NYPA announced plans to deploy solar and energy storage at public facilities.
In February, New York City and the New York Power Authority (NYPA) announced plans to deploy solar and energy storage at public facilities – including 47 public schools. Today NYPA’s Board made a significant step to advance plans on this ambitious project by authorizing Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs) with ENGIE North America.
The joint project between NYPA and the NYC Department of Citywide Administrative Services (DCAS) will generate up to 30 MW of power from rooftop solar arrays on NYC public schools. The portfolio, which includes 6.6 MW of energy storage, will advance New York State’s clean energy targets as outlined in the 2019 Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act. It will also help achieve nearly 30 percent of NYC’s goal of implementing 100 MW of solar on City-owned properties by 2025 – part of its commitment to reduce citywide emissions 80 percent by 2050.
ENGIE will design, build, own and operate the solar systems at the NYC DOE sites with construction expected to begin in early 2022. ENGIE is proud to be a partner in this ambitious project to provide clean and sustainable energy.
NYPA’s Press Release: https://bit.ly/NYPAxENGIE
An interdisciplinary team at The Ohio State University will lead one of 10 projects announced today by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) to transform the way communities use energy. As part of the effort, Ohio State received a $4.2 million DOE grant to be used over the next five years.
The projects will conceive, optimize, build and refine “Connected Communities,” in which buildings and distributed energy resources – such as photovoltaic solar panels, electric vehicle charging stations and storage – are controlled in coordination with the electrical grid. This leads to optimized energy consumption within the community, providing a model for reducing the building sector’s contribution to the climate crisis.
Led by College of Engineering Associate Dean of Facilities Michael Hagenberger, Engineering Assistant Professor Jordan Clark and ENGIE Technology Architect Mark Brown, Ohio State’s project leverages the university’s public-private partnership with Ohio State Energy Partners established in 2017 by ENGIE North America and Axium Infrastructure. Since then, the partners have embarked on a transformation of the 485-building Columbus campus with the installation of nearly 1,000 smart meters, approval of more than $190 million in energy efficiency measures and implementation of a central analytics and control platform. These infrastructure upgrades have resulted in Ohio State’s Columbus campus becoming the country’s largest microgrid and a replicable pilot for other communities.
“This interdisciplinary project will give Ohio State and Ohio State Energy Partners an opportunity to pursue boundary-pushing energy and sustainability research and innovations and pave the way for the integration of renewable energy sources into our portfolio, a key part of Ohio State’s 2050 carbon neutrality goal,” said Ohio State President Kristina M. Johnson.
America’s 125 million homes and commercial buildings currently use almost 40% of U.S. energy and 74% of its electricity, and account for the great majority of peak electricity demand. With technology like state-of-the-art sensors, controls and analytics, there is potential to significantly improve efficiency and reduce carbon emissions of our nation’s energy resources. A recent DOE study estimated that by 2030, grid-interactive efficient buildings (GEBs) could save up to $18 billion per year in power system costs and cut 80 million tons of carbon emissions each year.
The Ohio State project team will develop and manage its “Connected Community” as a pilot cluster of campus buildings, of diverse vintage and use type, and energy assets as a microgrid controlled by artificial intelligence (AI) tools. The energy assets include: a 105-megawatt combined heat and power plant; multiple central chiller plants; a steam plant; 65,000 square feet of solar power photovoltaics; 29 electric vehicle charging stations; and 50 megawatts of wind energy through a power purchase agreement.
ENGIE’s novel Smart Institutions platform will integrate data from these assets – streams of real-time utility data such as electricity and chilled water from campus buildings, hyperlocal weather data and occupancy data via wireless access points – to facilitate resource utilization decisions and control campus buildings in coordination, following extensive modeling in the project’s first few years.
