Energy Storage North America Names Denver Solar+Storage Microgrid a 2017 Innovation Awards Finalist

Shared assets in “portfolio” microgrid at Peña Station NEXT increase
grid resilience and reliability

DENVER–(BUSINESS WIRE)–A Panasonic-led solar-plus-storage microgrid at Peña Station NEXT
(Peña), a 382-acre smart city development in Denver, has been named an Energy
Storage North America (ESNA) 2017 Innovation Awards finalist. This
industry accolade follows on the heels of the microgrid earning an
Environmental Leader 2017 Top Project of the Year award earlier this
month. Project partners include Panasonic Enterprise Solutions
Company, Xcel Energy, Denver International Airport, LC Fulenwider, Inc.,
and Younicos. Partners share microgrid assets and benefits in a
multi-stakeholder “portfolio” model that helps the utility modernize and
manage its electricity grid with innovative technologies, aids grid
integration of solar PV, strengthens resilience (including through
backup power) for customers and critical loads, and supports the
sustainability goals of diverse organizations.

ESNA, the largest industry event for policy, technology, and market
leaders in the energy storage industry, organizes the annual Innovation
Awards to recognize projects that are helping to transform the energy
storage ecosystem by enabling the transition to a clean, affordable,
resilient, and reliable power grid and opening new markets for energy
storage. Finalists were selected based on projects’ impact on this
ecosystem, including services supplied to customers and the grid and
unique technology applications. Eight finalists in two
categories—Centralized Storage (utility-scale) and Distributed Storage
(commercial, industrial or residential)—are competing through July 7 to
win the award for their category. Winners will be determined solely
through public voting and announced at the upcoming ESNA Conference and
Expo, held August 8–10 in San Diego.

“Recognition from ESNA’s prestigious Innovation Awards validates our
approach to unlocking the potential of energy storage solutions and
renewably powered microgrids,” said George Karayannis, VP of CityNOW,
Panasonic’s North American smart city initiative that is a driving force
for a comprehensive suite of smart and sustainable solutions deployed at
transit-oriented development Peña Station NEXT. “What makes this project
so unique is how we’re leveraging multiple value streams and sharing
assets in a multi-stakeholder public-private partnership model that
brings together utilities, cities, technology companies, and other
partners.”

Where many microgrids are utilized by a single entity (e.g., military,
corporate, or college campuses), the portfolio microgrid at Peña
includes a set of assets that are shared between stakeholders:

• 1.6 MW_dc carport solar photovoltaic (PV) system
• 259 kW_dc rooftop solar PV array atop Panasonic’s facility
• Anchor electricity load at Panasonic’s Technology and Business
  Solutions Center
• 1 MW / 2MWh lithium-ion battery energy storage system (BESS)
• Switching/control systems to operate the BESS and microgrid
  functionality

As an example of the portfolio model for sharing microgrid assets,
Denver International Airport owns the parking lot and carport structure
at Peña; Xcel Energy owns and operates the solar PV system atop the
structure under a long-term lease; and Panasonic performs the operations
and maintenance on the system.

The BESS, owned and operated by Xcel Energy, leverages the microgrid
assets to perform a stack of five distinct but complementary use cases
that aid grid integration of solar energy, improve power quality and
reliability for C&I customers like Panasonic, and improve operations of
Xcel Energy’s distribution grid. The ability to stack value streams
through a multi-use microgrid strengthens project economics, even in
advance of continued cost declines for battery energy storage.

“Recent years have seen a number of substantial advancements and
innovative deployments with battery energy storage,” said Jamie Evans,
managing director of the Energy Solutions Group at Panasonic Enterprise
Solutions. “We’re honored to be included among award finalists that
include such notable achievements as grid-scale storage to offset
California’s Aliso Canyon gas leak, SDG&E’s project tapping energy
storage as a reliable peaking resource, and an urban microgrid in
Brooklyn, NY.”

The announcement of ESNA Innovation Award finalists comes as the U.S.
energy storage market experienced its largest quarter to date. According
to GTM Research, in Q1 2017 the U.S. deployed 234 MWh of energy storage,
compared to 336 MWh of storage deployment in all of 2016.

Voting for the 2017 Innovation Awards will remain open through July 7
via the ESNA website: https://esnaexpo.com/awards/voting.
One vote per user will count toward the final results.

About Panasonic Enterprise Solutions Company

Denver-based Panasonic Enterprise Solutions Company includes CityNOW,
Panasonic’s North American smart city initiative, and the Energy
Solutions Group, which focuses on large-scale solar PV project
development and integrated energy solutions for telecom. Panasonic
Enterprise Solutions Company is a wholly-owned business unit of Newark,
NJ-based Panasonic Corporation of North America, a leading technology
partner and integrator to businesses, government agencies, and consumers
across the region. The company is the principal North American
subsidiary of Osaka, Japan-based Panasonic Corporation and the hub of
Panasonic’s U.S. branding, marketing, sales, service, and R&D
operations. Panasonic was featured in Fortune Magazine’s 2016 ranking of
50 companies that are changing the world and doing well by doing good.
Specifically cited were its smart and sustainable technologies,
including its contributions to smart cities and the electric vehicle
revolution. Learn more about Panasonic at us.panasonic.com/news.

About Xcel Energy

Xcel Energy (NYSE: XEL) provides the energy that powers millions of
homes and businesses across eight Western and Midwestern states.
Headquartered in Minneapolis, the company is an industry leader in
responsibly reducing carbon emissions and producing and delivering clean
energy solutions from a variety of renewable sources at competitive
prices. For more information, visit xcelenergy.com or
follow us on Twitter and Facebook.

About Denver International Airport

Denver International Airport is the 18th-busiest airport in the world
and the sixth-busiest airport in the United States. With 58.3 million
passengers traveling through the airport each year, DEN is one of the
busiest airline hubs in the world’s largest aviation market. DEN is the
primary economic engine for the state of Colorado, generating more than
$26 billion for the region annually. For more information visit www.FlyDenver.com,
check us out on YouTube, Pinterest,
and Instagram,
like us on Facebook and
follow us on Twitter.
For current employment opportunities, visit jobs.flydenver.com.

About Younicos

Younicos is a global leader for intelligent energy storage and grid
solutions. Clients benefit from technical expertise, commercial know-how
and in-depth experience built on 150 megawatts installed in 37 energy
storage projects worldwide. The company was founded in 2005 in Berlin,
Germany, and currently employs more than 130 storage experts there and
in Austin, Texas. For more information, please visit www.younicos.com and
follow us on LinkedIn and Twitter.

About Energy Storage North America (ESNA)

Energy Storage North America is the largest conference, exhibition and
networking event for the North American energy storage industry. Now in
its fifth year, ESNA connects developers, energy users, utilities and
policymakers to advance understanding and deployment of energy storage,
and ultimately build a cleaner, more affordable and more resilient grid.
ESNA 2017 will take place on August 8-10 in San Diego, California. Visit www.esnaexpo.com to
learn more.

Contacts

Media:
G&S Business Communications
Christina
Atkinson, 212-697-2600 x1209
[email protected]