Source: Viridity Energy

Viridity to Own and Operate a Battery Storage Solution for Atlantic County Utility Authority

Represents New Battery Project Structure

PHILADELPHIA, April 16, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Viridity Energy Solutions Inc. (Viridity), an Ormat Company, has contracted with the Atlantic County Utility Authority (ACUA), and vendors, Johnson Controls and Rettew Field Services, Inc. (Rettew), to provide a Battery Storage as a Service (BSAAS) system to ACUA’s wastewater treatment plant in Atlantic City, New Jersey. 

This progressive utility plant also includes a 7.5 MW wind farm, 500 kW of solar PV, and a fleet of electric vehicle charging stations. ACUA provides weekly public tours of its “next-generation” waste water treatment plant, highlighting its low power and carbon footprint as one of its core principles.

Under the agreement, Viridity will provide to ACUA Viridity’s market leading BSAAS solution that combines an advanced, fully integrated battery energy storage system with Viridity’s VPowerTM energy management and optimization software, as well as operational services for a period of 20 years with no capital outlay by ACUA. Furthermore, ACUA will receive a portion of the utility bill savings created through peak shaving over the term of the agreement. Viridity will serve as the general contractor and engineering procurement and construction (EPC) lead and will design and install the battery energy storage system utilizing a battery storage system from Johnson Controls and Engineering and Construction services from Rettew.

Viridity will own and operate the battery energy storage system to create energy savings for ACUA with an emissions-free solution and to provide services to the grid, including ancillary services in the PJM market. The system was installed and began market operations in Q1 2018.

“ACUA continues to be innovative in adopting on-site energy technology to lower their energy costs and being a leader in adopting green technology,” commented Mack Treece, CEO of Viridity. “Working together with ACUA, we are utilizing Viridity’s BSAAS solution to reduce their energy costs and to generate revenue from the PJM energy market, all of this at no cost to ACUA. Viridity’s BSAAS is a unique solution that provides customers with all of the benefits of battery storage, including reducing peak usage to lower energy costs, provide power back-up and power quality, while also assisting the utility grid in maintaining the performance of the grid.”

“Battery storage technology is the critical component to developing a smart grid and it has the potential to completely revolutionize power generation,” said Atlantic County Utilities Authority President Rick Dovey. “Superstorm Sandy was an eye-opener for ACUA in that it became apparent that we needed to become resilient in the face of future storm events and have the ability to operate and not lose power. Renewable energy, for all of the positives, has one limitation – that power is intermittent; wind and solar are not always producing power when you need it. You must either use it or lose it. Through a grant from the NJBPU, we have partnered with Viridity to bring a battery storage project to ACUA. Not only will this battery allow us to store electricity generated from wind and solar, but it will also play an important role in balancing supply and demand of the electric grid,” Dovey noted.

About Viridity Energy Solutions Inc.

Viridity Energy, a wholly owned subsidiary of Ormat Technologies, Inc. is a leading battery storage and distributed generation, demand response, and demand management solution provider. Through its unique, flexible and turn-key VPowerTM software and services platform, Viridity maximizes energy revenue and savings for its customers. Viridity empowers customers to cut their electricity prices through best-in-class proprietary peak shaving algorithms, and its market leading VPowerTM optimization software, that ensures the best economic return for each KW of flexible energy load, including generating revenue for customers in the wholesale energy markets. Viridity is a market leader in advanced distributed energy resources (DER) with a specific focus on battery storage. By combining the skills of Viridity with its parent company Ormat, Viridity brings to market the unique ability to provide a broad, end-to-end DER solution to customers either as a service, with no capital outlay by the customer, or as a sale.

Information provided in this press release may contain statements relating to current expectations, estimates, forecasts and projections about future events that are "forward-looking statements" as defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements generally relate to Viridity's plans, objectives and expectations for future operations and are based upon its management's current estimates and projections of future results or trends. Actual future results may differ materially from those projected as a result of certain risks and uncertainties. For a discussion of such risks and uncertainties, see "Risk Factors" as described in Viridity's parent company, Ormat Technologies, Inc.'s, Annual Report on Form 10-K filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on March 1, 2017.

These forward-looking statements are made only as of the date hereof, and Viridity undertakes no obligation to update or revise the forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

www.viridityenergy.com

About ACUA 

The Atlantic County Utilities Authority is responsible for enhancing the quality of life through the protection of waters and lands from pollution by providing responsible waste management services. The Authority is an environmental leader and will continue to use new technologies, innovations and employee ideas to provide the highest quality and most cost effective environmental services.       

About Johnson Controls

Johnson Controls is a global diversified technology and multi-industrial leader serving a wide range of customers in more than 150 countries. Our 120,000 employees create intelligent buildings, efficient energy solutions, integrated infrastructure and next generation transportation systems that work seamlessly together to deliver on the promise of smart cities and communities. Our commitment to sustainability dates back to our roots in 1885, with the invention of the first electric room thermostat. We are committed to helping our customers win and creating greater value for all of our stakeholders through strategic focus on our buildings and energy growth platforms. For additional information, please visit http://www.johnsoncontrols.com or follow us @johnsoncontrols on Twitter.

About Rettew

RETTEW, ranked on Engineering News-Record’s 2017 list of top design firms, began providing civil engineering and surveying services in 1969. Today RETTEW has about 350 employees and nine offices located throughout the United States, providing a wide range of traditional engineering and innovative design-build solutions for our clients in the public and private sector. For more information on any of RETTEW’s services, please call 1-800-RETTEW-5 (1-800-738-8395) or visit www.rettew.com.

Media Contact:
Paul Reed
Viridity Energy
preed@viridityenergy.com