Through SCE’s Local Capacity Requirements (LCR) procurement, Stem became the utility’s first energy storage partner to bring online some of its systems that will be used to deliver flexible capacity in Southern California. The fleet includes North America’s largest indoor energy storage system (1.3 MW) at Park Place in Irvine, systems at John Hancock Insurance—also 1 MW—and Soka University in Aliso Viejo. On November 9, 2016, Stem dispatched its fleet to meet SCE’s demonstration test requirement in the LCR program as part of preparations to meet regional winter energy needs.
“The systems Stem has installed represent another step forward in our plans for a modernised grid that will enhance reliability and lower greenhouse gas emissions” said SCE Vice President for Energy Procurement and Management Colin Cushnie.
In another industry first, Stem aggregated and deployed indoor and outdoor systems featuring three types of batteries and inverters at multiple sites for a diverse set of customers. The successful dispatch of capacity makes these systems the first distributed energy resource of its kind to be integrated into any of SCE’s demand response programmes.
“This further demonstrates that Stem is building and operating the largest digitally-connected energy storage network and using world-class analytics to optimize the value of customers’ energy assets to deliver grid services,” said John Carrington, Stem’s CEO. “Our customers can begin saving money from day one and contribute to local reliability from these big, customer-sited systems.”
In December, Stem will turn on the initial fleet of Stem’s 85 MW. Stem made history in the fall of 2014 when SCE awarded it the largest behind-the-meter energy storage contract as part of its LCR procurement. The LCR agreement calls for integrating energy storage, energy efficiency, demand response and other preferred resources so that they can be used as capacity resources in the highly-congested West Los Angeles Basin.
Stem, founded in 2009, is a leader in distributed energy storage for enterprises. It has more than 470 systems totalling 75 MWh installed or under contract, and more than 3.5 million hours of run time—more than all of its competitors. The company has a scalable, cloud-based solution that manages customers’ systems based on usage, tariffs and grid conditions in real time. It collects data by the second and uses it to continuously improve predictive algorithms, savings projections, hardware controls and other performance aspects that make its platform smarter and deliver increasing value to customers, utilities and grid operators.
The company’s mission is to build and operate the largest digitally connected energy storage network for its customers. Stem’s analytics optimise the value of customer’s energy assets and facilitate their participation in energy markets, yielding economic and societal benefits while decarbonising the grid.
Headquartered in Millbrae, California, Stem is funded by a consortium of leading investors including Angeleno Group, Iberdrola (Inversiones Financieras Perseo) GE Ventures, Constellation Technology Ventures, Total Energy Ventures, Mitsui & Co. LTD., RWE Supply & Trading, and Mithril Capital Management.
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