Stem Inc., a provider of commercial-scale energy storage services, has completed testing of its customer-sited storage fleet installed for Hawaiian Electric Co.
According to Stem, the fleet provides 1 MW of intelligent storage services across 29 customer sites to accommodate more renewable energy resources on the Oahu grid.
Now, the extensive testing has confirmed that Stem’s software-driven storage acts as a virtual power plant to manage diverse load shapes and site characteristics in order to serve the utility’s real-time needs, the technology company says.
Stem says it integrates energy storage hardware with predictive, cloud-based analytics in real time. The data analytics software incorporates weather forecasts and historical and real-time usage data to predict when electric use will peak at a given site. The system also rapidly and automatically responds to spikes in electricity use and draws on stored power to reduce costs for customers without requiring operational changes, says Stem.
Customers also receive access to Stem’s PowerScope, which includes real-time site energy visualization, forecasts and costs. Stem combines this information with data from Hawaiian Electric’s renewable generation monitoring and forecasting so that the utility can call upon the stored electricity for added stability during, for example, solar generation variability and peak demand times.
“These customer-sited solutions strengthen Hawaiian Electric’s renewable planning as we build toward our commitment to a 100 percent clean energy future,” says Dora Nakafuji, Hawaiian Electric’s director of renewable energy planning. “This shows we can scale behind-the-meter energy storage to create a more stable and efficient grid as we provide customers with higher levels of renewable energy to reduce fossil-fuel use and greenhouse-gas emissions.”
Most of the systems are installed in family-operated and commercial firms, small businesses, and institutions. Customers are using Stem technology to reduce their energy costs and integrate their own renewable systems, the company adds.
