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ENGIE celebrates 20 years as U.S. Energy Retailer

Two decades of growth from startup to America’s Energy Greentailer™ serving approximately 50,000 customers in 14 states.


ENGIE Resources LLC, a subsidiary of ENGIE North America Inc., is celebrating its 20th anniversary as a retail energy provider serving more than 50,000 commercial, industrial, and institutional customers in the U.S. Since its founding in 2002, ENGIE Resources has grown into one of the top energy retailers in North America.

Headquartered in Houston, ENGIE Resources offers electricity and natural gas solutions and related energy services in 14 markets: Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Texas, and Washington, D.C.

In 2018, the company tripled the number of natural gas utility service territories for its operations, through the acquisition of Plymouth Rock Energy. This milestone solidified a market position in New York and enabled the company to expand its natural gas and electricity presence in seven states and by more than 20,000 customers.

Reflecting on 20 years of progress, Sayun Sukduang, chief executive officer at ENGIE Resources, said, “I take great pride in what we have accomplished over the past two decades. I want to thank all those who have accompanied us on our memorable journey becoming America’s Energy Greentailer™, including our diverse and dedicated team of talented professionals and energy experts, our loyal customers, and our business partners. As we celebrate this important milestone, I am even more energized by the opportunities to come to build a more sustainable future.”

 

America’s Energy Greentailer™

The company’s suite of product and service offerings has expanded in response to evolving customer needs. To simplify energy buying for large commercial and industrial customers, ENGIE Resources introduced EasyFlex, an index product providing customers the ability to lock in a fixed price for a percentage of usage.

As part of the ENGIE Group ambition to be net zero by 2045 across all scopes, the company divested its brown power generation assets and considerably developed its renewable product offerings to help customers across the U.S. meet their sustainability commitments. It includes Renewable Energy Certificates, custom structured solutions, Virtual Power Purchase Agreements and portfolioRE, an innovative renewable energy solution for small and mid-size customers.

ENGIE Resources has become America’s Energy Greentailer™ serving Fortune 500 customers and bringing the benefits of renewable energy solutions to under-served smaller customers. Over the years, ENGIE Resources helped customers displace 82,621 metric tons of carbon or the equivalent of the emissions from 9,296,825 gallons of gasoline consumed.

 

Sustainability at its foundation

The confidence and trust of customers and partners has been essential to success. The underpinning of these relationships is the dedication of our employees who are proud to lead the energy transition.

 

For Sayun Sukduang, “the teams’ dedication and expertise have been instrumental in overcoming the many challenges our industry has been facing, including the Covid-19 pandemic, the Polar Vortex in 2014, and the winter storm in 2021. Winter storm Uri was the most severe event for the U.S. energy market and I’m proud to report that we met all our financial obligations to ERCOT, our business is solid, and we look forward to the years that lie ahead.”

 

The Celebration

ENGIE Resources will celebrate its anniversary with a series of events. The celebration recognizes a proud past and points to a promising future, told from the perspective of employees from a variety of customer-facing roles.

 

About ENGIE

Based in Houston, Texas, ENGIE North America Inc. is a regional hub of ENGIE, a global leader in low-carbon energy and services. ENGIE (ENGI), is listed on the Paris and Brussels Stock Exchanges. Together with our 101,500 employees around the globe, our customers, partners and stakeholders, we are committed to accelerate the transition toward a carbon-neutral world, through reduced energy consumption and more environmentally friendly solutions. Inspired by our purpose (“raison d’être”), we reconcile economic performance with a positive impact on people and the planet, building on our key businesses (gas, renewable energy, services) to offer competitive solutions to our customers. In North America, ENGIE helps our clients achieve their energy efficiency, reliability, and ultimately, their sustainability goals, as we work together to shape a sustainable future. We accomplish this through: energy efficiency projects, providing energy supply (including renewables and natural gas), and the development, construction and operation of renewable energy assets (wind, solar, storage and more). For more information on ENGIE North America, please visit our LinkedIn page or Twitter feed, https://www.engie-na.com/ and https://www.engie.com


Media Contact:
ENGIE North America: Michael Clingan, 832 745 6057, michael.clingan@external.engie.com

SOURCE ENGIE North America

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ENGIE acquires 6 GW of solar and battery storage capacity projects from Belltown Power U.S. and significantly strengthens its renewable development pipeline

ENGIE adds 6 GW of solar and battery storage capacity to its development pipeline – Acquisition of 33 early to late-stage projects will accelerate renewables development across multiple states in North America.