“This is a unique opportunity to not only think about, but to actually use the campus to demonstrate the ability of a Connected Community approach to deliver added value to asset owners, community operators and grid operators while maintaining or improving occupant experience and facilitating deep penetration of renewables,” said Clark. “We have an amazing team comprising researchers and private-sector partners who will collaborate to provide this example in a region of the country that can be quite a challenging place to integrate renewables.”
The project team includes Ohio State faculty and staff working with experts from ENGIE, the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, the University of California, Berkeley, American Electric Power and PJM. In addition to the College of Engineering, staff and faculty from Ohio State’s Facilities Operations and Development, Office of Business and Finance, Center for Automotive Research, Sustainability Institute, John Glenn College of Public Affairs and Institute for Materials Research will contribute to project tasks and goals.
“We are very excited to see that our partnership with The Ohio State University and Axium Infrastructure continues to deliver value well beyond the contractual expectations,” said Serdar Tufekci, Head of Major Partnerships Energy Solutions Americas at ENGIE. “We look forward to expanding our collaboration with the Department of Energy to discover a new standard of innovation and technology which will help in our joint ambition to achieve campus carbon neutrality in a financially feasible way.”
Ohio State’s project will demonstrate cybersecure control of buildings and distributed energy resources for efficiency, demand management and provision of grid services. As a result, the “Connected Community” will be better equipped to respond to peak demand times and reduce energy consumption by 35% — an additional 10% beyond the 25% reduction goal in the Ohio State Energy Partners agreement. In addition, a major outcome of the project will be the demonstration of a 20% increase in net present value of existing renewable generation assets in an Ohio climate.
The 10 projects announced today by DOE will further demonstrate the capabilities of GEBs across a wider range of technologies, locations and building types. Ohio State’s project is the only one to occur on a university campus setting.
Source: https://news.osu.edu/department-of-energy-selects-ohio-state-as-one-of-…
Carbon intelligence platform accelerates global decarbonization efforts for businesses across scope 1, 2 and 3
HOUSTON, TX – On the occasion of the Climate Week, ENGIE announced today the launch of Ellipse – its net zero carbon platform to accelerate global decarbonization efforts. ENGIE’s Ellipse offer is the world’s most comprehensive carbon intelligence platform on the market enabling businesses to track their emissions in real-time, design decarbonization strategies, chart their progress and optimize sustainability investments. It is tailor designed to be integrated into existing digital ecosystems, bringing carbon net zero strategies to the forefront of corporate programs.
As an expert in the field of decarbonization, ENGIE developed Ellipse in response to climate commitments increasingly growing over the last few years with average annual emissions reduction target increasing three-fold from 2005–2017.
ENGIE’s Ellipse offer is a pioneering solution for organizations that need access to advanced data analytics that provide an accurate representation of their carbon output to execute on aggressive climate goals and accelerate global sustainability transformations. Organizations currently struggle with managing vast amounts of carbon-related data, or lack carbon reporting infrastructure, rudimentary scope 3 reporting strategies and the necessary inhouse talent to drive efforts forward. Ellipse mitigates these issues by providing a unified, accurate view of carbon emissions across an organization’s entire portfolio and supply chain.
“As a global leader in the zero carbon transition, ENGIE developed Ellipse in support of businesses faced with the growing urgency to reduce carbon emissions and implement a strategic action plan”, said Catherine MacGregor, ENGIE CEO. “A true sustainability transformation requires significant investment, organizational transformation and a reimagining of business strategies, alongside the continuous consolidation of disparate data. Ellipse works as a strategic tool to help organizations make informed decisions and reach their net zero emission goals.”
ENGIE’s Ellipse offer allows organizations to:
- Build an Accurate Emissions Footprint:The first step to decarbonization is understanding emissions data across scope 1, 2 and 3. By harnessing artificial intelligence and custom Application Programming Interface, Ellipse aggregates and analyzes dynamic data streams for a highly accurate view of emissions across an organization’s entire value chain. Moving beyond the traditional annual reporting cadence, this real-time view will measure carbon as a true business performance indicator on an ongoing basis.
