The Challenge

Rio Grande Renewables, a New Mexico-based project developer, was awarded a portfolio of projects via a competitive bid for the City of Albuquerque. The projects required a flexible energy management system (EMS) controls provider that could optimize ESS paired with solar PV across multiple sites, with various load profiles. The portfolio required the EMS provider to integrate with multiple ESS hardware solutions and operate within certain jurisdictional constraints, such as no exports to grid. Furthermore, it was a requirement that all the systems be accessible under a common monitoring platform to track performance and savings. 

The Solution

Energy Toolbase’s ETB Controller with Acumen AI™ was deployed across five sites, working with two different ESS hardware providers in Phase I of the RFP. The systems were configured for demand charge management, with Acumen AI leveraging dynamic economic dispatch to forecast load, shave peaks, and maximize value capture. Each system was also configured for curtailment avoidance to meet the requirements of the local utility company. While other EMS providers stepped away from the project due to its unique constraints, ETB embraced the challenge and delivered a flexible, portfolio-wide solution. Following the success of these initial deployments, ETB was selected to implement similar systems on two additional City of Albuquerque projects.