SMUD receives State Leadership in Clean Energy Award for its innovative StorageShares program
SMUD announced that it has received a State Leadership in Clean Energy award for its first-of-a-kind Energy StorageShares program from the Clean Energy State Alliance for its advancement in clean energy technology solutions.
SMUD’s Energy StorageShares program is an innovative program that enables eligible commercial customers to make an up-front investment in battery storage in exchange for an on-bill credit for a 10-year term. SMUD bundles the investments with its own capital and installs battery storage in a high-value location that provides significant grid benefits.
The bill credit reflects the demand charge savings the customer would have received from an on-site battery. The program provides guaranteed savings to the customer without impacting their business operations, creating maintenance obligations, or requiring physical space at their business for a battery system. The economies of scale significantly reduce the cost of battery energy storage, as it is much less expensive to install a large battery system than to install multiple smaller batteries. The program benefits all SMUD customers by reducing demand on the grid and using battery storage to address the locational needs of the entire electrical grid. Learn more about SMUD’s battery storage solutions.
“We are excited to have developed a program that offers benefits to our customers and enhances our grid at the same time,” said Rachel Huang, director of Energy Strategy, Research and Development. “A program like this lets us partner with our customers to move towards a carbon-free economy.”
Electrify America LLC is the largest open DC fast charging network in the U.S. and is investing $2 billion over 10 years in Zero Emission Vehicle (ZEV) infrastructure, education and access.
Electrify America was the first company to take advantage of the program and invested $1.3 million to reduce demand charges and help advance electric vehicle infrastructure deployment. Demand charges are presently the largest operating cost barrier to public EV infrastructure deployment, representing up to 80 percent of a given electricity bill. The program’s first utility-scale battery will be a 4-megawatt battery deployed in a grid constrained area in 2021. In addition to the grid benefit, the battery will also provide an opportunity for education and SMUD receives State Leadership in Clean Energy Award training for SMUD and non-SMUD employees to further workforce development advancement in emerging low-carbon technologies.
SMUD was one of six companies to receive the award from a panel of independent judges.
“There is tremendous clean energy leadership and creativity taking place at the state level,” said CESA Executive Director Warren Leon. “The 2020 State Leadership in Clean Energy Award winners are tackling major clean energy challenges, including bringing the benefits of clean energy to low- and moderate-income communities, paving the way for large-scale offshore wind development, reducing emissions in the agricultural sector, and developing new business models for emerging technologies like energy storage.”
About SMUD
As the nation’s sixth-largest community-owned, not-for-profit, electric service provider, SMUD has been providing low-cost, reliable electricity for more than 70 years to Sacramento County and small adjoining portions of Placer and Yolo Counties. SMUD is a recognized industry leader and award winner for its innovative energy efficiency programs, renewable power technologies, and for its sustainable solutions for a healthier environment. SMUD’s power mix is about 50 percent non-carbon emitting.