Energy Storage North America Names Top Nine Energy Storage Project Finalists

BERKELEY, Calif., Aug. 18, 2014 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Energy Storage North America (ESNA), the most influential gathering of policy, technology and market leaders in energy storage, today announced finalists for its 2014 annual Innovation Award, recognizing excellence in energy storage project development. The nine Innovation Award finalists represent excellence in installed energy storage projects across three categories: utility-scale, customer-sited (commercial, industrial, or residential), and mobility (electric vehicle charging and surrounding infrastructure).

"This year's ESNA Award finalists represent a rich diversity of players and business models in rapidly developing energy storage ecosystems across the US and Canada," said Janice Lin, Managing Partner of Strategen Consulting and Co-founder of the California Energy Storage Alliance. "Energy storage as an asset class is a welcome addition to electric system planning toolkits in California, Hawaii, New York, Ontario and other markets. The strength of this year's nominees demonstrates that we are past the early technology tipping point and moving toward the mainstream."

Innovation Award project submissions were subject to a rigorous process that considered key industry priorities, including customer value proposition, project impact, services supplied to the grid, financing model, ownership model, technology, and safety.

ESNA 2014 Innovation Award Finalists:

• Utility-scale: The finalists in the utility-scale category are: 2500 R Midtown (Sacramento, CA); Abengoa Solana CSP Plant (Gila Bend, AZ); and SCE Tehachapi Wind Energy Storage Project (Tehachapi, CA).

• Customer-sited: The finalists in the customer-sited category are: EaglePicher PowerPyramid BESS (Promontory, UT); Green Charge Networks GreenStation 2.0 (various locations, CA); and UC San Diego/BMW 2nd Life EV Energy Storage System (San Diego, CA).

• Mobility: The finalists in the mobility category are: Benecia City Hall Solar EV Fast Charger with Storage (Benecia, CA); Powertree San Francisco One (San Francisco, CA); and SEPTA Energy Optimization Project (Philadelphia, PA).

"We selected Innovation Award finalists based on market-driven criteria and their ability to bring the next generation of progress to the energy storage market," said Jeff Gates, Managing Director at Duke Energy and ESNA Advisory Board member. "The 2014 Award criteria align with the most critical aspects of market development for energy storage, such as safety, reliability, and security, which are also reflected in the event's programming this year."

New this year, public votes (via Twitter) for the ESNA Innovation Award will account for 50% of the final result, with the remainder decided by the ESNA Advisory Board. One tweet per user for each category (Utility-scale, Customer-sited, Mobility) will count toward the final results. Tweets must include hashtag #ESNAAwards2014 and a clear indication of the name of the selected project. Visit the ESNA awards website at http://www.esnaexpo.com/awards to learn more about the projects and cast your vote.

This year ESNA is also introducing the ESNA Champion Award, honoring an individual who has shown leadership and dedication in the advancement of energy storage in North America. Both the ESNA Innovation Award and ESNA Champion Award winners will be announced at Energy Storage North America, taking place at the San Jose Convention Center from September 30 to October 2, 2014. Registration for ESNA 2014 is now open.

Energy Storage North America, which attracted close to 750 attendees at its inaugural event last year, will bring together more than 1,000 international regulators, utility executives, and leading technologists, including keynotes by industry luminaries such as JoAnne Butler, VP, Electricity Resources Ontario Power Authority, Peter Rive, Co-founder and CTO of Solar City, and Jeanne Fox, Commissioner, New Jersey Board of Public Utilities.

To learn more about the 2014 Innovation Award finalists, read the July/August issue of enerG Magazine, the winners will also be featured in the September/October issue, on October 1st. enerG is pleased to offer a free 2 year subscription. Click here (Canada & US).

About Energy Storage North America
Energy Storage North America is part of the Energy Storage World conference series, which also includes Energy Storage Europe, Energy Storage China, Energy Storage India, and the new Energy Storage Summit Japan. ESNA 2014 is produced by Messe Dusseldorf in association with Strategen Consulting and the California Energy Storage Alliance.

Visit our web site http://www.esnaexpo.com
Follow us on Twitter: @EnergyStorageNA and #ESNA2014.

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SOURCE Energy Storage North America (ESNA)