HOUSTON, Oct. 27, 2022 /PRNewswire/ — ENGIE North America (ENGIE) announced it has acquired a 6 GW portfolio of solar, paired and stand-alone battery storage development projects from Belltown Power U.S. The transaction includes 33 projects comprising some 2.7 GW of Solar with 0.7 GW of paired storage and 2.6 GW of stand-alone battery storage. The projects are located across ERCOT, PJM, MISO and WECC1.

ENGIE already has a strong position in North America, with 3.9 GW of installed renewable capacity at 100% as of June 30, 2022. The projects are a strong addition to ENGIE’s existing renewables and storage pipeline in the U.S.

“These projects are a tremendous addition to our existing renewables pipeline and will help to further accelerate ENGIE’s role in the energy transition. The mix of solar, paired and stand-alone storage across a wide set of geographies both complements our existing portfolio as well as provides opportunities for expansion into new areas in the United States. The 3.3 GW of battery storage projects will be a critical enabler of flexibility and supports the balance of the grid to improve its reliability and resilience,” said Dave Carroll, Chief Renewables Officer and Head of ENGIE North America.

Hernan Farace, CEO of Belltown Power U.S., commented, “We are very proud of having completed this transaction with ENGIE, which marks another great milestone in the journey of Belltown as a greenfield developer. The ENGIE team is very knowledgeable and has the breadth and depth of expertise to bring these projects into operations. We believe our projects are in excellent hands and look forward to the ribbon cutting ceremonies at each of these sites.”

Note 1: ERCOT: Electric Reliability Council of Texas; PJM: Pennsylvania New Jersey Maryland Interconnection LLC; MISO: Midcontinent Independent System Operator; WECC: Western Electricity Coordinating Council


About ENGIE North America

Based in Houston, Texas, ENGIE North America Inc. is a regional hub of ENGIE, a global leader in low-carbon energy and services. ENGIE (ENGI), is listed on the Paris and Brussels Stock Exchanges. Together with our 101,500 employees around the globe, our customers, partners and stakeholders, we are committed to accelerate the transition toward a carbon-neutral world, through reduced energy consumption and more environmentally friendly solutions. Inspired by our purpose (“raison d’être”), we reconcile economic performance with a positive impact on people and the planet, building on our key businesses (gas, renewable energy, services) to offer competitive solutions to our customers.  In North America, ENGIE helps our clients achieve their energy efficiency, reliability, and ultimately, their sustainability goals, as we work together to shape a sustainable future. We accomplish this through: energy efficiency projects, providing energy supply (including renewables and natural gas), and the development, construction and operation of renewable energy assets (wind, solar, storage and more).  For more information on ENGIE North America, please visit our LinkedIn page or Twitter feed, https://www.engie-na.com/ and https://www.engie.com.

About Belltown Power U.S.

Belltown Power specializes in greenfield development of solar PV and energy storage projects, starting with site identification and navigating interconnection, real estate, permitting, environmental, tax, and all other development items to bring these projects to fruition. The Belltown Power team’s strong track record follows a thoughtful and disciplined approach to development, leveraging its excellent technical expertise and industry relationships to deliver quality projects from greenfield through to operations. For more information visit https://belltownpower.com.


Contacts:

ENGIE North America
Michael Clingan, Press Relations
Michael.clingan@external.engie.com

SOURCE ENGIE North America

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ENGIE Leads Microgrid Development for California Customers

Transition from traditional back-up power solutions to cleaner, healthier, and more intelligent systems is becoming easier and attainable for schools, cities and counties.

 

HOUSTON – ENGIE North America (ENGIE) today announced it has extended the scope of their microgrid offerings with their latest installation at the Santa Barbara Unified School District. As power outages and safety shutoffs are becoming the new normal in California, communities are under enormous pressure to adapt and mitigate their immediate effects. Communities must be able to continue critical operations even during a power outage. According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, public safety power shutoffs (PSPS) have become commonplace. California communities experienced 4,547 outage days from PSPS events between October 2017 to October 2019.

ENGIE’s newest microgrid installation at the district includes 4.2 megawatts of solar across 14 district locations and six microgrids with 3.8 megawatt hours of battery energy storage for backup power and peak demand charge reduction. The project is expected to offset approximately 90 percent of the solar array sites’ energy use with renewable energy and the district is expected to save nearly eight million over the project’s lifetime, with additional $6.47 million of value-added benefits from resilience.

