formerly GDF Suez). Other recent projects announced by the company include an aggregated 13MWh ‘virtual power plant’ for utility Con Edison in New York. Another California project by Green Charge, for a community housing complex and business park, will deliver savings of up to US$1.8 million over 10 years from a 1MW system.