Stem, Inc. has been awarded a project mandate to provide energy storage solutions to the Massachusetts Water Resources Authority (MWRA) in Greater Boston, a public agency that provides wholesale water and sewer services reaching more than 3 million people in eastern and central Massachusetts. The project adds to Stem’s significant portfolio of more than 85 MWh of water treatment facilities contracted or managed by Athena, Stem’s AI-powered smart storage software.
“There is a large and growing market opportunity for Stem and our partners to help state and federal agencies deploy smart energy storage solutions, and this project is our first expansion into Massachusetts water facility projects,” said John E. Carrington, Chief Executive Officer of Stem. “Our smart storage software Athena will manage these sites to provide demand charge management, demand response and most importantly, energy cost savings to MWRA and the Greater Boston area.”
Project details: The project mandate totals 1 megawatt hour of standalone, behind the meter energy storage projects located at two MWRA sites in Arlington and Chelsea. Stem expects to deliver significant utility bill savings for MWRA through its demand charge and demand response solutions. MWRA chose Stem and Stem’s industry-leading smart storage software for its utility bill optimization, demand response, and demand charge management solutions.
“We have been very aggressive in our pursuit of renewable and sustainable energy sources at our water and wastewater facilities,” said MWRA Executive Director, Fred Laskey. “Stem has been a great partner on this new initiative throughout the entire process. Stem’s battery storage systems are a perfect addition to our portfolio and will help us continue to reduce our carbon footprint while delivering attractive cost savings.”
Dual Energy Storage Deployments in Greater Boston
In Arlington, MWRA sought significant savings from high demand charges – and with a large energy footprint, its Arlington pumping station was an ideal place to implement energy storage. In Chelsea, MWRA prioritized utility bill savings for its administration building that houses the agency’s field and operations staff.
Stem was tasked with shifting MWRA’s pump house and administrative building loads to off-peak hours to capture less expensive energy, enabling MWRA to optimize its utility costs. During times of peak demand, Stem’s demand response service automatically discharges batteries to reduce site loads, allowing MWRA to maintain uptime, monitor its demand, or interface with the utility during a demand response event. In addition, Athena will enable the projects to participate in wholesale energy markets managed by ISO New England.
Both projects are in coordination with Eversource, New England’s largest electric and natural gas provider. Energy storage projects supported by Eversource are implemented to lessen grid stress and further the region’s climate change goals.
“As a catalyst for clean energy, we partner with like-minded companies and stakeholders to conduct our business in a responsible and sustainable way,” said Eversource Senior Vice President and Chief Customer Officer Penni Conner. “We’re proud to collaborate with MWRA on this cutting-edge battery storage technology to reduce energy use and costs and will continue to find innovative ways to power New England.”
— Solar Builder magazine
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