“The SBUSD solar microgrids will serve as a model for school districts and other entities anywhere, including how to finance them in a straightforward manner that minimizes upfront costs and risks to the District while also reducing the District’s electricity expenditure,” said Stefaan Sercu, managing director Energy Solutions Americas at ENGIE. “It’s also important to note that communities can now benefit from state and federal funding for projects like these.”

Public Entities in California need to be as proactive as ever. In August 2022, for example, California experienced an extreme heat wave with several PSPS events throughout the state. With new funding opportunities through the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), customers would be eligible through direct pay for up to a 30 percent tax credit or even higher, if certain conditions are met, on the cost of solar and storage projects as well as microgrid controller equipment. This program will make projects like the SBUSD very financially attractive and continue to support the triple bottom line in every bucket– economic, social and environmental.

“The scope for this program is one of the first for a school district in California,” Santa Barbara Unified School District Superintendent Dr. Hilda Maldonado. “This is a community that has been continually impacted by wildfires and subsequent power shutoffs, mudslides and other natural disasters. This project will be critical in the district’s efforts to preserve power where it can, as well as provide a fiscally responsible power insurance policy that will ultimately aid the entire community.”

After the 2017/18 Thomas Fire, Santa Barbara District staff began researching the feasibility of energy resiliency solutions to preserve critical operations during emergencies and power outages for the more than 15,000 students, faculty and staff. In December 2020, the Board of Directors unanimously approved this first of its kind, uniquely cost effective and scalable microgrid project owned, operated and maintained by ENGIE North America.

Through the project the District is now equipped to provide the community with access to continuation of uptime even during utility grid outages and operate in Island Mode at six District sites maintaining service for critical refrigeration systems, priority communications and emergency staging areas systems. 

For more information on ENGIE’s microgrid solutions and case studies, please visit https://solutions.engie-na.com/building-a-sustainable-microgrid-santa-barbara-pr

 

 

About ENGIE North America

Based in Houston, Texas, ENGIE North America Inc. is a regional hub of ENGIE, a global leader in low-carbon energy and services. ENGIE (ENGI), is listed on the Paris and Brussels Stock Exchanges. Together with our 101,500 employees around the globe, our customers, partners and stakeholders, we are committed to accelerate the transition toward a carbon-neutral world, through reduced energy consumption and more environmentally friendly solutions. Inspired by our purpose (“raison d’être”), we reconcile economic performance with a positive impact on people and the planet, building on our key businesses (gas, renewable energy, services) to offer competitive solutions to our customers.  In North America, ENGIE helps our clients achieve their energy efficiency, reliability, and ultimately, their sustainability goals, as we work together to shape a sustainable future. We accomplish this through: energy efficiency projects, providing energy supply (including renewables and natural gas), and the development, construction and operation of renewable energy assets (wind, solar, storage and more).  For more information on ENGIE North America, please visit our LinkedIn page or Twitter feed, https://www.engie-na.com/ and https://www.engie.com.

 

 

Contact:

ENGIE North America

Michael Clingan, Press Relations

Michael.clingan@external.engie.com

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Chula Vista Elementary School District Unveils $32M Solar and Microgrid Project with ENGIE

Improvements are expected to save the District more than $70 million in net electricity costs over the next 25 years.

Chula Vista, Calif. and HOUSTON – Chula Vista Elementary School District and ENGIE North America (ENGIE) today announced the completion of the District’s solar project. The District now has 8.1 megawatts of solar installed across 48 sites and is finalizing the installation of a microgrid system. The microgrid is located at the Education Service and Support Center and powered through solar and batteries to provide backup emergency power to the District’s IT department, additional servers, and the Child Nutrition freezer.  The microgrid’s battery storage system will also provide electricity during the peak time period of 4:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m. when electric rates are highest, saving the District from having to pull their electricity from SDG&E’s electrical grid during that time each day.  

The solar installation includes 18,050 panels installed as shade structures at 46 schools, the Transportation Yard, and the Education Service and Support Center. The $32 million project was funded through a G.O. Bond and is expected to save the District more than $70 million in net electricity costs over the next 25 years. 

