The Challenge

A Los Angeles-based solar energy contractor was searching for a solution for its client, a manufacturer of implantable eye lenses, that faced historically high demand charges at its Southern California facility. The site is on SCE’s TOU-8-D rate schedule, a rate with higher time and facilities-related demand charges. The client also wanted backup capabilities to keep all essential processes of the facility running during blackouts. The contractor used ETB Developer to model project economics for a solar and energy storage system, utilizing the Socomec energy storage integration. The proposed setup, 696 kW PV + Socomec ESS managed by ETB Controller and Acumen AI™ , offered compelling savings and microgrid functionality.

The Solution

The solar contractor selected Socomec’s HES XL islanding energy storage system with a 500kW/1116kWh capacity to accompany the PV system. The system is fully managed by ETB Controller and Acumen AI to deliver demand charge management and provide backup/microgrid capabilities. The contractor acquired the entire ESS through Energy Toolbase, streamlining purchase and commissioning. The TOU rate structure was configured into ETB Controller to optimize system economics. The client gains access to real-time and historical performance data through ETB Monitor, including alerts for proactive system management. ETB supported the client in securing the ITC and assisted with the admin to claim the SGIP incentive to reduce the system cost.