- Integrate Project, Goal and Target Tracking: Intuitive visualizations within the platform connect project performance to expected outcomes, measuring return on investment, carbon impact and more.
- Develop Engineering-Grade Scenario Modeling: Machine learning algorithms, built on insights from over one million facilities, enable carbon-first decision making amidst rapidly evolving market conditions.
- Create a 360° View of Scope 3 Emissions: By gathering vast amounts of data, organizations can identify hot spots and model supplier-specific mitigation scenarios.
Ellipse was developed by ENGIE Impact, an ENGIE entity that delivers sustainability solutions and services to corporations, cities and governments across the globe. ENGIE Impact today has a portfolio of 1,000 clients, including 25% of the Fortune 500 Companies, across more than 1,000,000 sites.
About ENGIE North America
ENGIE North America Inc. offers a range of capabilities in the United States and Canada to help customers decarbonize, decentralize and digitalize their operations. These include comprehensive services to help customers run their facilities more efficiently and optimize energy and other resource use and expense; clean power generation; energy storage; and retail energy supply that includes renewable, demand response, and on-bill financing options. Nearly 100% of the company’s power generation portfolio is low carbon or renewable. Globally, ENGIE S.A. is a global reference in low-carbon energy and services, that relies on their key businesses (gas, renewable energy, services) to offer competitive solutions to customers. With 170,000 employees, customers, partners and stakeholders, the group is committed to accelerate the transition towards a carbon-neutral world, through reduced energy consumption and more environmentally-friendly solutions.
ENGIE HQ Press contact: engiepress@engie.com, +33 (0)1 44 22 24 35
ENGIE North America Press contact: sandrine.deparis@engie.com, +1 202 855 3705
Comprehensive Transportation Electrification Solution for Schools, Transit Agencies, and Commercial Fleets to be Showcased at Advanced Clean Transportation Expo
HOUSTON and LONG BEACH, CA – Building on ENGIE’s success enabling broad adoption of electrified transportation throughout the world, ENGIE North America, through its various subsidiaries and affiliates, announced today new K-12 fleet and transit agency customers: El Monte Union High School District (UHSD), Grossmont Union HSD and Victor Valley Transit Authority.
“Zero-emission buses are the future of American public transportation,” said Stefaan Sercu, Chief Energy Solutions Officer, Americas at ENGIE. “In fact, soon, electrification will be one of the best options. That’s good news for communities, because ultimately it will significantly reduce both the cost and environmental impact of transportation.”
There are environmental and economic benefits to move to zero-emission buses, but the planning and implementation processes can be overwhelming for agency and district transportation leaders. That is why ENGIE North America is offering a comprehensive eMobility solution to accelerate electrification projects and optimize project outcomes.
The ENGIE North America turnkey solution includes:
- All aspects of eMobility planning and design, covering vehicles, charging infrastructure, energy management, and on-site energy generation and storage;
- Total cost of ownership analysis and assistance in applying for grants and incentives;
- Financing, including purchase options, capital leasing, or fixed-cost transportation and charging-as-a-service;
- Sourcing of reliable, standards-compliant technologies;
- Project management, from planning through construction and installation to ongoing support; and
- Community engagement, such as academic collaborations and community outreach programs.
“Just planning for a transition to an electric fleet is a daunting task when you think of all the variables involved,” said Lindsey Danner, Energy Manager at Grossmont Union HSD. “ENGIE is helping us put a plan together we can afford – covering everything from bus infrastructure and technology to funding sources. They turned a challenge into a real opportunity for our district.”
Located near San Diego, Grossmont Union HSD tapped ENGIE’s eMobility services to help plan the conversion of its fleet to zero emission vehicles, including developing eBus charging infrastructure requirements, analyzing the impact of adding solar and battery storage, and reviewing the district’s plans for its new transportation yard.