“That is $70 million in savings even after project costs have been paid for,” said Oscar Esquivel, Deputy Superintendent. “By the end of this project, we think we will be able to generate about 90 percent of the District’s overall energy demands. That is a tremendous amount of energy—and savings for our District. This is a ‘green’ project both environmentally and fiscally.”

“We have a demonstrated commitment to strengthening environmental sustainability efforts that our community recognizes,” Esquivel said. “Our team has done an outstanding job of continually finding ways to increase energy efficiency and savings while doing our part to improve the environment. We want to model for our students the importance of energy awareness, conservation, and sustainability.”

 “Our ENGIE North America team is proud to deliver customized solar and microgrid solutions to customers like Chula Vista Elementary School District,” said Stefaan Sercu, managing director Energy Solutions Americas at ENGIE. “In addition to this technology serving as a critical resource during potential power outages, the bigger picture impact of the District’s move toward sustainable energy ensures long-term financial savings and resiliency.”

 

About the Chula Vista Elementary School District

The Chula Vista Elementary School District is one of the state’s largest traditional kindergarten through grade six districts. It serves a vibrant, diverse community with a blend of residential areas, recreational facilities, open space, and light industry. The District was established in 1892, and each year, over 28,000 students from 50 schools in the Chula Vista area are professionally taught by highly trained and dedicated district teachers. Our district’s shared value is the belief that each child is an individual of great worth and entitled to develop to their full potential. Please visit the Chula Vista Elementary School District’s website for more information at www.cvesd.org.

 

About ENGIE North America

Based in Houston, Texas, ENGIE North America Inc. is a regional hub of ENGIE, a global leader in low-carbon energy and services. ENGIE (ENGI), is listed on the Paris and Brussels Stock Exchanges. Together with our 101,500 employees around the globe, our customers, partners and stakeholders, we are committed to accelerate the transition toward a carbon-neutral world, through reduced energy consumption and more environmentally friendly solutions. Inspired by our purpose (“raison d’être”), we reconcile economic performance with a positive impact on people and the planet, building on our key businesses (gas, renewable energy, services) to offer competitive solutions to our customers.  In North America, ENGIE helps our clients achieve their energy efficiency, reliability, and ultimately, their sustainability goals, as we work together to shape a sustainable future. We accomplish this through: energy efficiency projects, providing energy supply (including renewables and natural gas), and the development, construction and operation of renewable energy assets (wind, solar, storage and more).  For more information on ENGIE North America, please visit our LinkedIn page or Twitter feed, https://www.engie-na.com/ and https://www.engie.com.

 

 

Contact:

Chula Vista Elementary School District

Giovanna R. Castro Giovanna.castro@cvesd.org or 619-425-9600 Ext. 181328

 

ENGIE North America

Michael Clingan, Press Relations

Michael.clingan@external.engie.com

 

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Grossmont Union High School District announced its new Transportation Services Center.

We had a very exciting opportunity to support @GrossmontUHSD’s recent ribbon cutting to unveil the District’s new Transportation Services Center as part of our larger clean energy project together.

The Transportation Services Center integrates state-of-the-art facility and infrastructure upgrades that are helping Grossmont transition to an all-electric bus fleet – with 17 new electric buses already deployed in Phase 1.

ENGIE North America is proud to be working with committed local teams including San Diego Gas & Electric, HED, Balfour Beatty, San Diego Air Pollution Board and many more.

Grossmont leaders like Superintendent Mary Kastan and Department of Transportation CJ Rasure empower Grossmont’s leadership to serve as a model for other school districts seeking to lower their fleet operations costs while also helping to reduce emissions and air pollution for the communities they reach.

Grossmont Engie Flyer

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P&G and ENGIE Collaborate on New Renewable Energy Project in Hill County, Texas

The 200MW Sun Valley Solar agreement will represent power equivalent to the annual electricity needs of more than 50,000 U.S. homes and support the local agricultural eco-system.

CINCINNATI and HOUSTON, Sept. 20, 2022 /PRNewswire/ — Procter and Gamble (P&G) and ENGIE North America (ENGIE) announced today a 200 MW Power Purchase Agreement from ENGIE’s Sun Valley Solar project located in Hill County, Texas, 65 miles southwest of Dallas.

This solar energy agreement is the largest for P&G globally. Once production commences at Sun Valley later this year, it will supply P&G with more than 530,000 MWh of renewable power annually. For comparison, that is enough renewable electricity to power 1 in every 3 residences in P&G’s home city of Cincinnati, OH.

