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Shifted Energy to equip 2,400 Water Heaters in Hawaii with Grid-Interactive Technology to create Virtual Power Plant

October 01, 2019

Company Partners with Hawaiian Electric and OATI to Engage and Reward Residents in Large Grid-Interactive Water Heater-based Grid Services Procurement

HONOLULU, Hawaii, Oct. 01, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Shifted Energy has signed an agreement to incorporate its industry-leading grid-interactive water heaters (GIWH) into Hawaiian Electric Company’s emerging grid services market as part of a Grid Services Purchase Agreement led by Open Access Technology International, Inc. (OATI), the largest provider of software-as-a-service for grid operations in North America.

Shifted Energy will install up to 2,400 GIWH systems across Oahu and Maui, with a specific focus on hard-to-reach customers including low- and moderate-income, apartment dwellers, and renter communities. Under a five-year contract beginning in 2020, the combined GIWH systems will function as a 2.5-megawatt virtual power plant (VPP), making it one of the largest competitively procured GIWH deployments in the world. The units will respond in aggregate to signals from Hawaiian Electric to deliver key ancillary services such as fast frequency response, grid capacity increase and decrease – providing valuable services to the grid that will reward participants while enabling greater use of renewable energy.

“This landmark procurement validates the incredible potential of electric water heaters as valuable distributed energy resources that can support the utility and grid while simultaneously engaging and empowering hard-to-reach residents in Hawaii’s renewable energy future,” said Forest Frizzell, Shifted Energy CEO. “As one of the largest grid-interactive water heater-based virtual power plants in the world, this project will showcase our technology’s scalability, flexibility and value to both customers and utilities.” 

“We are excited to have Shifted Energy join the OATI Energy Alliance and provide real-time aggregation of behind-the-meter water heater assets,” said Dr. Sasan Mokhtari, OATI president and CEO. “With Shifted Energy’s water heaters, all Hawaiian consumers can interactively power the distribution-centric grid of the future with a Grid Services Program that benefits everyone.”

“Electric water heaters — especially residential systems – offer an invaluable collection of thermal storage resources that can be a key contributor to load flexibility,” said Richard Barone, Hawaiian Electric director of demand response. “OATI’s partnership with Shifted Energy, a Hawai‘i-based company, is an important step in helping Hawaiian Electric realize this potential while providing value directly to customers.”

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