Energy Storage North America Opens With Record Participation, Honors Top Storage Projects and Industry Champions With ESNA Innovation Awards

SAN JOSE, Calif., Oct. 2, 2014 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Energy Storage North America (ESNA), the most influential gathering of policy, technology and market leaders in energy storage, opened this week to record attendance, a sold-out exhibition floor, and recognition of the 2014 ESNA Innovation Award winners. With more than 1,300 pre-registered attendees from 26 countries, 50 exhibitors, nearly 110 speakers and 40+ conference sessions, ESNA 2014 is a reflection of the surging global interest in energy storage.

The ESNA Innovation Awards are given to signify excellence in energy storage project development, as well as to honor the accomplishments of industry champions from the policy and utility side. This year, ESNA Champion Awards were given for the first time to honor individuals who have shown leadership and dedication in the advancement of energy storage in North America.

Project submissions were subject to a rigorous judging process that considered key industry priorities, including customer value proposition, project impact, services supplied to the grid, financing model, ownership model, technology, and safety. New this year, public voting was introduced and counted for 50% of the project award results, with the remainder decided by the ESNA Advisory Board. Nearly 800 votes were cast via Twitter (#ESNAawards2014) for the nine finalists across three storage categories: Utility-Scale, Customer-Sited, and Mobility.

"Energy storage is a game changer for the electric power system, and this year's ESNA event truly represents that," said Janice Lin, Managing Partner of Strategen Consulting and Co-founder of the California Energy Storage Alliance. "Behind the impacts that storage is having on markets, policies, and system planning are some truly standout projects and champions, whose bold leadership is changing the industry. ESNA Innovation Awards celebrate these outstanding projects and individuals and send a clear signal to all of what's possible."

ESNA 2014 Innovation Award Winners
Energy Storage Projects

• Utility-scale: Abengoa Solana Concentrating Solar Power Plant (Gila Bend, AZ)
• Customer-sited: Green Charge Networks GreenStation 2.0 (various locations, CA)
• Mobility: Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA) Energy Optimization Project (Philadelphia, PA)

Energy Storage Policy Champions
Nancy Skinner, Member, California State Assembly, District 15
Assembly Member Skinner is the author of AB 2514, a bill signed into law in 2010 that provided the necessary leadership and legal/regulatory framework for utility procurement of energy storage in California. Assembly Member Skinner also spearheaded several laws that added customer-sited energy storage to California's Self Generation Incentive Program; most recently SB 861 and AB 1478 which authorized an additional $415 million in funding through 2019.

Carla Peterman, Commissioner, California Public Utilities Commission
Commissioner Peterman is the Assigned Commissioner for the Energy Storage Rulemaking in California, which implements AB 2514. She authored the landmark decision that required California's load serving entities to procure 1.325 GW of energy storage by 2020, the first and largest target of its kind in the world.

Energy Storage Utility Champions
ESNA's Utility Champions award honors the individual contributions of key leaders within utilities who are advocating and implementing energy storage and actively changing the status quo.

This year's winners are:

• David Fribush, Manager, Energy Storage Integration, Pacific Gas & Electric
• Steve Willard, Senior Project Manager, Utilization/Energy Storage area, Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI)

"As a company committed to constant innovation and sustainability, Abengoa is honored to receive this Innovation Award from Energy Storage North America," said Emiliano Garcia, VP North America at Abengoa Yield. "This award recognizes Abengoa's efforts to deliver a commercially proven, state-of-the-art thermal storage system able to generate power at maximum capacity for six hours after sunset with the flexibility and reliability that the transmission grid needs."

"Sustainably harvesting and managing power efficiently is a global energy challenge in order to curb climate change," said Vic Shao, CEO of Green Charge Networks. "We're honored to receive this prestigious award in recognition of advancing power efficiency and intelligent energy storage from coast to coast."

"SEPTA is proud to receive this ESNA Innovation Award," said SEPTA Chief Engineer Andrew Gillespie. "Initiatives such as the Energy Optimization Project are key elements in SEPTA's overall Sustainability Program, the success of which is critical to the transit agency's ability to serve its riders and the Philadelphia region for both the short- and long-term."

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.

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SOURCE Energy Storage North America (ESNA)