EDF Renewables Company’s PowerFlex was recently selected by Schnitzer Steel Industries Inc to design, build, and operate a 1,600 kilowatt (kW)/5,567 kilowatt-hour (kWh) Battery Energy Storage System at its Oakland California facility to lower operational electricity costs by leveraging best practices in energy demand management. The battery will charge during periods of the day when electricity demand on the grid is lowest and renewable energy generating assets are actively powering the grid, thereby using the cleanest available grid power supplied by East Bay Community Energy, the local Community Choice Energy provider. And likewise, the BESS will discharge during periods of high onsite consumption when less renewable energy is available on the grid. This shifting both eases the strain on the grid and mitigates spikes in energy usage thereby lowering utility demand charges for the Schnitzer facility.The battery storage project will operate under a no-capital cost, shared savings agreement - a performance-based contract whereby PowerFlex is only paid based on the actual utility bill savings realized by Schnitzer as a result of the battery operation. Schnitzer has no fixed payments and bears no performance risk on the operation of the system.The battery leverages EDF’s Energy Management System using real-time data to allow for improvements in energy consumption management along with advanced forecasting tools to charge and discharge in a fashion which reduces the peak levels of consumption thereby reducing overall peak demand kW and cost. Schnitzer’s Oakland facility processes and recycles ferrous and nonferrous metals, creating both substantial and variable demand for electricity.The project is expected to leverage Pacific Gas & Electric’s “Option-S” pilot program, a rate tariff specifically designed to increase the adoption of energy storage and facilitate the shift of solar energy to the evening period. This model aims to mitigate California’s “Duck Curve,” a shape driven by mass adoption of solar energy and the resulting peak demand once the sun begins to set.Schnitzer Steel Industries Inc is one of the largest manufacturers and exporters of recycled metal products in North America with operating facilities located in 23 states, Puerto Rico, and Western Canada. The Company’s steel manufacturing operations produce finished steel products, including rebar, wire rod and other specialty products. The Company began operations in 1906 in Portland, Oregon.
EDF Renewables Company’s PowerFlex was recently selected by Schnitzer Steel Industries Inc to design, build, and operate a 1,600 kilowatt (kW)/5,567 kilowatt-hour (kWh) Battery Energy Storage System at its Oakland California facility to lower operational electricity costs by leveraging best practices in energy demand management. The battery will charge during periods of the day when electricity demand on the grid is lowest and renewable energy generating assets are actively powering the grid, thereby using the cleanest available grid power supplied by East Bay Community Energy, the local Community Choice Energy provider. And likewise, the BESS will discharge during periods of high onsite consumption when less renewable energy is available on the grid. This shifting both eases the strain on the grid and mitigates spikes in energy usage thereby lowering utility demand charges for the Schnitzer facility.The battery storage project will operate under a no-capital cost, shared savings agreement - a performance-based contract whereby PowerFlex is only paid based on the actual utility bill savings realized by Schnitzer as a result of the battery operation. Schnitzer has no fixed payments and bears no performance risk on the operation of the system.The battery leverages EDF’s Energy Management System using real-time data to allow for improvements in energy consumption management along with advanced forecasting tools to charge and discharge in a fashion which reduces the peak levels of consumption thereby reducing overall peak demand kW and cost. Schnitzer’s Oakland facility processes and recycles ferrous and nonferrous metals, creating both substantial and variable demand for electricity.The project is expected to leverage Pacific Gas & Electric’s “Option-S” pilot program, a rate tariff specifically designed to increase the adoption of energy storage and facilitate the shift of solar energy to the evening period. This model aims to mitigate California’s “Duck Curve,” a shape driven by mass adoption of solar energy and the resulting peak demand once the sun begins to set.Schnitzer Steel Industries Inc is one of the largest manufacturers and exporters of recycled metal products in North America with operating facilities located in 23 states, Puerto Rico, and Western Canada. The Company’s steel manufacturing operations produce finished steel products, including rebar, wire rod and other specialty products. The Company began operations in 1906 in Portland, Oregon.