Energy Storage North America Names Denver Solar+Storage Microgrid a 2017 Innovation Awards Finalist

Shared assets in “portfolio” microgrid at Peña Station NEXT increase grid resilience and reliability

DENVER--(BUSINESS WIRE)--A Panasonic-led solar-plus-storage microgrid at Peña Station NEXT (Peña), a 382-acre smart city development in Denver, has been named an Energy Storage North America (ESNA) 2017 Innovation Awards finalist. This industry accolade follows on the heels of the microgrid earning an Environmental Leader 2017 Top Project of the Year award earlier this month. Project partners include Panasonic Enterprise Solutions Company, Xcel Energy, Denver International Airport, LC Fulenwider, Inc., and Younicos. Partners share microgrid assets and benefits in a multi-stakeholder "portfolio" model that helps the utility modernize and manage its electricity grid with innovative technologies, aids grid integration of solar PV, strengthens resilience (including through backup power) for customers and critical loads, and supports the sustainability goals of diverse organizations.


ESNA, the largest industry event for policy, technology, and market leaders in the energy storage industry, organizes the annual Innovation Awards to recognize projects that are helping to transform the energy storage ecosystem by enabling the transition to a clean, affordable, resilient, and reliable power grid and opening new markets for energy storage. Finalists were selected based on projects impact on this ecosystem, including services supplied to customers and the grid and unique technology applications. Eight finalists in two categories—Centralized Storage (utility-scale) and Distributed Storage (commercial, industrial or residential)—are competing through July 7 to win the award for their category. Winners will be determined solely through public voting and announced at the upcoming ESNA Conference and Expo, held August 8-10 in San Diego.

"Recognition from ESNAs prestigious Innovation Awards validates our approach to unlocking the potential of energy storage solutions and renewably powered microgrids," said George Karayannis, VP of CityNOW, Panasonics North American smart city initiative that is a driving force for a comprehensive suite of smart and sustainable solutions deployed at transit-oriented development Peña Station NEXT. "What makes this project so unique is how were leveraging multiple value streams and sharing assets in a multi-stakeholder public-private partnership model that brings together utilities, cities, technology companies, and other partners."

Where many microgrids are utilized by a single entity (e.g., military, corporate, or college campuses), the portfolio microgrid at Peña includes a set of assets that are shared between stakeholders:

1.6 MWdc carport solar photovoltaic (PV) system
259 kWdc rooftop solar PV array atop Panasonics facility
Anchor electricity load at Panasonics Technology and Business Solutions Center
1 MW / 2MWh lithium-ion battery energy storage system (BESS)
Switching/control systems to operate the BESS and microgrid functionality
As an example of the portfolio model for sharing microgrid assets, Denver International Airport owns the parking lot and carport structure at Peña; Xcel Energy owns and operates the solar PV system atop the structure under a long-term lease; and Panasonic performs the operations and maintenance on the system.

The BESS, owned and operated by Xcel Energy, leverages the microgrid assets to perform a stack of five distinct but complementary use cases that aid grid integration of solar energy, improve power quality and reliability for C&I customers like Panasonic, and improve operations of Xcel Energys distribution grid. The ability to stack value streams through a multi-use microgrid strengthens project economics, even in advance of continued cost declines for battery energy storage.

"Recent years have seen a number of substantial advancements and innovative deployments with battery energy storage," said Jamie Evans, managing director of the Energy Solutions Group at Panasonic Enterprise Solutions. "Were honored to be included among award finalists that include such notable achievements as grid-scale storage to offset Californias Aliso Canyon gas leak, SDG&Es project tapping energy storage as a reliable peaking resource, and an urban microgrid in Brooklyn, NY."

The announcement of ESNA Innovation Award finalists comes as the U.S. energy storage market experienced its largest quarter to date. According to GTM Research, in Q1 2017 the U.S. deployed 234 MWh of energy storage, compared to 336 MWh of storage deployment in all of 2016.

Voting for the 2017 Innovation Awards will remain open through July 7 via the ESNA website: https://esnaexpo.com/awards/voting. One vote per user will count toward the final results.

About Panasonic Enterprise Solutions Company

Denver-based Panasonic Enterprise Solutions Company includes CityNOW, Panasonics North American smart city initiative, and the Energy Solutions Group, which focuses on large-scale solar PV project development and integrated energy solutions for telecom. Panasonic Enterprise Solutions Company is a wholly-owned business unit of Newark, NJ-based Panasonic Corporation of North America, a leading technology partner and integrator to businesses, government agencies, and consumers across the region. The company is the principal North American subsidiary of Osaka, Japan-based Panasonic Corporation and the hub of Panasonics U.S. branding, marketing, sales, service, and R&D operations. Panasonic was featured in Fortune Magazines 2016 ranking of 50 companies that are changing the world and doing well by doing good. Specifically cited were its smart and sustainable technologies, including its contributions to smart cities and the electric vehicle revolution. Learn more about Panasonic at us.panasonic.com/news.

About Xcel Energy

Xcel Energy (NYSE: XEL) provides the energy that powers millions of homes and businesses across eight Western and Midwestern states. Headquartered in Minneapolis, the company is an industry leader in responsibly reducing carbon emissions and producing and delivering clean energy solutions from a variety of renewable sources at competitive prices. For more information, visit xcelenergy.com or follow us on Twitter and Facebook.

About Denver International Airport

Denver International Airport is the 18th-busiest airport in the world and the sixth-busiest airport in the United States. With 58.3 million passengers traveling through the airport each year, DEN is one of the busiest airline hubs in the worlds largest aviation market. DEN is the primary economic engine for the state of Colorado, generating more than $26 billion for the region annually. For more information visit www.FlyDenver.com, check us out on YouTube, Pinterest, and Instagram, like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter. For current employment opportunities, visit jobs.flydenver.com.

About Younicos

Younicos is a global leader for intelligent energy storage and grid solutions. Clients benefit from technical expertise, commercial know-how and in-depth experience built on 150 megawatts installed in 37 energy storage projects worldwide. The company was founded in 2005 in Berlin, Germany, and currently employs more than 130 storage experts there and in Austin, Texas. For more information, please visit www.younicos.com and follow us on LinkedIn and Twitter.

About Energy Storage North America (ESNA)

Energy Storage North America is the largest conference, exhibition and networking event for the North American energy storage industry. Now in its fifth year, ESNA connects developers, energy users, utilities and policymakers to advance understanding and deployment of energy storage, and ultimately build a cleaner, more affordable and more resilient grid. ESNA 2017 will take place on August 8-10 in San Diego, California. Visit www.esnaexpo.com to learn more.

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