Energy Efficiency MicroNews: ThinkEco and Friedrich, AutoGrid, Global Energy Efficiency Holdings, Metrus Energy, EaglePicher Technologies, WattJoule, Comverge
This week in energy efficiency news…
ThinkEco and Friedrich have partnered to help utilities bring new customers into demand-side management programs. Beginning in summer 2014, utilities will be able to use ThinkEco’s platform and turnkey demand response services to incorporate connected Friedrich Kühlair conditioners directly into DR programs. Customers will use their FriedrichLink WiFi kit to opt into available programs, thereby allowing them to receive incentives and rebates, and help their local utility provide better electricity services. The technology will be available for use this summer in New York City for customers with Kühl units who participate in the 2014 coolNYC program, a demand response partnership between Con Edison and ThinkEco.
More about ThinkEco and Friedrich direct link demand response technology
AutoGrid Systems, an energy big data analytics company, has raised $12.75 million in a Series C financing led by a consortium of strategic investors. AutoGrid plans to use the financing to expand its operations and bring its analytics and predictive control technology to energy companies, utilities, and electricity users worldwide. The investment consortium includes the large European utility E.ON as well as existing investors Foundation Capital and Voyager Capital, among others. Several utilities and companies now use AutoGrid’s platform, among them City of Palo Alto Utilities, Austin Energy, Silver Spring Networks and Schneider Electric.
More about AutoGrid’s financing.
Bruderman Brothers structured and arranged a revolving credit facility and term loan for Global Energy Efficiency Holdings with M&T Bank. GEE is an energy management firm focused on the installment and servicing of lighting, refrigeration equipment, and HVAC upgrades for commercial and industrial clients. The company’s loan model allows customers to reduce energy consumption while achieving energy cost savings. GEE will use the proceeds from the debt financing to fund continued growth in the New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut markets.
More about the revolving credit facility and term load for Global Energy Efficiency Holdings
Metrus Energy will help Kuakini Medical Center, in Honolulu, save $1 million through energy efficiency improvements. Metrus will finance and implement $5.8 million in energy upgrades, including a new central cooling and heating plant, lighting upgrades, and energy management and control systems. Kuakini will pay Metrus based on realized energy savings once the project begins operating. Metrus will fund initial costs for the retrofit through an efficiency services agreement.
More about Metrus Energy’s $5.8 million contract with the Kuakini Medical Cente
EaglePicher Technologies and Arista Power have agreed to jointly sell to Arista Power’s potential customers in New York City. The agreement expands upon the parties’ previous relationship, which included Arista Power awarding a contract to EPT to supply and integrate its PowerPyramid energy storage into Arista Power’s Power on Demand system for a large multi-story building in New York City. The agreement also provides that Arista Power will use EPT’s PowerPyramid in three of its Power on Demand installations in New York City in 2014.
More about EaglePicher Technologies and Arista Power and their Letter of Cooperation Agreement
WattJoule Corporation has entered into an intellectual property licensing agreement with Battelle. This agreement enables the full commercialization of patent pending, flow battery electrolyte technology developed over the last several years by the research team at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory. The redox flow battery stores intermittent, renewable energy on the electric grid and helps balance supply and demand, prevent disruptions, and meet the grid’s varying load requirements
Fort Collins Utilities selected Comverge to implement residential demand response program. Using Comverge IntelliSOURCE software, IntelliTEMP DirectLink smart thermostats, IntelliPEAK DirectLink control switches and OpenADR protocol, the system relies on customer broadband connections to enable the information exchange for two-way demand response programs. Fort Collins Utilities will use IntelliSOURCE for program management, load and load reduction forecasting, event dispatch, post-event management, customer enrollment, and management of devices over broadband and advanced metering infrastructure communications. Fort Collins customers will be able to manage their participation in the program and remotely control their thermostats via a customer portal on either a desktop or mobile device.
More about the Comverge residential demand response program for Fort Collins Utilities
