Susan Kennedy, CEO of San Francisco-based Advanced Microgrid Solutions, says, “The entire electrical distribution system [has been] designed around a single premise: You cannot store energy.” That long-held truism is one AMS is challenging, aided by state regulators’ openness to distributed energy solutions. AMS, which just received a $200 million capital infusion from Macquarie Group, aims to put the funding into a fleet of battery projects. Kennedy told Greentech Media recently, “We’re offering utilities a customized solution using energy storage behind the customer’s meter…to provide specifically what the utility needs in a particular region. It’s a clean, fast, flexible product that doesn’t exist in the utility world today.” The new funding will enable development and operation of a fleet of AMS’ distributed energy storage projects at host sites to provide various utility grid services.
Among projects the funding will enable are a 50-MW contract with Southern California Edison to provide behind-the-meter battery storage in the Western Los Angeles Basin; a battery storage deployment with the Irvine Company across 24 office buildings equipped with Tesla Powerpacks and AMS software, to shave peaks while providing SCE up to 10 MW of capacity; and other projects with Opus One Solutions, Skyscraper One Maritime Plaza, California State University, Shell Energy North America andInland Empire Utilities. AMS has also received equity funding from DBL Investments, Arnold Schwarzenegger and Engie SA.
To read the full article, visit Electricity Policy.