Notrees, SCPPA, Santa Rita Jail, and Grid on Wheels honored as Most Innovative Energy Storage Projects in North America at ESNA Conference and Expo 2013

SAN JOSE, Calif., Sept. 11, 2013 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- ESNA Conference and Expo 2013 — Energy Storage North America (ESNA) today announced the winners of the ESNA Innovation Awards at the ESNA Conference and Expo 2013, held this week at the San Jose Convention Center. Day two of this inaugural event, which attracted more than 650 attendees, speakers and exhibitors, concluded with an award ceremony honoring commercial achievement in utility scale, customer sited/behind the meter, and mobility applications. The winners of the ESNA Innovation Award are Notrees Wind Energy Storage, SCPPA Thermal Energy Storage Program, Santa Rita Jail Smart Grid, and Grid on Wheels.  More information on the projects can be found at: www.esnaexpo.com/awards

"The winners of the ESNA Innovation Award are symbolic of the commercial traction and opportunity that exists today in North America," said Janice Lin, Managing Partner of Strategen Consulting and Co Founder of the California Energy Storage Alliance. "The award attracted an impressive range of projects, all of which make money by performing market services for the grid, such as frequency regulation, load shifting or spinning reserve. And regardless of geography, megawatt size or application, what's quite clear is that energy storage is the economic key that unlocks the potential of renewables and solves the challenges of creating a dynamic and flexible grid."

The 2013 ESNA Innovation Award winners were selected on four key criteria: services provided to the grid, financing options, ownership model and technology strengths. The winners are:

-Notrees Wind Energy Storage Project, located in Goldsmith, TX, performs frequency regulation, renewables capacity firming and electricity shifting with a 36MW, 24MWh advanced lead acid storage system. Xtreme Power, Duke Energy and the DOE won the first of two utility scale awards for this project.

-Southern California Public Power Authority (SCPPA) Thermal Energy Storage Program located in Glendora, CA, uses thermal energy installed at 200 customer facilities, totaling 2.5MW, 15MWh of rated capacity to supply the following services to the grid: energy time shifting, T&D deferral and renewable energy time shifting. The innovative 'utility-owned-behind-the-meter' business model has participants install Ice Bear thermal energy storage systems with little or no monetary contribution from the host. SCPPA and Ice Energy won the second utility scale award for this project.

-Santa Rita Jail Smart Grid, in Dublin, CA, is the country's largest CERTS-based microgrid (Consortium for Electric Reliability Technology Solutions) with renewable generation and large-scale energy storage. The dynamic CERTS microgrid remains operational even in the event of a regional power outage, which helps with reliability and security at Alameda County's Santa Rita Jail. It won the customer sited and behind the meter award for its ability to save the county money while providing spinning reserve and onsite renewable generation shifting. Alameda County, APT, BYD, CEC, Chevron Energy Solutions, DOE, Encorp and S&C Electric were recognized for this project.

-Grid on Wheels, located in Newark, DE, is the first-ever use of electric vehicle batteries, chargers, and charging infrastructure to participate in, and generate revenue from, open ancillary services markets, including frequency regulation. BMW, EV Grid, NRG, and University of Delaware won the award for the most innovative mobility project in North America.

"It is a true pleasure to see such a multitude of real energy storage projects gathered together to exchange experiences and forge ahead into the future," stated Dr. Imre Gyuk, Energy Storage Program Manager at the Department of Energy, who hosted the awards ceremony. "There is a wide variety of technologies and installations with sizes ranging from tens of MW to small behind-the-meter units. And there are manifold applications, from renewable integration to grid support. This is what we have been working towards."

ESNA thanks its 2013 sponsors for their support: Demand Energy Networks and NextEra Energy (platinum sponsors), Bosch, Center for Sustainable Energy, Duke Energy, East Penn Manufacturing, FIAMM Energy Storage Solutions, K&L Gates, Pacific Gas & Electric, Parker Hannifin, Samsung SDI, San Diego Gas & Electric, Southern California Edison, Southern California Gas Company, Stem, Sumitomo Electric, Xtreme Power (gold sponsors) as well as CalCEF, CalCharge and Coda Energy (silver sponsors) and AES Energy Storage, Flextronics and Wells Fargo (event sponsors).  For a complete list of all supporting partners, visit  http://www.esnaexpo.com

For further information about Energy Storage North America 2013, contact Messe Düsseldorf North America, 150 North Michigan Avenue, Suite 2920, Chicago, IL 60601. Telephone: (312) 781-5180; Fax: (312) 781-5188; E-mail: info@mdna.com; Visit our web site http://www.mdna.com; Subscribe to our blog at http://blog.mdna.com; Follow us on twitter at http://twitter.com/EnergyStorageNA

SOURCE CESA (California Energy Storage Alliance)

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