The agreement with ENGIE North America, a subsidiary of ENGIE S.A., a global leader in the transition to renewable energy, is part of P&G’s comprehensive plan to accelerate action toward net-zero GHG emissions by 2040. The agreement is expected to displace the equivalent of more than 367,000 metric tons of CO2-equivalent from the electricity grid each year.

“Partnering on new renewable power projects brings long-term, zero emissions renewable electricity on-line and is an important strategy to help us achieve our goal of purchasing 100% renewable electricity.” said Jack McAneny, P&G Vice President Global Sustainability. “We are excited to work with ENGIE on projects like Sun Valley that progress our strategy and provide benefits to the local community.”

The Sun Valley Solar project is part of ENGIE’s more than 5 GW of wind, solar and storage in operation or construction across North America. The 250 MW project will become a long-term contributor to the 36,000 residents of the Hill County community. The project is expected to generate tax revenues of around $8 million to support county services and an additional $18 million in revenues to the Abbot School district, supporting teachers and educational infrastructure over the life of the project.

“We are very much in the ‘era of renewables’ and the clear targets set by P&G reflect the acceleration of that trend – we are honored to build on our long-standing relationship with them,” said Dave Carroll, Chief Renewables Officer, ENGIE North America. “These are long-term projects that will not only produce renewable power, but provide jobs, tax revenues and economic growth, and we are privileged that the Hill County community is part of this journey. We have activities in more than 100 counties across the U.S. and Canada – the energy transition is really one that will be powered by communities across the continent.”

As part of the development, a portion the project will be planted with locally appropriate vegetation that supports pollinators, such as butterflies and bees that are critical to the longer-term sustainability of wider agricultural eco-system.

Once in operation, up to 1500 head of sheep will also graze the site, providing natural vegetation management around and under the solar installation.

‘Both P&G and ENGIE North America brought a vision to this project that strategically considered how to weave multiple benefits into the renewable energy platform of the project. Pollinator health and habitat benefits are one of those multiple benefits that will help deliver on the overall sustainability goals and mission of both companies.’

– Peter Berthelsen, President Conservation Blueprint

Construction is underway at Sun Valley, creating 300-400 temporary jobs, while up to six new permanent roles will support local operations over the life of the project.



About Procter & Gamble
P&G serves consumers around the world with one of the strongest portfolios of trusted, quality, leadership brands, including Always®, Ambi Pur®, Ariel®, Bounty®, Charmin®, Crest®, Dawn®, Downy®, Fairy®, Febreze®, Gain®, Gillette®, Head & Shoulders®, Lenor®, Olay®, Oral-B®, Pampers®, Pantene®, SK-II®, Tide®, Vicks®, and Whisper®. The P&G community includes operations in approximately 70 countries worldwide. Please visit https://www.pg.com for the latest news and information about P&G and its brands. For other P&G news, visit us at https://www.pg.com/news.

About ENGIE North America
Based in Houston, Texas, ENGIE North America Inc. is a regional hub of ENGIE, a global leader in low-carbon energy and services. ENGIE (ENGI), is listed on the Paris and Brussels Stock Exchanges. Together with our 101,500 employees around the globe, our customers, partners and stakeholders, we are committed to accelerate the transition toward a carbon-neutral world, through reduced energy consumption and more environmentally friendly solutions. Inspired by our purpose (“raison d’être”), we reconcile economic performance with a positive impact on people and the planet, building on our key businesses (gas, renewable energy, services) to offer competitive solutions to our customers. In North America, ENGIE helps our clients achieve their energy efficiency, reliability, and ultimately, their sustainability goals, as we work together to shape a sustainable future. We accomplish this through: energy efficiency projects, providing energy supply (including renewables and natural gas), and the development, construction and operation of renewable energy assets (wind, solar, storage and more). For more information on ENGIE North America, please visit our LinkedIn page or Twitter feed, https://www.engie-na.com/ and https://www.engie.com.



