Energy Toolbase and leading San Diego-based solar company, Stellar Solar Commercial, have partnered to implement an advanced energy management solution at a 23-acre transportation terminal campus in Mira Loma, California. By utilizing Energy Toolbase’s Acumen EMS™ controls software and BYD’s pioneering battery solutions, this installation aims to significantly reduce demand charges and smooth out demand peaks, achieving substantial long-term electricity bill savings.
As a long-time customer of Energy Toolbase, Stellar Solar leveraged Energy Toolbase’s project modeling platform, ETB Developer, to model the project’s potential savings by adding a storage system, allowing Stellar Solar to predict the system’s performance in the field accurately and present it to their customer. Energy Toolbase facilitated the rapid procurement and deployment of a 60kW, 4-hour BYD Chess energy storage system (ESS), integrated with Acumen EMS controls software, to complement the facility’s existing 197kW solar system. The primary control application for the ESS is Time-of-Use (TOU) Demand Charge Management to optimize peak-shaving during all TOU periods by discharging the battery when the site’s metered demand rises above thresholds calculated by Acumen EMS for each TOU period. This keeps the site’s metered demand under control, ensuring that the customer receives maximum value from their energy assets.
“When we installed PV for Marten Transport in 2019, we knew it would cover their baseline electricity needs, but it wouldn’t have much impact on the large demand charges they were receiving from the utility,” explained Brian Grems, founding partner of Stellar Solar. “By adding the BYD batteries, Marten now has a comprehensive solution to address both their baseline electricity consumption as well as the demand spikes. We are grateful for our long-standing relationship with ETB. The ETB Developer tool really helped make this project a winner.”
The system’s real-time performance and savings are fully visible to Stellar Solar and critical stakeholders through ETB Monitor. This tool provides comprehensive insights into the ESS’s operations and enables continuous assessment and optimization.
“We are thrilled to partner with Stellar Solar and BYD to deliver a cutting-edge energy storage solution for the facility in Mira Loma,” said Kevin Mulvey, Vice President of Operations at Energy Toolbase. “This project demonstrates our commitment to providing innovative energy solutions that drive significant cost savings and operational efficiency in California.”
Stellar Solar installed one BYD Chess 60kW/266kWh energy storage system (ESS), integrated with Acumen EMS controls software to deliver Time-of-Use (TOU) Demand Charge Management.
Two carport structures were installed at the site, with the solar system boasting a total installed capacity of 197kW.
About Energy Toolbase
Energy Toolbase is an industry-leading software platform that provides a cohesive suite of project estimating, storage control, and asset monitoring products that enable solar and storage developers to deploy projects more efficiently. Energy Toolbase’s SaaS products are used by over 1,000 distributed energy organizations worldwide. To learn more or request a free trial, visit: https://www.energytoolbase.com.
Energy Toolbase is backed by its parent company, Pason Systems, a leading global provider of data management systems and controls automation software for the energy industry. With a global footprint and 40-year track record, Pason enjoys one of the strongest balance sheets in the industry and trades on the Toronto Stock Exchange under the symbol PSI.
About Stellar Solar
Stellar Solar has been powering homes and businesses since 1998. Since then they’ve established themselves as the premiere solar installer in California, with over 16,000 residential and commercial installations. Notable commercial installations include Cedars Sinai Hospital, The Salk Institute, US Foods and the United States Navy. They’ve also been voted the Best Solar Company in San Diego consistently, a testament to their reputation in the area. Combine those accolades with their large quantity of positive reviews online and customer referrals being their number one source of new business, and it’s clear that they are the dependable choice for both residential and commercial solar and battery installations in California. For more on their commercial capabilities please visit www.stellarsolarcommercial.com.
About BYD
The Official Sponsor of Mother Nature™, BYD, which stands for Build Your Dreams, is the world’s leading electric vehicle company with proven innovative technology for cars, buses, trucks, forklifts, and rail systems – like SkyRail. BYD is dedicated to creating a truly zero-emission ecosystem offering technology for solar electricity generation, energy storage to save that electricity, and battery-electric vehicles powered by that clean energy. BYD has 220,000 employees across the globe, including nearly 1,000 in North America. For more information, please visit www.BYD.com.