Battery Storage Accelerates Progress Toward eMobility Goals
Battery energy storage is an important component of the eMobility infrastructure, as it provides back-up power and helps mitigate the costly spikes in power usage that result from the intermittent use of electric vehicle (EV) chargers. The “demand charges” that utilities levy for these spikes can constitute a significant portion of an agency’s or a district’s electricity bill. In addition, when battery storage is deployed in conjunction with solar, it increases the feasibility of larger solar deployments, which can support lower cost transportation electrification.
As an example, ENGIE North America devised an eMobility plan for the Victor Valley Transit Authority (VVTA) in Hesperia, California, which included battery storage combined with solar to support the transit agency’s electric and hydrogen bus fleet. The battery storage now offsets the demand spikes caused by VVTA’s eBus chargers and natural gas compressors.
“The battery storage has reduced our demand charges by 40 percent,” said Ron Zirges, Director of Facilities & Maintenance. “And with ENGIE North America’s assistance, we successfully enrolled in the California Self-Generation Incentive Program (SGIP), which has covered 50 percent of our storage costs.”
K-12 school districts are seeing similar benefits. El Monte UHSD, just east of Los Angeles, turned to K-12 school districts are seeing similar benefits. El Monte UHSD, just east of Los Angeles, turned to ENGIE to design and deploy an energy storage system to support their EV chargers that power its new electric bus fleet. Deployed at five sites, the battery storage has enabled a 35 percent reduction in demand charges. The project at its five high school sites and bus garage was partially funded by a portion of the $9.8 million CA Air Resources Board Clean Mobility in Schools Pilot grant. The Clean Mobility in Schools Pilot Project is part of California Climate Investments, a statewide initiative that puts billions of Cap-and-Trade dollars to work reducing greenhouse gas emissions, strengthening the economy, and improving public health and the environment—particularly in disadvantaged communities. Overall, this project at El Monte UHSD directly benefits students and educational programs by reducing energy demand costs paid out of the General Fund.
For more information on ENGIE’s eMobility solution click here. Please visit the ENGIE booth #1623 at the ACT Expo, August 31 – September 1, 2021 at the Long Beach Convention Center.
About ENGIE North America
ENGIE North America Inc. offers a range of capabilities in the United States and Canada to help customers decarbonize, decentralize and digitalize their operations. These include comprehensive services to help customers run their facilities more efficiently and optimize energy and other resource use and expense; clean power generation; energy storage; and retail energy supply that includes renewable, demand response, and on-bill financing options. Nearly 100% of the company’s power generation portfolio is low carbon or renewable. Globally, ENGIE S.A. is a global reference in low-carbon energy and services, that relies on their key businesses (gas, renewable energy, services) to offer competitive solutions to customers. With 170,000 employees, customers, partners and stakeholders, the group is committed to accelerate the transition towards a carbon-neutral world, through reduced energy consumption and more environmentally-friendly solutions.
Media Contact:
ENGIE North America: Sandrine Deparis, sandrine.deparis@engie.com, (202) 855 3705
Guidehouse Insights names ENGIE a top three Leader in Energy as a Service. The Guidehouse Insights report assesses the competitive landscape for Energy as a Service (EaaS) solutions. ENGIE has been selected based on company vision, go-to-market strategy, technology and pricing, among other criteria.
EaaS solutions are uniquely positioned to meet customers’ sustainability needs by transferring risk and including guarantees in the contract, simplifying operations, and ensuring a comprehensive and flexible technology solution.
Companies are increasingly setting ambitious carbon targets and looking for partners to help them meet these goals by providing comprehensive technology expertise, advisory and other services, and no-CAPEX low cost financing.
The financing element of EaaS, which focuses on OPEX-based payments rather than the use of CAPEX or debt, has been emerging as a critical value proposition of EaaS in a time of financial uncertainty and reluctance to spend CAPEX or take on debt for non-core elements of business.
To learn more the ENGIE EaaS offering, contact us
To learn more about this report, visit Guidehouse Insights