Contacts

Procter & Gamble

Lindsey Morahan, Corporate Communications

mediateam.im@pg.com

ENGIE North America

Michael Clingan, Press Relations

Michael.clingan@external.engie.com

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Disrupting Electricity: Mothership has Landed with Landmark Agreement with ENGIE

HOUSTON –(BUSINESS WIRE)– ENGIE Energy Marketing NA, Inc. (“ENGIE Energy Marketing”), a global energy mid-streamer offering electricity, natural gas, and energy services, a subsidiary of ENGIE S.A. (ENGIE) and MI Texas LLC (“MI”), a subsidiary of Mothership Incubator LLC, a retail electricity provider (REP), today announced that they have entered into a facility agreement for wholesale supply procurement in ERCOT (Electric Reliability Council of Texas) with a tailored focus on next-generation retail solutions.

Unlike a run-of-the-mill credit and supply deal, this innovative facility structure encapsulates MI’s unique value proposition: providing white-label REP services for distributed energy resources (DERs) and creatively structured electricity supply solutions for complex, non-residential loads such as datacenters. With a commitment to growing renewable energy adoption, solving unique credit challenges, and simplifying ways for residential homeowners to deploy DERs, Mothership is primed to disrupt the electricity space.

Mothership will use this facility, which provides innovative products, renewable hedges, flexible credit, and varied tenor terms, to hedge supply requirements for their unique customer base. More specifically, this facility will enable Mothership to focus on innovating new retail solutions that monetize DERs such as solar, storage, and EVs and creating new contract structures for flexible load resources such as bitcoin mining, manufacturing, and schools.

ENGIE Energy Marketing’s President, Ken Robinson, said, “All of us at ENGIE are excited to join forces with a company like Mothership that understands our mission to transform the energy landscape to be more customer-centric, and also has the expertise to curate a retail portfolio focused on deploying renewables to all customer segments. Smart agreements like these are the kind that we need to make real gains toward a carbon-neutral economy.”

Mothership CEO Maura Yates said, “ENGIE is an ideal alliance for Mothership and we share a common commitment to decarbonization and innovation. The Mothership team see’s enormous potential in maximizing value streams from DER’s and delivering creative solutions to the market in order to drive cost savings, comprehensive risk management, and sustainability.”


About ENGIE

Our group is a global reference in low-carbon energy and services. With our 170,000 employees, our clients, our partners and our stakeholders, we strive every day to act to accelerate the transition towards a carbon neutral economy, through reduced energy consumption and more environmentally friendly solutions. Guided by our purpose statement, we reconcile economic performance with a positive impact on people and the planet, using our expertise in our key business areas (gas, renewable energies, services) to provide competitive solutions to our clients. www.engie.com

About Mothership

Launched in Fall 2021, Mothership is a boutique ERCOT REP that is disrupting the traditional electricity space by leading the next generation of retail suppliers focused on flexibility, deploying distributed energy resources, and decarbonization of the grid. Mothership’s house-branded REP is a hyper-focused, high-performing risk and origination team committed to doing smart deals and providing best-in-class customer service for commercial and industrial customers. We work with sophisticated brokers and loads in ERCOT, creating highly structured, customized retail contracts that integrate renewables and DERs into the supply offering. To learn more, visit mothershipenergy.com.

Contact:

Calin Brammer
calin@mothershipenergy.com

ENGIE Energy Marketing NA, Inc.
Michael Clingan, Press Relations
Michael.clingan@external.engie.com

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The New York Times shines light on how old, unused coal plants can help support the energy transition and job growth in the U.S.

Coal plants around the U.S. that consume large areas of land have been shutting down and local communities are impacted due to the loss of jobs and property taxes. The New York Times story mentions ENGIE North America among other companies that are proactively transforming these coal plants into solar, battery and other renewable energy projects which produce clean energy for local power grids.

We are proud to share our story around transforming a vacant coal plant into a solar farm that produces enough clean energy to power 1,800 homes.  

Click here to read the full story.

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West County Wastewater to Reduce Greenhouse Gas Emissions by 93 Percent Through Comprehensive Infrastructure Upgrade Project with ENGIE

Clean and Efficient Energy Project Expected to Save $83 Million

 

RICHMOND, CALIF. and HOUSTON, TX – The Board of Directors of West County Wastewater (WCW) has announced plans for a comprehensive energy, infrastructure, and process improvement project designed to significantly reduce the organization’s carbon footprint and greenhouse gas emissions.  This infrastructure upgrade project will reduce West County Wastewater’s overall greenhouse gas emissions by 93 percent at WCW’s Water Quality and Resource Recovery Plant and is expected to save more than $83 million over the project’s lifetime.

