Yotta Energy partnered with CPS Energy recently to install its module-level storage concept in a small-scale applied technology project at the Joint Base San Antonio Fort Sam Houston Military Post. As part of the demonstration project, Yotta Energy will test the performance of its energy storage system in the Texas heat and its demand response features as a distributed energy resource (DER). During the first few weeks of project installation, Yotta Energy’s storage solution has performed as expected during the Texas summer.
CPS Energy is the nation’s largest public power, natural gas, and electric company, providing safe, reliable, and competitively-priced service to more than 884,811 electric and 366,709 natural gas customers in San Antonio and portions of seven adjoining counties.
“CPS Energy is constantly searching for innovative technologies and proud to collaborate with Yotta Energy on this small-scale applied technology demonstration,” said Frank Almaraz, Chief Power, Sustainability and Business Development Officer at CPS Energy. “The possibility of having a battery storage system attached to the actual solar panels excites us. It moves us one step closer to deploying cleaner, more resilient energy in our community that’s integrated and uses far less real estate.”
This project was made possible through grant funding from the American Public Power Association’s (APPA) Demonstration of Energy & Efficiency Developments (DEED) program, allowing Yotta to document, report, and validate its system’s performance under real-world conditions. The performance data and feedback will be used to drive improvements to Yotta Energy’s feature set for its forthcoming commercial product delivery, slated for early 2022, and future commercial designs.
Yotta Energy’s technology was initially evaluated by EPIcenter through its Innovation Management Program. As a participant in this program, Yotta Energy was also connected to the right division within CPS Energy and guided through the initial project development process.
“EPIcenter facilitates collaboration between energy firms and utilities to bring new technologies to market,” said Liz Thompson, Chief of EPIcenter Advisory Services. “Our Advisory Services practice allows companies such as, Yotta Energy, to validate its technology in the real world, while also allowing a major utility, such as CPS Energy, to test emerging energy technologies in a limited, low-cost, and low-risk environment.”
The findings of this demonstration project will provide valuable insight on Yotta Energy’s integrated storage technology to CPS Energy as they continue to incorporate new and innovative technologies into their portfolio.
Deploying DERs, such as Yotta Energy’s renewable energy storage solution, can lead to lower costs for utilities as the need for onsite battery storage buildings is eliminated, while enabling the stabilization of an intermittent source like solar.
Yotta Energy’s distributed solar plus storage solution technology allows for a much lower total cost of installation for rooftop solar plus storage than any other current energy storage system available today — and it can even save on ballast, as the batteries weight down some C&I flat roof mounting systems.
-- Solar Builder magazine
