MILLBRAE, Calif., June 12, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Sheraton Waikiki has selected Stem, Inc. , the global leader in artificial intelligence (AI)-powered energy storage, to provide energy storage services in support of the global hotel leader’s environmental sustainability planning. The 500 kWh system at the Sheraton Waikiki, which is owned by Kyo-ya Hotels & Resorts, will be the largest customer-sited system to participate in a utility program in Hawaii, and will play a maverick role in the transition of Hawaiian Electric’s grid management.
“Intelligent energy storage is the next step in Sheraton’s environmental sustainability projects, because it enables us to take control of our energy usage and fully realize the value of our other recent energy investments,” said Eric Au, area director of engineering, Marriott Resorts and Hotels in Hawaii and French Polynesia. “The Stem platform provides the hotel real-time energy optimization in our planning and operating decisions, while enabling the community around our facilities to smooth the variability and integration of higher penetrations of renewable energy.”
Energy storage is essential to reach Hawaii’s 100 percent renewable energy goals because it offers substantially improved system performance in managing the state’s abundant but variable solar and wind energy. Hawaiian Electric and its regulators are currently deliberating new regulatory policies with clean energy developers that could deliver new grid services in addition to peak shaving services. The Sheraton Waikiki project illustrates the potential for significant new market opportunities for third-party service providers and their customers by late 2018.
“The Sheraton project marks a transition for Hawaiian Electric from the old method of interacting with customer-sited resources to the new, and Hawaiian Electric is proud to be partnering with Sheraton Waikiki on this project,” said Richard Barone, manager of demand response at Hawaiian Electric. “As Sheraton continues its long-standing tradition of good grid citizenship, this project truly marks a new milestone in our long-term partnership.”
Stem’s platform, Athena TM , the first artificial intelligence for customer-sited energy storage, enables Hawaiian Electric to test its first “crossover” project towards digital management systems and new grid services. Stem will first operate the system under the current Fast Demand Response program and analog approach, and then “flip the software switch” to turn it into one of the first systems operating for both local peak-shaving services and as a grid resource in the utility’s new grid services programs. The Sheraton Waikiki energy storage service will deliver Stem’s industry-leading energy savings performance while also more tightly integrating with utility system operations, and with higher performance execution than traditional demand response resources available to the utility.
With this project’s completion in 2018, Stem’s customer-sited network will be contributing an immediate replacement fleet for the utility, representing lessons learned for new regulatory approaches, and a fossil replacement breakthrough of international importance. Stem’s current 1 MW of customer-sited systems in Hawaii is proving how artificial intelligence-driven energy storage engages customers by reducing their energy bills while providing additional visibility, controls, and grid services to the utility. Stem and other SHINES partners in Hawaii are transforming the way grid system operators can see the availability of the network and reliably call on it to respond.
“We are excited to support Sheraton’s interests to control their energy costs and Hawaii’s transition to a renewable-based system that is digital, distributed, and managed in real-time,” said John Carrington, CEO of Stem, Inc. “Stem’s artificial intelligence-based platform behind this novel project will enable Hawaiian Electric to test new storage operations and build the confidence needed to seamlessly make the digital transition.”
About Stem, Inc. Stem creates innovative technology services that transform the way energy is distributed and consumed. Athena TM by Stem is the first AI for energy storage and virtual power plants. It optimizes the timing of energy use and facilitates consumers’ participation in energy markets, yielding economic and societal benefits while decarbonizing the grid. The company’s mission is to build and operate the smartest and largest digitally-connected energy storage network for our customers. Headquartered in Millbrae, California, Stem is directly funded by a consortium of leading investors including Activate Capital, Angeleno Group, Constellation Technology Ventures, Iberdrola (Inversiones Financieras Perseo), GE Ventures, Mithril Capital Management, Mitsui & Co. LTD., Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan, RWE Supply & Trading, Temasek, and Total Energy Ventures. Visit www.stem.com for more information.
Media Contacts Leslie Green The Bulleit Group for Stem Stem@bulleitgroup.com 415-742-1894
Peter Rosegg Hawaiian Electric Peter.Rosegg@HawaiianElectric.com 808-543-7780
Eric Au Marriott Resorts and Hotels Eric.Au1@sheraton.com 808-931-8910
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