“To us, community and environmental stewardship is about more than providing wastewater services,” said Andrew Clough, WCW Deputy General Manager. “It is about working together to encourage and employ healthy industry and environmental practices that will benefit the region, our communities, and our ecosystem for years ahead.”

The new comprehensive infrastructure project will help WCW achieve its vision. Led by low-carbon energy leader ENGIE North America (ENGIE), the initiative will include significant upgrades to WCW’s Water Quality and Resource Recovery Plant. Two new digesters, an addition of 1.1 megawatts (MW) of solar power generation, a thermal sludge drying system, and solids dewatering, among other improvements, will greatly improve WCW’s control over its handling of biosolids.

“This project is one of the most impactful energy, infrastructure and process improvement programs in the United States,” said Stefaan Sercu, Managing Director at ENGIE North America. “Our alliance with WCW will serve as a proof point for the benefits of the comprehensive energy collaboration approach. Wastewater treatment is an especially energy-demanding operation—but wastewater districts that take advantage of ENGIE’s expertise at the energy-water nexus can make the improvements necessary for the reliability of their equipment, safety of the local community, and environmental sustainability.”

Historically, biosolids produced by WCW have been sent to landfill due to the fact they did not meet the high -quality standards required for beneficial reuse. By generating Class A biosolids, suitable for agricultural and other reclamation uses, these upgrades will eliminate organic material being sent to landfill. This will prepare the organization for the 2022 implementation of SB 1383, the “Short-Lived Climate Pollutants: Organic Waste Reductions” regulations, and reduce ongoing disposal costs. The project will also result in a substantial reduction in greenhouse gas emissions from the decomposition of sludge in the landfills.

ENGIE will implement the plant improvements and maintain the installed equipment over the next 20 years under an energy savings performance contract. This approach will leverage ENGIE’s deep expertise in energy efficiency and renewable energy solutions to optimize operational efficiencies throughout the equipment’s lifetime. ENGIE is targeting a 4.2 million kWh reduction in WCW’s annual energy use.

The scope of the project comprises a 1.1 MW solar power system, LED lighting, electric vehicle charging stations and wastewater treatment plant upgrades including a new grit separation system, rotary drum thickeners, a high efficiency aeration blower, new digesters, a 450 kW cogeneration system powered by biogas from the digester, a sludge dewatering system, a sludge thermal dryer system and equalization basins. Together, these systems’ onsite generation will meet close to 100 percent of the District’s facilities and wastewater treatment electricity needs.

Finally, the initiative will bring job opportunities and economic benefits to the Richmond area. In addition to creating jobs through the District Project Labor Agreement, it will create internships and career pathways in the wastewater industry for local high school and college students.

 

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About West County Wastewater

West County Wastewater serves several communities in the Richmond, California, area. The organization owns, operates, and maintains a wastewater collection system with 249 miles of gravity sewer pipelines, 17 lift stations, 6 miles of pressure force mains, and a Water Quality and Resource Recovery Plant with a capacity of 12.5 million gallons per day (mgd). All told, WCW provides wastewater services to approximately 34,000 residences and 2,450 commercial and industrial businesses, with a total population of nearly 100,000.

About ENGIE North America

Based in Houston, Texas, ENGIE North America Inc. is a regional hub of ENGIE, a global leader in low-carbon energy and services. ENGIE (ENGI), is listed on the Paris and Brussels Stock Exchanges. Together with our 170,000 employees around the globe, our customers, partners and stakeholders, we are committed to accelerate the transition toward a carbon-neutral world, through reduced energy consumption and more environmentally-friendly solutions. Inspired by our purpose (“raison d’être”), we reconcile economic performance with a positive impact on people and the planet, building on our key businesses (gas, renewable energy, services) to offer competitive solutions to our customers.  In North America, ENGIE helps our clients achieve their energy efficiency, reliability, and ultimately, their sustainability goals, as we work together to shape a sustainable future. We accomplish this through energy efficiency projects, providing energy supply (including renewables and natural gas), and the development, construction and operation of renewable energy assets (wind, solar, storage and more).  For more information on ENGIE North America, please visit our LinkedIn page or Twitter feed, https://www.engie-na.com/ and https://www.engie.com.

Media Contacts:

West County: Kate Gibbs, kgibbs@wcwd.org, 510-390-4844

ENGIE North America:  Michael Clingan, michael.clingan@external.engie.com, (832) 745-6057

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