First three LOCAL Clean Energy Projects move forward, including potentially largest Virtual Power Plant in the Nation
This is what climate leadership looks like!
GEC wishes to thank our council members—Mayor Agajanian, Dan Brotman, Paula Devine, Ardy Kassakhian, and Ara Najarian—for their support, and city staff for all their hard work. We also want to acknowledge and thank the GEC community that inspired this to happen! We’ve had a real victory for our city’s clean energy future, and we want to thank all of you who emailed and called in to support the programs!
Two programs will move into the implementation phase: (1) Franklin Energy’s Residential and Commercial Demand Response and Smart Thermostat Program and Online Marketplace and (2) Lime Energy’s Commercial Direct Install Energy Efficiency Program. Council directed GWP to finish negotiations with Sunrun, Inc., for the third program, the largest single-family and multi-family residential Virtual Power Plant of its kind in the nation!
Let’s repeat that . . . The largest single-family and multi-family residential Virtual Power Plant of its kind in the ENTIRE COUNTRY! Go Glendale!
All three of these programs allow our community, including business owners, renters, home and building owners, to be PART OF THE SOLUTION.
The Franklin Energy and Lime Energy projects focus on reducing demand and increasing efficiency. The cheapest energy is the energy you don’t use, so this is a very smart place to start. This summer, GWP reported that conservation efforts from some of our city’s largest commercial users and the public helped lessen demand and prevent potential power outages. This is a very powerful tool to reduce load – and, well coordinated, is an excellent resource.
Program Highlights:
Franklin Energy—Residential and Commercial Demand Response Program: The residential program (including some small business customers) will participate in a “smart thermostat” program (rebate available for the thermostat or participation fee offered). The Commercial program will target larger customers (at or more than 50Kw demand) and includes a demand reduction audit of their facility. There will also be an online store for purchasing smart energy products. This is a four-year program (Jan 1, 2021 to Dec 31, 2024) and occurs from June to October with over 15 events per year, up to 4 hours per event. The residential program is automated, with opt-outs permitted (twice per season) and the commercial program has auto or manual options, with opt-outs permitted.
Lime Energy—Energy Efficiency Program: Direct installation of energy efficiency lighting and HVAC to reduce energy consumption for commercial customers with energy load at or less than 150kW per meter. Lime will conduct energy efficiency assessments, develop proposals for the customer and directly install through subcontractors, reporting energy savings back to GWP. GWP will then pay Lime a fixed rate per kWh for the savings. This program has a 7-year implementation (Jan, 1, 2020 – Dec 31, 2027) with the installed measures expected to last 10-15 years.
Sunrun—Virtual Power Plant: The goal is 3,000-4,000 single-family homes and 30-40 multi-family buildings contributing solar power and stored energy via batteries in a coordinated fashion to the grid when most needed. The proposed program will deliver clean, local, dispatchable energy to Glendale—solar energy and an average of 25.25 MW of solar-powered battery storage each year, over the course of 25 years. It will also provide backup power to participating customers in the event of a grid outage. This program really highlights Glendale as a clean energy leader, and we couldn’t be more proud.
If YOU would like to be part of this historic “People Powering Glendale” project, you can add your name to the list we are keeping at www.gec.eco/vpp
We will be giving these contacts (now up to about 375 Glendale residents!) to Sunrun when contracts are formalized. There is further program info available there as well.
Read our full city council wrap up of the October 13th meeting, describing these programs in more detail.
Now, we must continue with haste! State mandates, the climate crisis, a need for local capacity, all these things are staring us in the face.
GEC advocates for:
- GWP to negotiate special agreements between our largest power consumers and the utility, which GWP has indicated it is pursuing.
- GWP to move forward with utility-scale, city-sited solar and battery installations. There is currently an RFP out for this project.
- A commercial program including parking-lot solar, and other additional local capacity projects.
- Additional local, clean energy projects.
It is clear these programs take time to implement, and the need is urgent. We must continue to build on our successes!
