E Source has picked up a contract from the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) to develop the state’s Integrated Energy Data Resource (IEDR) platform. The first-of-its-kind platform will act as a secure, centralized repository of energy-related data for all electric, gas and steam utilities – as well as other non-utility entities – across the state.
Key stakeholders – including entities such as solar, storage and wind developers; utility customers; state agencies; and the utilities themselves – can access the platform on a self-serve basis and at a massive scale. The platform will provide the kind of data each stakeholder wants and needs to inform investment decisions, identify operational inefficiencies, monitor the effectiveness of policy objectives, promote innovation, encourage new business models, and better serve the clean energy needs of disadvantaged communities.
To develop and implement the IEDR platform, E Source will lead a development team of utility innovation companies including UtilityAPI, Flux Tailor, TRC Companies and HumanLogic. The development team will use E Source OneInform and UtilityAPI’s Green Button Connect to enable the data access, governance, querying, analysis and consent processes required to deliver the full benefit of stakeholder-submitted use cases. Flux Tailor, TRC Companies and HumanLogic will support the program by providing a mix of stakeholder engagement and training, use-case assessment, requirements development, documentation, and UI/UX design.
“We’ve assembled a stellar development team, experienced in bringing data-centric innovation to utilities both in New York and across the country,” says Adam Stotz, chief technology officer at E Source. “This experience, including having our own working, scalable utility data platforms and an agile approach rooted in adapting quickly based on what works and what doesn’t, will provide NYSERDA a useful ‘head start’ in delivering the IEDR on a tight timeline while maximizing benefits for all stakeholders.”
By integrating, analyzing, and making energy data accessible, the IEDR platform will benefit New York’s key clean-energy stakeholders in many ways, across use cases, while facilitating communications among all. Clean-energy project developers and solution providers, including energy storage and solar firms, will be able to query the platform for a variety of anonymized usage data to better develop and target offerings and site projects. Utilities can use the same data to better understand needs and opportunities across their service territories; increase adoption of offerings for renewable energy, energy efficiency and distributed energy; and streamline the interconnect process, bringing more renewable-energy resources online faster.
Large commercial, industrial and institutional customers, as well as small businesses and residents, can use the IEDR platform to assess clean-energy options and analyze payback periods to make smart adoption decisions. And state, city and local agencies will be able to develop and implement new programs – for example, emissions-benchmarking services for building owners – and better monitor and manage overall program performance and results as they guide the state toward 70% clean energy by 2030.
“Our centralized IEDR platform will provide access to useful data and information to support new and innovative clean-energy business models that deliver benefits to New Yorkers,” comments Doreen M. Harris, president and CEO of NYSERDA. “NYSERDA looks forward to working with E Source and its partners to build this instrumental resource that will help to accelerate the deployment of clean and resilient solutions across the state.”
“At E Source, we’ve focused our deep research, advisory, data science, technology consulting and solutions expertise on enabling the sustainable utility, helping utilities do the hard work to become more environmentally responsible, equitably deliver safe and reliable energy, and maintain financial stability,” says Ted Schultz, CEO of E Source. “The work we’re embarking on now for NYSERDA, built on the many breakthroughs we have made for individual utilities across the U.S., epitomizes our approach and marks a major new phase in using data to accelerate clean-energy adoption.”
