SANTA BARBARA, Calif. — NRG Energy Inc. and Ice Energy, a provider of distributed thermal energy storage systems, have partnered to help reduce California’s peak energy demand through an energy storage peak load management solution.
NRG and Ice Energy have contracted to provide 25.6 megawatts of behind-the-meter energy storage using Ice Energy’s proprietary Ice Bear technology for Southern California Edison (SCE). Financial terms of the agreement were not disclosed.
“Energy storage is a natural next step for NRG to help meet the state’s energy needs,” said John Chillemi, president of NRG Energy’s West Region. “We look forward to combining our experience in delivering customer-driven clean energy solutions with Ice Energy and their innovative technology to provide clean and reliable distributed energy storage products to this bellwether state.”
Subject to final approval from the California Public Utilities Commission, approximately 1,800 Ice Bear units will be installed in Orange County beginning in early 2016. Attaching to one or more standard 5-20 ton rooftop commercial HVAC units, the Ice Bear provides a solution to the problem of peak load management, a key part of creating power grids which are more efficient, reliable, and effectively integrate renewables. The Ice Bears freeze ice at night when demand for power is low and capacity is abundant, and then use the stored ice during the day to provide cooling instead of utilizing power-intensive air conditioning compressors.
“Aligning with NRG makes perfect sense as both companies share a common goal of helping California utilities and their customers, as well as businesses, build a sustainable future with clean, affordable, and reliable energy,” said Mike Hopkins, CEO of Ice Energy. “Energy storage, particularly the distributed and efficient storage capacity provided by our Ice Bears, reduces reliance on fossil fuels and helps better integrate renewable energy sources into a smarter electric grid.”
Almost 1,000 Ice Bear units are already installed in more than 40 different utility service territories nationwide, surpassing 27 million hours of operation.
For more information about Ice Energy, visit www.ice-energy.com.
Publication date: 7/20/2015
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