Energy Toolbase Completes Commissioning on Ventura Energy's 3.7-Megawatt Hour Energy Storage Portfolio to Provide Emergency Water Backup for Ventura County

Acumen EMS™ deployed at five critical water facilities to participate in California's DRAM program with Leap Energy

VENTURA COUNTY, Calif., Feb. 7, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Energy Toolbase has completed commissioning on Ventura Energy's five-site, 3.7-megawatt-hour (MWh) energy storage portfolio at critical water facilities throughout Ventura County. The systems of standalone energy storage are comprised of Tesla Powerpacks and Megapacks controlled by Acumen EMS™ software and enable the end-users to have a reliable water source in the case of an emergency. A majority of Ventura County is served by wells, and some residents and farmers are left without a water supply when the area experiences a power outage. This portfolio of systems, spanning from Santa Paula to Thousand Oaks, will now provide backup power to water pumps at their locations.

The portfolio of sites is enrolled in California's Demand Response Auction Mechanism program (DRAM), a pay-as-bid solicitation created to strengthen grid stability and synchronize the reliability demand response of utilities with CAISO, California's grid operator. Acumen EMS provided these grid services through Leap, a leading provider of energy market access for distributed energy resources. Through the Ventura Energy portfolio, Energy Toolbase created a partnership with Leap, which will allow projects to participate in demand response and grid services programs, augment revenue, and aid the state's grid through a unique revenue-share model.

"Leap is excited to facilitate access to energy market revenue streams for this portfolio," said Jason Michaels, Chief Revenue Officer at Leap. "This collaboration will unlock additional value for Energy Toolbase and Ventura Energy to help them fund this project to bolster grid resilience and lower carbon emissions for Ventura County."

Enrolling in the DRAM program helps bolster California's grid stability and compensate for demand-side resources, which include energy storage systems by curtailing energy when the grid is strained. This performance-based revenue-share model structure will assist in maximizing the revenue and support of the grid for future projects throughout the state.

"As a Ventura County native, seeing the devastation of the Thomas Fire across the County was horrific. Knowing that these energy storage systems paired with well pumps will help firefighting and property protection in the future is something Ventura Energy is extremely proud of," said Clara Nagy McBane, Owner of Ventura Energy. "By participating in the demand response programs enabled through Energy Toolbase and Leap, Ventura Energy's portfolio will not only be able to help the grid manage peak events to avoid outages but also will allow Ventura Energy to deploy more of these potentially life-saving projects across California."

"Energy Toolbase is especially excited to be a part of this project that is providing such a critical service to the people of Ventura County," said Scott D'Ambrosio, VP of Sales at Energy Toolbase. "Combining the backup power to the well pumps, and Acumen EMS leveraging the DRAM program to add additional value, is something we're proud to be able to do."

About Energy Toolbase

Energy Toolbase is an industry-leading software platform that provides a cohesive suite of project estimating, storage control, and asset monitoring products that enable solar and storage developers to deploy projects more efficiently. Energy Toolbase's SaaS products are used by over 1,000 distributed energy organizations worldwide. To learn more or request a free trial, visit https://www.energytoolbase.com.

Energy Toolbase is backed by its parent company, Pason Systems, a leading global provider of data management systems and controls automation software for the energy industry. With a global footprint and 40-year track record, Pason enjoys one of the strongest balance sheets in the industry and trades on the Toronto Stock Exchange under the symbol PSI.

About Ventura Energy

Ventura Energy has 15 years of experience developing, engineering, and deploying more than one gigawatt-DC of solar and energy storage projects. Headquartered in Santa Barbara, Ventura Energy offers infrastructure, industrial, and business customers a broad array of renewable and resilient development, consulting, and financial and asset management services: https://ventura.energy.

About Leap

Leap is the leading platform for generating new value from distributed energy resources (DERs) through integration with energy markets. Through its software-only solution, Leap facilitates fast, easy and automated access to high-value grid services revenue streams for the providers of batteries, electric vehicle charging, smart thermostats, HVAC systems and other flexible assets. By aggregating the DERs enrolled on its platform, Leap supplies virtual power plants (VPPs) to balance the grid. Leap enables its partners and their customers to unlock new value streams and help create a more flexible, resilient grid powered by renewable resources. https://leap.energy/.

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SOURCE Energy Toolbase