California municipal leader adopts innovative technology services to improve taxpayer savings while contributing to sustainability and grid relief

HUNTINGTON BEACH, Calif. and MILLBRAE, Calif., Nov. 27, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The City of Huntington Beach, California announced that it has selected Stem, Inc., the global leader in energy storage, for its first artificial intelligence (AI)-powered energy storage systems.

Stem will build a 235 kilowatt-hour (kWh)-sized system at the City of Huntington Beachs Civic Center, to begin operations early in 2019. Stems energy storage system, powered by their AI, AthenaTM, will predict the facilitys energy demand, helping to avoid a "demand charge" that can comprise over fifty percent of a customers monthly bill. The Citys use of AI-powered energy storage complements a suite of municipal energy efficiency and sustainability initiatives, pairing energy storage with 2 MW of solar photovoltaic generation at the Civic Center, City Library, and City Yard.
"The City of Huntington Beach has robust community sustainability goals and a responsibility to control our operating costs," said Mayor Mike Posey, City of Huntington Beach, California. "We were attracted to Stems track record with automated customer savings while also using their storage networks to help integrate more renewable energy into the local grid."
The sites system joins Stems network of energy storage systems, the largest in the world, which enables the City of Huntington Beach to participate in a marketplace of additional revenue opportunities when the system is not needed onsite. When extreme weather like heat waves and wildfires strain the grid, Stems systems are dispatched in real time, providing Southern California Edison additional power needed in the highly-congested West Los Angeles basin.
"Californias cities are leading the way in adopting innovative technology services that enhance their sustainability plans while maximizing taxpayer returns, but they expect proven experience from their vendors," said John Carrington, CEO of Stem, Inc. "With Stems AI-powered services, The City of Huntington Beach can take advantage of dramatic energy bill savings and access new revenue opportunities by contributing to local grid reliability."
Stem has the largest project finance pool among its peers, now over US$650 million, enabling Stems 900+ energy storage systems under management across six states and three countries (U.S., Japan, and Canada). Athena, Stems cutting-edge AI, is the first of its kind for customer-sited energy storage, performing real-time energy optimization that reduces onsite peak demand and enabling customers to participate via Stems networks to access additional services and value streams.
About Stem, Inc.
Stem creates innovative technology services that transform the way energy is distributed and consumed. AthenaTM by Stem is the first AI for energy storage and virtual power plants. It optimizes the timing of energy use and facilitates consumers participation in energy markets, yielding economic and societal benefits while decarbonizing the grid. The companys mission is to build and operate the smartest and largest digitally-connected energy storage network for our customers. Headquartered in Millbrae, California, Stem is directly funded by a consortium of leading investors including Activate Capital, Angeleno Group, BNP Paribas, Constellation Technology Ventures, Iberdrola (Inversiones Financieras Perseo), GE Ventures, Magnesium Capital, Mithril Capital Management, Mitsui & Co. LTD., Ontario Teachers Pension Plan, RWE Supply & Trading, Temasek, and Total Energy Ventures. Visit www.stem.com for more information.
About the City of Huntington Beach
Located in Southern California, the City of Huntington Beach is home to nearly 200,000 residents and is the fourth largest city in Orange County and the 22nd largest in the State. The City prides itself on being environmentally conscience and has been recognized for its award winning environmental programs like changing over 11,000 street lights to LED saving the City $14 million over 20 years, installing 2.13 MW of solar at City facilities, operating a Sustainable Business Certification program, retro-commissioning City facilities, and creating and implementing the Orange County Recycling Market Development Zone (RMDZ).