Winners to be announced at Energy Storage North America 2015 in San Diego

BERKELEY, Calif., Aug. 18, 2015 -- Energy Storage North America (ESNA), the largest and most influential gathering of policy, technology and market leaders in energy storage, today announced finalists for the 2015 ESNA Innovation Awards, recognizing excellence in energy storage project development. The nine finalists represent outstanding project achievements across three categories: Centralized Storage (utility-scale), Distributed Storage (commercial, industrial or residential) and Mobility (transportation, electric vehicles and enabling infrastructure).

"ESNA Award finalists highlight the strength and scale of energy storage business models and applications across North America," said Janice Lin, Managing Partner of Strategen Consulting and ESNA 2015 Conference Chair. "This year we've seen an even greater level of performance and achievement within each of the categories, proving again that the market is growing and storage deserves the attention it's getting. We look forward to honoring the winners at this year's conference."

Innovation Award project submissions were subject to a rigorous review process that considered key industry priorities including customer value proposition, project impact, services supplied to the grid, financing model, ownership model, technology, and safety.

ESNA 2015 Innovation Award Finalists

* Centralized Energy Storage
- The Distribution Energy Storage Integration (DESI) Pilot 1 uses a 2.4 MW, 3.9 MWh lithium-ion battery system from NEC Energy Solutions to support a local Southern California Edison (SCE) distribution circuit in Orange, California. Located in a compact easement on a private industrial property, DESI 1 addresses intermittent circuit overloads.
- Invenergy's Grand Ridge Energy Storage is the second-largest operating lithium-ion battery project in the world, based on its power rating. With a 31.5 MW power rating and 12.2 MWh energy rating, it is the largest storage project commissioned in 2015. The project is sited in Illinois at Invenergy's Grand Ridge Energy Center, one of the world's largest operating projects of its kind, featuring wind and solar power generation and advanced energy storage in one location.
- PG&E's Yerba Buena 4 MW/ 28 MWh Battery Project is a unique collaboration of PG&E, EPRI, CEC and the storage industry. This long duration sodium-sulfur battery energy storage system is providing valuable independent data about system performance while delivering multiple benefits at both the distribution and bulk power level. The Vaca-Dixon 2 MW/14 MWh sister system was the first and currently only resource to participate in CAISO's new Non-Generator Resource energy and frequency regulation markets.

* Distributed Energy Storage
- The Brooklyn Army Terminal Smart Grid Demonstration project demonstrates the benefits of onsite renewable energy generation coupled with energy storage and management systems for reducing peak demand energy use and demand response. The technologies involved have the potential to help New York City reach its PlaNYC sustainability and resiliency goals, including 30% reduction in citywide greenhouse gas emissions by 2030.
- California Schools and Utilities Trust Program is the result of Green Charge Networks' partnership with California schools and utilities. It demonstrates new business opportunities by collaborating across both sides of the meter and showing how energy storage can increase revenues, hedge against site-specific building/battery conditions, and improve participation in demand response (DR) programs. Green Charge is working with 10 schools/districts and utilities to reduce energy costs and streamline DR programs through a single point of contact.
- WalMart + SolarCity DemandLogic Portfolio is a portfolio of up to eight PV + storage projects that provide peak load reduction and critical load back-up power. In the event of a grid outage, the battery inverter is controlled by a Programmable Logic Controller and acts as a voltage source keeping a portion of the PV array online to serve critical building loads.

* Mobility
- Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (LACMTA) Flywheel Energy Storage System uses VYCON's green regenerative technology to store energy generated by braking trains and redistributes that energy to rail lines to accelerate trains - vastly improving energy usage that otherwise would be wasted in the form of heat. Thus far, the project has saved 541 megawatt-hours (MWh), enough to provide power to 1,000 average California homes.
- BMW Internet of Energy Enabled by Geli is a breakthrough in the re-use of second-life EV batteries for multiple energy services from networked assets. Located at the BMW Group Technology Office, Geli's Energy Operating System (Geli EOS) networks energy storage, solar, and EV chargers to provide behind-the-meter and grid support services.
- eMotorWerks EV Charging Network provides a network of intelligent SmartGrid EV charging stations, called JuiceBox EVSEs, which are controlled via a cloud-based, self-learning platform, JuiceNet. Already used by over 5,000 consumers and deployed across the U.S., eMotorWerks' network of SmartGrid EV chargers provides the benefits of other storage and demand curtailment solutions, without requiring utilities and grid operators to invest in new storage or DR infrastructure.

Public votes via Twitter will determine winners

One tweet per user for each award category (Centralized Storage, Distributed Storage and Mobility) will count toward the final results. Tweets must include hashtag #ESNA2015Awards and a clear indication of the name of the selected project. Visit the ESNA awards website to learn more about the projects and how to cast your vote.

Utility and Policy Champions will also receive awards

In addition to the Innovation Awards, this year's ESNA Champion Awards will honor one individual each from the policy and utility sectors who have shown leadership and dedication in the advancement of energy storage in North America. Both the Innovation Award and Champion Award winners will be announced at Energy Storage North America, at the San Diego Convention Center from October 13-15, 2015. Registration for ESNA 2015 is now open.

About Energy Storage North America
ESNA is part of the Energy Storage World conference series, which also includes Energy Storage Europe, Energy Storage China, Energy Storage India, and Energy Storage Summit Japan. ESNA is produced by Messe Dusseldorf in association with Strategen Consulting. Follow us on Twitter: @EnergyStorageNA and #ESNA2015.