Greensmith Energy Management Systems, a company specializing in distributed energy storage control systems, continues its growth, now with 14 customers, including eight electric utilities using the company’s field-tested suite of product offerings. By expanding its line-up of energy storage systems, Greensmith reached its largest scale in 2011, through the sale of its first MW-sized system. A major California utility purchased a 1.5 MWh Greensmith distributed energy storage system (DESS) to address grid congestion issues and integrate utility-scale solar generation.
Greensmith’s proprietary control software and Battery Operating System (BOS3) technology enable distributed energy system deployments with centralized operations through an online user portal or via machine-to-machine integration. In addition, each DESS unit is configurable, modular, and scalable from residential to commercial to utility scale deployments.
John Jung, the chief executive officer of Greensmith, feels that grid operators now understand that energy storage is more than just batteries and inverters. He said that they realize that intelligent control systems and sophisticated software improve the performance of both new and existing grid assets. He added that by maximizing the benefits of energy storage means having the technology to manage and optimize a distributed, data-rich network. Jung went on to add that with their battery-agnostic approach, these capabilities have led to its rapid growth and adoption thus far.
The company offers multiple battery options to its customers today, and new options in the future as battery technologies continue to advance. The company’s growth is due, in part, to its ability to design systems around applications, as opposed to competitor approaches which tend to develop capabilities around the functionality of one specific battery.
This unique approach allows Greensmith to offer effective solutions to customers as well as a high level of flexibility, with solutions that typically rapidly install and take commands in an installation process of only three hours. Its battery-agnosticism also allows Greensmith to keep pace with the rapidly changing battery marketplace as technologies and cost structures change.
Positive customer testimonials, including referrals and re-orders, underline Greensmith’s credibility as a trusted industry leader and technology innovator who understands how to solve complex, grid-congestion issues. The company has expanded its customer base in 2012, with a projected eight-fold increase in sales. With recent orders from customers abroad, Greensmith expects to continue to grow internationally from its base in the U.S. Greensmith plans to seek additional growth capital to leverage its growing market leadership and fully capture a growing pipeline of exciting projects.
Edited by Brooke Neuman