In times of great change, innovation becomes the norm. Already
ahead of the curve for tapping plentiful solar, wind and other
renewable sources, California continues to feed that trend. The
state recently announced new, mandatory green-building
standards. Now, power purveyors in Southern California are
turning to technologies of efficiency to squeeze even more juice
out of the proverbial lemon that is the state’s electricity
supply. In January, the Southern California Public Power
Authority (SCPPA), a joint powers authority consisting of 11
municipal utilities and one irrigation district, teamed up with
Colorado-based Ice Energy. Together, they announced what they
are touting as the nation’s first cost-effective, utility-scale,
distributed energy-storage project. The 53 megawatt (MW)
project, to be implemented by SCPPA member utilities throughout
Southern California, will permanently reduce the state’s peak
electrical demand by shifting as much as 64 gigawatt-hours of
on-peak electrical consumption to off-pea