AMS to transform San Francisco skyscraper into first hybrid electric building
Advanced Microgrid Solutions (AMS) recently announced that it has been selected to transform San Francisco’s distinguished skyscraper, One Maritime Plaza, into the city’s first Hybrid Electric Building using Tesla Powerpack batteries.AMS designs, finances, installs and manages advanced energy storage solutions for commercial, industrial and government building owners. The groundbreaking technology upgrade will lower costs, increase grid and building resiliency, and reduce the building’s demand for electricity from the sources that most negatively impact the environment.
Building owner Morgan Stanley Real Estate Investing hired SF-based Advanced Microgrid Solutions, to design, build and operate the project. The 500 kilowatt/1,000 kilowatt-hour indoor battery system will provide One Maritime Plaza with the ability to store clean energy and control demand from the electric grid. The technology enables the building to shift from grid to battery power to conserve electricity in the same way a hybrid-electric car conserves gasoline.
The energy storage system at One Maritime Plaza will reduce the building’s peak energy demand by as much as 20%. In California, peaker plants – power plants that run only when there is a high demand for electricity – account for approximately 15% of the state’s power fleet. These plants are, by design, the least efficient fossil generators and, when they do run, produce more air pollution and greenhouse gas emissions than any other type of fossil generation.
“As a San Francisco-based company, we are thrilled to partner with Morgan Stanley to bring best-in-class storage and software technology to the city,” said Susan Kennedy, chief executive officer of AMS. “Hybrid Electric Buildings allow forward-looking companies like Morgan Stanley to help build tomorrow’s energy grid.”
AMS and the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission (SFPUC) are in discussions to apply battery-enabled bill savings from the first year of operation of the One Maritime Plaza installation toward other potential storage projects contemplated by the agency.
“For a 100% greenhouse gas-free electric utility like the SFPUC, battery storage offers an unparalleled way to bolster the electricity resilience of critical facilities around the City,” said Barbara Hale, Assistant General Manager for Power at the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission. “We look forward to collaborating with One Maritime Plaza and Advanced Microgrid Solutions so we can begin to pilot battery storage solutions with key SFPUC customers.”
The project is expected to be completed by January 1, 2018.