EDF Renewables North America has reached an agreement with Cubic Corp. to design, build, own and operate an integrated energy system consisting of solar+storage and electric vehicle (EV) charging stations at no up-front costs to Cubic.
The system will be installed as part of Cubic’s Kearny Mesa headquarters campus, which includes the construction of two new LEED Silver buildings and consolidation of more than 1,000 employees. The components of the integrated energy system are: 962 kWp carport solar; 280 kW (540 kWh) battery storage and 50 smart EV charging stations.
“We are very proud to deliver an integrated solution to Cubic,” says Raphael Declercq, executive vice president of distributed solutions at EDF Renewables.
“This type of energy solution for a corporate entity has become an economic asset that helps businesses reduce their electricity bills, increase their share of clean power and clean vehicles while allowing the integration of more renewable energy onto the grid,” adds Declercq.
EDF Store & Forecast Energy Management System (EMS) will operate the solar+storage system to optimize utility bills savings. Solar reduces utility costs while the battery storage shifts the solar generation into the evening on-peak period of expensive power. The storage system will also be used to mitigate spikes in usage thereby lowering utility demand charges.
The smart EV charging platform will flatten charging consumption and shift the consumption into the middle of the day to align with solar production. The integrated system is tailored to Cubic’s facility and energy characteristics, turning the parking lot and employee EV charging stations into a sustainable asset that reduces operational energy costs with no up-front capital costs.
The EV charging system will be installed by PowerFlex, an EDF Renewables company, using its Adaptive Load Management (ALM) technology. This technology, developed out of Caltech, allows Cubic to maximize the delivery of electricity to EVs while reducing or eliminating the need for costly utility upgrades.
Photo: EDF Renewables’ Level 2 charger