Ice Energy Delivers 100 kW Peak Capacity
to Moreno Valley Electric Utility,
Shows Path to Managing Load Growth
Ice Energy and Moreno Valley Electric Utility (MVU) have successfully completed a pilot program examining the potential for energy storage to increase efficiency and reduce energy costs for the fast-growing community. With the pilot program’s success, Ice Bear thermal energy storage units are now eyed as alternative to costly projected local infrastructure upgrades.
“The pilot program ran throughout the summer last year -- when air conditioning use drives peak demand for electricity – and clearly demonstrated the Ice Bears’ ability to deliver capacity when we need it most,” said Jeannette Olko, Moreno Valley Electric Utility Division Manager.
The pilot program, conducted with retail property owner, Weingarten Stoneridge, LLC, put Ice Bear units on the rooftops of the Stoneridge Towne Centre. Specific sites included rooftops at Kohl’s, T-Mobile, Round Table Pizza, Bob’s Big Boy, Subway, Supercuts, See’s Candy, and Visterra Credit Union.
Collectively, the Ice Bear units work to shift the peak energy consumption of commercial air conditioning units 5 to 20 tons in size providing clean and efficient peak capacity to the grid. Moreno Valley Utility’s project totaled approximately 100KW of peak load reduction without sacrificing cooling for space conditions.
The pilot program allowed MVU to identify Ice Energy storage as a viable alternative way to meet peak load – potentially allowing the utility to avoid or prolong impending infrastructure expenses including a substation upgrade project.
“Moreno Valley’s pilot program demonstrated their business case for energy storage. We are happy to welcome them to the growing community of Ice Bear users which have been storing energy for more than 15 million hours of operation,” said Mike Hopkins, Ice Energy’s EVP for corporate development and legal.
About Ice Energy
Ice Energy delivers distributed energy storage and smart grid solutions that are the least cost, most reliable, most efficient and truly green solutions available to utilities today. The company’s smart grid platform integrates distributed energy storage technology with an advanced software infrastructure and intelligent two-way control to provide utilities with a fully dispatchable grid asset that can be rapidly deployed at any scale. Ice Energy’s distributed energy storage system is a transformational new energy solution for the industry.
About Moreno Valley Electric Utility
Moreno Valley Utility (MVU) has been providing reliable, economical, and safe electric distribution service to over 5,600 residential, commercial, and industrial customers since 2004.