September 15
Puget Sound Energy Launches Targeted Electrification Pilot
Top consumer smart energy news hand-selected and brought to you by the Smart Energy Consumer Collaborative.
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In Washington last week, Puget Sound Energy (PSE) began a targeted electrification pilot to test out more efficient and sustainable electric technologies for space conditioning and water heating – areas that currently account for more than 25 percent of the state’s greenhouse gas emissions. Up to 10,000 natural gas customers could undertake the pilot.
Long-duration energy storage provider ESS Tech has delivered six energy storage systems, totaling 3 MWh, to California electric provider Sacramento Municipal Utility District, the company announced Monday. The six systems are the first delivery in a broader deal, announced last year, under which ESS will provide up to 200 MW/2 GWh of iron-flow long-duration energy storage systems to SMUD.
In a virtual press briefing hosted by the United States Energy Association (USEA), CPS Energy CEO Rudy Garza and Rayburn Electric Cooperative CEO David Naylor explained the challenges in front of them as they work toward a future powered by low-carbon resources. The Texas grid operator ERCOT has struggled to supply enough power to customers this summer as temperatures soared.
Con Edison is in the process of constructing the Brooklyn Clean Energy Hub, a transmission substation to meet the region’s growing demand for electricity and serve as a gateway for offshore wind power. The hub will be able to accommodate up to 1,500 MW or enough electricity to power 750,000 homes. Also, it has the potential to serve as an interconnection point for 1,500 MW of offshore wind power, offering developers the opportunity to plug future projects into New York City’s grid.
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Industry News
Not only do heat pumps function in freezing temperatures – they work far more efficiently than fossil-fuel heating systems in the cold. That’s according to a team of researchers in Europe affiliated with the independent nonprofit Regulatory Assistance Project. They published a study this week that provides yet more evidence to debunk the myth that heat pumps can’t handle cold climates.
Roughly tripling virtual power plant capacity to 80 GW to 160 GW by 2030 could save about $10 billion a year in grid costs, while redirecting spending on peaking power plants to distributed energy resources at a lower cost, the Department of Energy said in a new report. Depending on how it is defined, there is 30 GW to 60 GW of U.S. virtual power plant capacity, which is mainly made up of demand response programs.
U.S. consumers with LG room air conditioners can now access OhmConnect’s Demand Response program using the LG ThinQ App. The gamified energy engagement experience allows consumers to earn rewards for automatically managing the use of their LG air conditioners during periods of peak grid demand. The LG ThinQ App allows remote temperature control for LG room air conditioners to reduce energy consumption when the electrical grid is stressed.
In Arizona, utilities have used a counterintuitive tool to help keep the lights on despite the state’s ongoing wave of historic heat – they’ve asked customers to turn their air conditioners down. In July and August, Arizona’s three biggest utilities were able to call on more than 100,000 customers to reduce their electricity use by a total of 276 MW during afternoon and evening hours when demand for power was at its peak.
