The Challenge

Blue Sky Utility, a California-based clean energy developer, collaborated with a client to address the challenge of reducing net load and ensuring critical load backup at a sizable shopping mall. This 328,878-square-foot mall boasts one of the largest solar systems among shopping malls in the state, generating 1.5 Megawatts (MW) of power. However, despite this impressive solar setup, the mall faced significant demand charges throughout the day that needed mitigation. In addition to cost reduction, the client aimed to align with California’s renewable energy target of achieving 100% renewable energy by 2045. To achieve this, they sought to integrate their solar PV system with an energy storage system (ESS). Blue Sky was searching for a system that could supply the value stacking option, combining demand charge management, while also providing critical load backup.

The Solution

After previous ESS deployments with ETB Controller and Acumen AI™, Blue Sky again partnered with ETB for a shopping mall project. Integrated with Socomec, ETB Controller enabled demand charge management and islanding mode value stacking. BPi, a Napabased solar contractor, installed two 250 kW / 1186 kWh, 4-hour SUNSYS HES L units at the mall. Configured for a value stacking strategy, ETB Controller dynamically prioritizes peak shaving and shifts to arbitrage when peak shaving is not anticipated. Acumen AI’s dynamic economic dispatch forecasts site conditions and utility signals in real time to maximize value capture. Each ESS can also transition seamlessly into islanding mode to provide critical backup during utility outages. ETB Monitor was integrated to give the customer full transparency into system performance and savings.