Trimark Helps Set Commissioning Speed Record for RIG and Meter at AltaGas Pomona Energy Storage Facility

Trimark was a key contributor in delivering the CAISO revenue meter and Remote Intelligent Gateway (RIG) required to commission AltaGas' 20MW/80 MWh Pomona Energy Storage Facility by its December 31, 2016 deadline. The project was completed in under four months - the fastest Southern California Edison commissioning timeline on record.

But speed was just one high mark for the project. According to an AltaGas statement, "At 20 megawatts of electricity storage capacity, it is currently the largest battery storage facility in operation in North America."

The partnership of AltaGas, Greensmith, Southern California Edison (SCE), California ISO (CAISO) and Trimark collaborated to design, integrate, install and commission the energy storage system by the deadline imposed to supplement energy resources following the Aliso Canyon gas shortage.

The Pomona facility uses a Greensmith Energy storage system that is co-located with AltaGas' existing natural gas turbine and associated substation. In 2016, Trimark delivered a CAISO RIG and revenue meters as part of the resource's Qualifying Facility (QF) conversion. Nine months later, that investment supported AltaGas' ability to meet Southern California Edison's (SCE) call for new energy storage.

"This project had a very tight construction and delivery time frame given the sheer size of the project," Greensmith CFO and COO Jim Murphy said in a statement. The company worked "seamlessly with our tier one supply chain."

"Because we had an existing Trimark RIG on site, we were able to aggregate two resources in a single RIG without having to install new and separate telemetry equipment," said John Mitchell, Trimark's Project Manager. "We completed equipment installation and met all CAISO requirements in just four months, about half of the time required to complete a project on CAISO's standard NRI timeline."

While an existing RIG helped speed things along, the overwhelming driver for fast track status was SCE's need to replace energy storage resources lost when the Aliso Canyon natural gas storage facility was closed following a leak. That closure meant that energy storage sites like Pomona moved to the front of the line in CAISO's New Resource Integration (NRI) process. Even so, the project required extensive collaboration and coordination among Trimark, AltaGas, Greensmith, SCE and CAISO to complete construction and other requirements on the accelerated timeline.

According to AltaGas, the project is the first 20 MW/80 MWh energy storage system located at the AltaGas Pomona Energy Facility in Pomona, California. In August 2016, AltaGas' subsidiary, AltaGas Pomona Energy Storage Inc., signed a 10-year Energy Storage Resource Adequacy Purchase Agreement with Southern California Edison ("SCE") for 20 MW of energy storage at AltaGas' existing Pomona facility. The facility will provide 20 MW of capacity for a continuous four hour period - the equivalent of 80 MWh of energy discharging capacity. The facility began commercial operations on December 31, 2016.

The Pomona Energy Storage project is one step toward meeting a 2013 California Public Utilities Commission directive that utilities install 1.3 gigawatts of storage capacity by 2020.

Trimark Associates | www.trimarkassoc.com