Looking Back at a Great 2023
2023 was another monumental year for clean energy. Renewable generation continued at a record pace around the world as more communities embraced solar and wind power, while the amount of money invested in renewable projects also shattered records. The U.S. celebrated a year since the passing of the Inflation Reduction Act, as the private sector continued to show the power of innovative thinking when it comes to clean energy. This included LS Energy Solutions, which celebrated several major milestones this year, such as five product certifications for our AiON-ESS and AiON-SIS products, four projects commissioned and connected to the grid, and fifteen additions to our dedicated team, who together have made our growth, innovation, and successes possible.
In June, we announced the first commercial deployment of our all-in-one AiON-ESS Energy Series energy storage system. Along with being the first commercial installation of the Energy Series, the New England project with Strata Clean Energy was also one of the first in the country to take advantage of the expanded Investment Tax Credit for storage included in the IRA. The utility customer is currently taking advantage of the peak shaving services enabled by the AiON-ESS deployment.
Later in the year, we also announced our largest awarded storage project yet. Working with Gore Street Energy Storage Fund, we are in the process of delivering containers for the 200 MW/400 MWh Big Rock project in Southern California’s Imperial County. The 137 Energy Series units will provide resource adequacy (RA) and ancillary services to the CAISO market once the project is fully up and running.
If you happened to visit us at one of the events we exhibited at, you’ll also know how monumental a year it was for LS Energy Solutions. At Cleanpower 2023 in May, we debuted a new booth design that emphasized having places to chat with potential partners, anchored by interactive 3D models of the AiON-ESS family of products.
In September, we returned to one of clean energy’s largest shows, RE+, where one of our manufacturing partners hosted a full-size AiON-ESS container – an actual unit that would be going on to the Imperial County project. Director of Engineering, Product Development, and Field Services Pedro Elizondo led select show attendees on a tour of the container before the unit’s deployment in California.
We also had the pleasure of joining our partner, ACE Engineering, alongside representatives from Avantus and Gore Street Capital for a cake-cutting ceremony celebrating the launch of the Big Rock project and the success of the AiON-ESS showcase.
This year, we elevated our thought leadership role with members of LS Energy Solutions commenting on various industry trends and even penning articles of their own. In August, our Director of Strategy and Market Analytics, Ravi Manghani, wrote a two-part article on how the IRA is influencing energy storage for Energy Storage News, while the following month our CEO Steve Fludder also spoke with ESN at RE+.
Members of our leadership team presented at several premier energy industry conferences and summits this year, adding LS Energy Solutions’ voice to the conversations and paving the way for a successful, complete clean energy transition. Ravi Manghani participated in a panel at the Benchmark Battery Gigafactories USA Conference this June, “Understanding the US Battery Market and Energy Storage Potential,” discussing how the lithium-ion battery will be the platform technology for the US’ net zero carbon economy. Ravi also participated in two Department of Energy events: The DOE Energy Storage Grand Challenge Summit in July as a panelist in the session “Financing the Next Generation of Energy Storage,” and the DOE Energy Storage Financing Summit in October as a panelist in the session, “Markets & Policy.”
We’re thankful to everyone in the LS Energy Solutions families and our partners who have made this such a historic year for us. We’re grateful to have the support and drive of people who share our mission of transforming how the world generates and consumes electricity, especially as the clean energy transition makes storage more critical than ever. As we look ahead to 2024, we’re excited to continue energizing AiON-ESS units at our existing sites while building new products for evolving market needs and announcing projects with new partners, and we look forward to having another monumental year of charging ahead with our energy storage solutions.