Mar 16 2009
Ice Energy, the leading provider of distributed energy storage and smart grid solutions for optimizing energy system efficiency, today announced the expansion of its National Accounts program. Moving from demonstration to deployment, the program offers a select group of companies the opportunity to benefit from fully funded utility programs that will underwrite the cost and installation of Ice Energy's Ice Bear energy storage systems on buildings nationwide.
The announcement was made in conjunction with the Edison Electric Institute (EEI) National Accounts Workshop in New Orleans, where Ice Energy is a featured exhibitor and presenter.
By storing cleaner, more abundant and less expensive off-peak power at thousands of dispersed locations and making it available during times of peak demand, Ice Energy's distributed energy storage technology delivers a new sustainable energy solution equivalent to hundreds of megawatts of clean peaking power for utilities.
The company currently has more than 20 projects under consideration by utilities nationwide, which are considering its solutions to offset the need for more than 1.6 gigawatts of new power generation. This represents the potential of hundreds of thousands of Ice Bear units to be purchased by participating utilities and installed at their cost on individual buildings throughout their territories - without complicated incentive or rebate programs.
"Over the past several years, Ice Energy has perfected and proven its storage technology, software and system deployment programs, with more than 2 million hours of successful operations in the field," said Chris Hickman, Senior Vice President of Utility Solutions for Ice Energy. "Today, strong interest from utilities enables us to provide select national accounts with all the value and benefits of adding storage and smart grid solutions to their buildings, at no cost to them, through fully funded utility programs."
"This represents a unique opportunity to be among the first to benefit from nationwide deployment in key markets as utilities come aboard," Hickman continued. "That means participating national accounts who commit early to the program can enjoy all the savings, performance, and green benefits that come from fundamentally changing how - and more importantly when - a building consumes energy for air conditioning, without making any required investment. It's a win-win-win scenario."
Unlike load management cycling or other utility curtailment programs that can negatively impact customer comfort and economic productivity, Ice Energy's solutions transparently shift energy consumption from high-impact daytime hours to low-impact nighttime hours, enabling commercial buildings to slash peak electricity demand, manage energy costs and reduce their environmental footprint while requiring no operational or behavioral change.
It represents the industry's first cost-effective energy storage solution specifically developed for small to mid-sized commercial buildings, and is applicable to about 85% of the market for both new construction and existing facilities across all geographies.